Introduction

The freight forwarder was born, historically, as an auxiliary figure in the transport of goods but his traditional profile was soon flanked by various other functions related to the technological, legal and social evolution. Thus, if in the nineties of the last century he was referred to as "transport architect" and more recently as "trade solution provider", today this professional figure must possess vision and skills allowing him to constantly redefine his own strategies and role, to face the multiple challenges of a constantly changing global market. We are then witness to the evolution of the traditional forwarder into a “freight forwarder 2.0”, more and more specialized, global and digital, capable of rationalizing the entire logistics chain by reducing costs but, at the same time, providing "tailor-made" services to its clientele worldwide. The purpose of this book is to understand which strategic vision, which distinctive elements and core competencies define an international forwarding company as a freight forwarder 2.0 model and how these characteristics can determine its success in a specific context, specifically the Portuguese one.