Cargo booking procedures. After you have verbally agreed that you will take the commodity for transportation and have received all the necessary documents from the broker, you should proceed the booking procedure. This involves filling out a large number of contracts in other documents, especially if this is your first experience of working with a brokerage company.

First, you must complete the carrier or vendor setup package which will later be sent by email or fax. Secondly, it is important to provide clear information about your business using the above-mentioned package, which includes carrier authority issued by the US DOT FMCA. Certificate of liability insurance, several references, completed form W-9. All documents should be sent to the brokerage firm along with a carrier vendor setup package. In the last document, there are several pages that you have to fill out yourself as well as a contract made with you as a transporting company and the broker.

Also, there is a blinding authority of a brokerage company indicated in the carrier vendor setup package. Broker license granted by the Federal Highway Administration, surety bond certificate or guarantor certificate, empty Form W-9. Even if you cooperate with shippers or carriers for a long time and you have established solid business relations, it is recommended to check their creditworthiness once every two or three months. This is the only proven way to ensure the solvency and financial stability of the company.

Transport and logistics are capital intensive and financial position of companies changes very often. If you do not regularly check the information about the financial condition of the company, there is a risk of being left without a profit. To check the financial health of the company you can use the six-digit motor carrier identification code. If firms have been working for a long time, the code consists of three digits like 1XX or 2XX for example, 102715 or 210630. Even MC, the first three digits are in the range from 600 to 799. For example, 655249, then, the company most likely are new in the market and have not yet earned a credit rating.