Firm specializing in arranging storage and shipping of merchandise on behalf of its shippers. It usually provides a full range of services including: tracking inland transportation, preparation of shipping and export documents, warehousing, BOOKING cargo space, negotiating freight charges, freight consolidation, cargo insurance, and filing of insurance claims. Freight forwarders usually ship under their own bills of lading or air waybills (called house bill of lading or house air waybill) and their agents or associates at the destination (overseas freight forwarders) provide document delivery, deconsolidation, and freight collection services. Also called forwarder.
That definition is a little wordy and sounds complicated, so let's just do a basic definition as follows:
A freight forwarder is a company that arranges your importing and exporting of goods.
So what does that actually mean in terms of what a freight forwarder does?