World Freight Partnership
The International Air & Shipping Association is the longest established organization of its kind in the world.
IASA was founded in 1971 by a group of enterprising freight forwarders who foresaw the need to establish an international network of independent forwarding agents. Our members are committed to cooperate in the handling of each other’s traffic, assuring our high quality standards and immediate two-way communication of shipment status and details.
Since its inception, IASA has grown into a global network of cargo agents in over 40 countries on all five continents. IASA members are independent freight forwarders in each country who have a common goal of service commitment.
Other similar associations do not restrict membership on a per country basis. Only one company can become an authorized IASA member in each country and then only after successfully undergoing the extensive selection process.
The only exceptions are in USA and China where necessarily, the membership has been divided into regions. This rule has allowed IASA to develop into a true worldwide partnership that, at the same time, offers strong local presence and global understanding of the international logistics and shipping needs of our many demanding clients.
BENEFIT
With IASA you can ship your goods to/from anywhere in the world, while doing business with people that know and understand your markets and speak your language.
IASA is a far larger organization than many of the well known multi-national freight forwarders, but without the constraints of a complex tiered management system.
Generally, in the case of multi-national companies, the poor performing office is a fixture and despite how many times you can complain to head office, little will change as branch offices are part of the global structure.
In the case of IASA, for any member that may have complaints/disputes lodged against them, a counseling service for is available via the Board of Directors. If any particular IASA member is not performing to expectations, or if a genuine dispute arises they can be counseled by the Board of Directors and if deemed necessary, replaced with another member that will correctly service clients and work with partner agents internationally.
As implied in the name, the original emphasis was on airfreight, but nowadays your IASA forwarder will advise and arrange alternative modes of transport if that is in your best interest, by air, sea, rail or road.