Apply to join Cargo Partners Network

What CPN is looking for

An established, independent freight forwarder with its own customers, its own staff and the financial standing to settle with the agents it trades with. Members work each other’s cargo on trust, so an application is judged on whether the rest of the network would be comfortable handing you a shipment.

• Independent. Not a branch of a multi-national, though a subsidiary is asked to say so.
• Insured. Errors, Omissions and Liability cover is a condition of membership, not a preference.
• Verifiable. Registration papers, recent certified accounts, a bank reference and three agents in Europe and the USA who already know you.

One forwarder per country

CPN appoints a single member in each country, so that a member sending cargo somewhere knows exactly who receives it. That means your market may already be taken, and a strong application from a closed country can still be declined for no fault of its own.

It is worth applying anyway: the board keeps applications on file, and countries do come open. Tell us which country you are applying for on the first screen.

What must come with your application

Six things, and the form is plain about them: no application will be considered if these documents are not received, and incomplete application forms will be rejected. The online form asks for each one and will not let you submit without it, which is kinder than being turned away weeks later.

1. Company brochures. Anything that describes what you do. One file; combine several into a single PDF if you need to.
2. Company registration. Stamped by the registrar.
3. Financial statements. Your most recent, certified by a chartered accountant.
4. Bank reference letter. On the bank’s letterhead, relevant to your corporate accounts.
5. Errors and Omissions insurance. The certificate or the schedule showing the cover is in force.
6. Your company billing address. Where the membership invoice should be sent, if you are approved.

What membership costs

Annual membership

USD 1,400Charged yearly, due on receipt of the invoice.

Trust Fund contribution

USD 3,000A one-off total, paid USD 1,000 in the first year and then USD 500 a year until it is complete.

How the decision is made

The board decides. Applications are reviewed by the CPN board of directors, not by the office, and there is no automatic acceptance. You are notified in writing either way.

If you are approved, an invoice follows for the annual membership fee and the Trust Fund contribution. Membership is not effective until those payments are received. Your company is added to the membership directory, and given access to the website, at that point and not before.

Board decisions are taken at the board’s own pace rather than on a published timetable, so we will not promise you a date. If you have heard nothing three weeks after applying, write to admin@cargopartnersnetwork.com and the office will tell you where it stands.

Coming to a conference as a guest?

Non-members are sometimes invited to a conference by the office or by a member. A guest gets a limited login for that conference: registration, one-to-one meetings with member companies, and messages with the people they meet. Guests do not see the member directory.

Apply to attend as a guest

Ready

Have the six items to hand before you start. The online form keeps your answers as you go, and nothing is sent to CPN until you certify and submit on the last screen.

Start an application