Is this your first attempt at importing from China, other Far East countries, Eastern Europe, or other "low-cost" country? First, let me wish you great success! But as you probably know by now, great success is usually a result of good planning.

I have received a number of inquiries from companies regarding the logistics aspect of overseas sourcing and wanted to share a few ideas with you.

General starting points include the following two basics:

- While English may well be the language of international business, we all use different versions of English. Don't assume YOUR use of the English language is the one EVERYONE uses. You and your suppliers may use quite different terminology for the same practices. In some countries a verbal "Yes" is merely used to say, "I hear what you are saying".

- Follow-up all meetings, conversations, etc, in writing. The written word is more powerful and translates best.

Now for some first steps to effectively organize your international logistics and import procedures:

- Create common frames of reference and enable effective communication. Involving partners early on will mean more areas for more success

- Define your processes and develop Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs to control and support successful execution

- Communicate all SOP's to all parties and obtain agreements. Your suppliers should understand your procedures with your forwarders, and your forwarders should understand your procedures with your customs broker, etc

- Educate and train your suppliers in your requirements and Vendor Compliance SOPs

When selecting "a good freight forwarder", the following is of utmost importance: What are your requirements? Specific answers depend on knowing more specific details. Will you have many "one-time" shipments or more of a repetitive business with each shipper? How much product is being shipped at one time, or if repetitive, in each shipment? If repetitive, how often are shipments made? The answers to these questions also determine if you want to use a freight forwarder or negotiate directly with ocean or air carriers. This information also gives you the basis for your "Selection Criteria". I typically use 8 - 20 key requirements to narrow the field, for example:

- Geographical Coverage - that is, local support at origin and local support at destination
- Customer / Carrier / Vendor communication capabilities and procedures
- Shipment tracking capabilities and issue notification procedures

Important considerations for your local distribution are many and varied. Will you ship to a major or "gateway" port and then truck to multiple distribution centers? Or will it all go to one DC? If you are planning on moving the containers intact to an inland DC, some difficulty may arise depending on the ocean carrier, and rail charges can be quite high. A freight forwarder or the customs broker can often manage the container delivery trucking to and from the port much better than a carrier (if the carrier even would). Otherwise you must arrange for the trucking.

Choice of your customs brokers would possibly depend on your choice of routing. The delay at customs will depend on the accuracy and completeness of your vendors' documents, as well as the efficiency of the selected broker.

Import duty and tax is dependent on the actual commodity classification based on the International Tariff Code and the specific percentage of duty / tax levied by Customs. Country of origin would not be THE determining factor although it COULD play a role. It is important for you to first determine the correct tariff classification for your product.

Plan for success! Poor planning in the beginning can result in much headache and unnecessary expense. Great success will follow your good planning.

Ray McGuire Consulting Group provides direction, tools and training to help you quickly and successfully execute international and domestic logistics, inventory management, agent/supplier relationships, safety, social and governmental compliance or security programs. Increasing speed-to-market while reducing costs.

We will be happy to work with you to setup your new project, or to audit or review your current process for possible improvement. Contact us today at inquiry@raymcguire.com for more information.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_McGuire

As the globalization levels rise the word grows smaller and to succeed in the business world we must conduct business with all sorts of people with different national origin. Business traditions for every nation differ, so to succeed you must understand your prospective partner and also acknowledge his or her traditions.

Germany has the most powerful economy in Western Europe and as such can be a valuable trade partner. So let's take a quick look at German business etiquette and review the basic principles.

German businessman is considered to be very conservative, usually wearing dark business suits. The same applies to women. When ever attending a business meeting, never have a chewing gum in your mouth, it is considered extremely impolite. Well probably the most popular stereotype of Germans is the punctuality and in most cases it is completely true because lets face it, who actually likes to waste their time? German businessman does not like any surprise which is actually true fore any serious businessman. At the beginning of a business meeting it is very important to shake hands with every participant. When greeting each other Germans like to use the surname together with the title ''Herr''

Well the official language in Germany is of course German, but in the business world English is widely used as it is in general quite similar to German and thus quite easy to learn. Some of the meetings might take place in a restaurant, so you can be quite sure that alcohol will be involved. Germans prefer beer and usually have a higher threshold than other nationalities. During a dinner 2 litres of beer is quite common so keep that in mind and try to pace yourself because public drunkenness is considered unacceptable. In general Germans try to keep their private lives very secluded so usually business deals are made in an office or in a public place, like a restaurant.

In general German businessman is efficient, respectful and reliable and conducting business with a German can be quite easy and satisfying. Is a German businessman the perfect trade partner? Who am I to decide that? Of course there are some dishonest German businessmen in the world who will try to scam you every possible way. But show me the perfect nationality. When conducting business you always have to be careful no matter to what nationality your business partner belongs.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_E._Brock

Many business women/men are dreaming about selling their products or services to China. Is it really possible, even for small business owner to succeed in the Chinese market? YES it is!

If you start on your own, you need to work very hard for 3-4 years, to achieve success in China export business. But according my experience, if you follow these easy 10 steps, you may shorten this time to 1 year.

1. You must have a website with informative content about your product and company. My advice: add a Chinese language option. Most business owners in China don't speak English.
2. Advertise on Chinese business directories. Much more powerful, if the ad is in Chinese.
3. Find possible buyers from search engines and contact them via e-mail. Introduce yourself, your business and your company. If possible in Chinese language additional.
4. After you found some possible buyers, you should build relations with the owners, general or import managers of these companies.
5. Exchange samples to understand the buyers real needs.
6. If you participate on any international trade fair, you should inform and invite your possible Chinese buyers. Even you think they will not visit your booth, but they will see that you are in international business and this will make them more confident about your products or services.
7. You should participate at least at 1 big international Chinese trade fair, which is popular for products or services, like yours.
8. You should visit each possible buyer. Calculate at least 1 day for each company. In China, usually the business decisions made during dinner.
9. If you don't speak Chinese, you should arrange a tutor with good translation skills for these meetings.
10. Promise them, that you will seriously consider, having a representative office in China and they don't need to worry about the after sales service.

The above 10 steps are to ease your way, to successful business with China. Of course it needs some investments and efforts to achieve success in China. But what is for free today? If you need more free information, you might visit my blog or our company website. Don't hesitate to contact me for professional assistance in China.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remo_Ardali