Prepare quotation
Content consultation
Signatory organization
Supply contract
Performance payment
Mode inventory
Packaging gap
Transportation settlement
Mode accounting
The main tasks to be completed at this stage are: market research and making plans.
market research
Market research to obtain all kinds of information related to trade. By analyzing the information, we can get the characteristics of the international market, judge the feasibility of trade, and make a trade plan accordingly.
The scope and contents of market research include: economic research; Market research; Customer research.
1, economic research
The purpose of economic research is to understand the overall economic situation, productivity development level, industrial structure characteristics, national macroeconomic policies, monetary system, economic laws and treaties, consumption level and basic characteristics of a country or region. In short, it is to have an overall understanding of the economic environment and estimate the possible risks and benefits. Foreign trade should always be carried out with countries and regions with good overall environment as far as possible.
2. Market research
Market research is mainly aimed at a specific selected commodity, investigating its market supply and demand, domestic production capacity, production technology level and cost, product performance, characteristics, consumption class and consumption peak period, the stage of the product in its life cycle, the degree of competition and monopoly in the product market, etc. The purpose is to determine whether commodity trading is feasible and beneficial.
3. Customer research
Customer research is to understand the basic situation of foreign manufacturers who want to establish trade relations with them. Including its history, capital scale, business scope, organization and credit rating, as well as the history and present situation of foreign economic and trade relations with other customers in the world and with customers in China. Only when you have a certain understanding of foreign manufacturers can you establish foreign trade relations with them. In China's actual foreign trade work, there are often incidents of rashly conducting foreign trade transactions with each other because they are not clear about each other's situation, causing heavy losses. Therefore, before the transaction negotiation, we must have a full grasp of the funds and reputation of foreign customers, and we must not rush to seek success.
The main sources of research information are: (1) general data, such as national economic summary data and data published by a country, including gross national product, balance of payments, total foreign trade, inflation rate, unemployment rate, etc. (2) Comprehensive publications at home and abroad. (3) Entrust a foreign consulting company to conduct market research. (4) Collect data abroad through overseas branches of China Foreign Trade Company and business counselor Office. (5) Take advantage of trade fairs, various fairs and opportunities for customers to do business in China to get relevant information. (6) Send special export delegations and sales teams to directly conduct international market research and obtain first-hand information.
(2) Make plans
Planning means that the relevant import and export companies make business planning arrangements for the export commodities they operate according to national policies and decrees. It is the premise of the smooth progress of the transaction in a planned and purposeful way. A business plan for export commodities generally includes the following contents:
1, domestic supply
Such as production place, main sales place and main consumption place; Characteristics, quality, specifications, packaging, price, output and inventory of commodities.
2. Foreign market situation
Such as market capacity, production, consumption and trade, transactions in major import and export countries, possible future development trends, requirements for the quality, specifications, packaging, performance and price of goods, and basic practices and sales channels for operating the goods in foreign markets.
3. Determine the export area and customers.
On the basis of the first step of market research and information analysis, select the most favorable export areas and partners.
4. Operation history
For example, as of 20 1 1, the position of China's export commodities in the international market, the main sales areas and sales situation, the main competitors, and the main experiences and lessons in operating such commodities.
5. Business plan arrangement and measures implementation
Such as sales volume and amount, growth rate, adopted trade mode, payment method, settlement method, sales channel, transportation mode, etc. In international trade, the inquiry and quotation of products are generally the beginning of trade. Among them, the quotation of export products mainly includes: product quality grade, product specification and model, whether the product has special packaging requirements, quantity of purchased products, delivery time requirements, product transportation mode, product material and so on.
Commonly used quotations include: FOB, CNF, CIF, insurance and freight, etc. advertisement
The ways of advertising are: publishing commercial advertisements in newspapers and magazines; Disseminating information through radio and television; Hold special trade fairs; By giving away samples, consumers can directly and quickly understand their products; Send a special sales team to China for direct publicity activities. Advertising should be carried out in flexible and diverse ways according to the characteristics of different commodities and different market habits.
Advertising should not only be novel, targeted and attractive, but also stimulate the impulse of potential consumers to buy, especially pay attention to the authenticity of advertising. You can't cheat consumers through false advertisements. It can only be said that it is a short-sighted behavior, which is not worth the loss. At the same time, in advertising, we should pay attention to economy, skillfully choose the way of publicity, and carefully design the advertising content to obtain the widest publicity effect with the least investment.
Doing a good job in external advertising of export commodities is an important means to make commodities enter the market smoothly and expand sales.
(2) Transaction negotiation
The main process of transaction negotiation is: establishing business relationship; Inquiry; Offer; Counteroffer and acceptance.
1,. Establish business relations.
2. Inquiry, also known as inquiry, refers to the process that one party to a transaction sends an oral or written inquiry about the terms of the transaction to the other party in order to buy or sell a certain commodity. Its content can be complicated and simple, and you can only ask about the price or other related transactions.
The inquiry is not binding on both the buyer and the seller, and the party who accepts the inquiry can reply or not. However, as the starting point of business negotiation, according to business practice, the party receiving the inquiry should give an immediate reply.
(1) Buyer's inquiry
It is a letter and telegram sent by the buyer to foreign manufacturers on his own initiative to inquire about the required goods. In actual business, the inquiry is usually sent by the buyer to the seller. The buyer's enquiry is as follows:
The buyer should pay attention to the following issues in the inquiry process:
For most bulk commodities, we should make inquiries from different regions, countries and manufacturers at the same time to understand the international market and strive for the best terms of trade.
(2) For commodities with complex specifications or various items, not only the price should be asked, but also the detailed specifications and quantities should be informed to avoid back-and-forth negotiations and waste of time.
Although the inquiry is not legally binding on the sender, we should try our best to avoid the practice of making an inquiry without sincere purchase, otherwise it will easily lose credibility.
(4) For goods with strong monopoly, we should put forward more varieties and let the other party quote one by one in case the other party takes the opportunity to raise prices.
(2) the seller's inquiry
This is a letter and telegram sent by the seller to the buyer for purchasing advice.
Sellers make inquiries from foreign customers, mostly in order to find out the actual market situation, choose trading opportunities and actively seek favorable trading conditions when the market is turbulent and the relationship between supply and demand is abnormal.
Step 3 provide
An offer, also known as an offer, refers to an oral or written expression that one party to a transaction puts forward certain trading conditions to the other party and expresses his willingness to conclude a transaction and sign a contract for the sale of goods according to the proposed trading conditions.
The offeror can be a buyer or a seller. Offer can be divided into firm offer and virtual offer. The former is binding and the latter is not. Details will be introduced in the first section of Chapter 4.
Step 4 counter-offer
Counter-offer, also known as counter-offer, is an expression that the offeree disagrees or completely agrees with the contents or conditions in the offer and puts forward his own modification opinions or conditions. Any change in the counter-offer means rejecting the original offer.
Counter-offer can only be made by the offeree within the validity period of the original offer, and no one else has the right to make a counter-offer. The offeror should carefully analyze the offeree's counter-offer, find out the substantial changes and the real intention of the other party, and make corresponding answers.
If the original offeror makes new changes to the contents and conditions of the counter-offer, it becomes a new offer, and sometimes it constitutes a new offer. The establishment of a transaction often goes through the process of repeated counter-offer and counter-offer.
Step 5 accept
Acceptance refers to the oral or written expression that the offeree unconditionally agrees to all the contents of the offer and is willing to sign the contract within the validity period of the offer.
Acceptance can be expressed by the buyer or the seller, but it must be the legal offeree and the acceptance must reach the offeror within the validity period of the offer. The expression of acceptance must be clear.
(3) Order (signature)
The conclusion of the contract is the final written confirmation of the agreement reached by both parties in the early negotiation process and the accepted trading conditions. A contract has legal effect, and once it is concluded, subsequent trade activities should be consistent with the terms of the contract.
Although the firm offer is binding on both parties, it should still be confirmed by contract. China's Foreign Economic Contract Law stipulates that the parties reach an agreement in writing and sign it, and the contract is established. If an agreement is reached by letter, telegram or telex, and one party requests to sign a confirmation letter, the contract will not be established until the confirmation letter is signed.
After the two parties to the transaction reach an agreement on the quotation, the buyer's enterprise formally places an order and negotiates with the seller's enterprise on some related matters. After both parties agree, they need to sign a purchase contract. In the process of signing the purchase contract, we mainly discuss the commodity name, specification, quantity, price, packaging, place of origin, date of shipment, payment terms, settlement method, claim and arbitration, and write the agreement reached after negotiation into the purchase contract. This marks the official start of export business. Usually, the purchase contract is signed in duplicate, and it takes effect after both parties affix the official seal of our company, and each party holds one copy. The main work at this stage is to organize production or acquisition, allocation, transportation, storage and custody according to the commodities and trading conditions stipulated in the contract.
(1) production or acquisition
For individual exporters, production should be organized immediately after signing the contract. The quality, performance, packaging, specifications and appearance of the products are required to be consistent with the terms of the contract. It is necessary to ensure the timely supply of raw materials and intermediate products and timely delivery.
For the agency export business, the exporter should do a good job of domestic acquisition and allocation after concluding the contract. There are two ways of acquisition: commercial supply and direct supply of foreign trade.
(2) Transportation
It is to transport organized export goods to selected export destinations. Such as ports, stations and airports. In the process of transportation, it is necessary to arrange the flow direction reasonably and choose the most convenient and time-saving transportation path from the place of origin to the place of export.
(3) storage and custody
When the goods arrive at the place of export and cannot be shipped immediately, they should be properly kept. The storage time should be shortened as much as possible, because the stored goods can't realize the value immediately, which is a kind of capital occupation, and at the same time, the storage cost should be paid, which is a double loss. Therefore, we should get in touch with foreign transportation companies in time so that the goods can be shipped and exported as soon as possible. (a) to perform the contract
The main contents of performance can be summarized by goods, certificates, ships and funds.
1, commodity
Refers to the preparation of goods to be shipped according to the contract requirements, which has been basically completed in the stage of organizing supply.
2. Certificate
The main ways of international trade settlement are collection, telegraphic transfer and letter of credit. The letter of credit is the most popular, up to 20 1 1, and the first two methods are rarely used again. The letter of credit mentioned here refers to the letter of credit. Activities related to letters of credit include:
(1) Reminder: The seller urges the buyer to open a letter of credit as soon as possible and send it to the seller through the issuing bank and the negotiating bank. Non-performance events often occur in foreign trade. Only when the letter of credit is obtained can the transaction be basically successful and the seller can receive the payment.
(2) Verification: The relevant contents of the letter of credit must be completely consistent with the terms of the contract, that is, the so-called letter of credit consistency. Because when negotiating, the bank only pays according to the contents of the letter of credit, regardless of the terms of the contract. The seller shall ensure that the letter of credit is consistent with the letter of credit, so as to prevent the buyer from losing money by changing the trading conditions stipulated in the contract through the letter of credit.
(3) Amendment: When the letter of credit is found to be inconsistent with the contract, the seller shall promptly request the buyer to amend the letter of credit as stipulated in the contract.
(4) Exhibition of L/C: The requirement of exhibition of L/C was put forward by the buyer when the L/C was amended. To avoid delaying default.
Step 3 ship
The modes of international trade and transportation include sea, land and air. Mainly by sea. Ship refers to the transportation and customs declaration process of goods.
First, charter a ship to book a space, then ship it, and finally arrive at the destination for customs declaration.
International trade transportation takes a long time, takes a long time and is risky, so it must be insured.
4. Paragraph
Refers to the process of making documents and settling foreign exchange. The main documents for settlement of foreign exchange with international trade documents are: cargo documents centered on invoices, transport documents centered on bills of lading and insurance documents centered on insurance policies. The contents of each set of documents should be consistent, that is, only consistent, and should be consistent with the contents of the letter of credit, that is, the documents should be consistent. When the bank settles foreign exchange, no matter what the actual situation of the goods is, as long as the documents are consistent, the payment will be made (this is one of the main characteristics of letter of credit settlement).
(2) Handling disputes
There are generally three ways to resolve disputes:
1, friendly negotiation
2. Arbitration
The arbitration result is that no one has the right to change it and must implement it. Generally speaking, there are clauses about the place and method of arbitration in the contract.
3. Judicial proceedings
Judicial proceedings are mainly used to deal with cases that do not need arbitration. Because the litigation time of foreign trade disputes is too long (generally more than two years), and products are not allowed to enter the country's market during the litigation period, foreign trade disputes are generally not resolved in this way, and arbitration law is generally adopted. There are three commonly used payment methods in the world, namely, letter of credit payment, TT payment and direct payment.
1. Payment by letter of credit
Letters of credit are divided into clean letters of credit and documentary letters of credit. Documentary letter of credit refers to a letter of credit with specified documents, and a letter of credit without any documents is called a clean letter of credit. Simply put, a letter of credit is a guarantee document to ensure that the exporter can recover the payment. Please note that the shipment period of export goods should be within the validity period of the letter of credit, and the period of presentation in the letter of credit must be later than the validity period of the letter of credit.
In international trade, the letter of credit is the mode of payment, and the opening date of the letter of credit should be clear, definite and complete. Several domestic state-owned commercial banks, such as Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank, can open letters of credit (the handling fee of these big banks is 65,438+0.5‰ of the amount issued).
2.TT payment method
TT payment is settled in foreign exchange cash. Your customer will remit the money to the foreign exchange bank account designated by your company, and you can ask for remittance within a certain period after the goods arrive.
3. Direct payment method
Refers to direct delivery payment between the buyer and the seller. Socks:
Stocking plays an important role in the whole trade process and must be carried out in accordance with the contract item by item. The main contents of inventory inspection are as follows:
1. The quality and specifications of the goods shall be verified according to the requirements of the contract.
2. Quantity of goods: guarantee to meet the requirements of the contract or letter of credit for quantity.
3. Preparation time: According to the provisions of the letter of credit, combined with the shipping date, it is convenient for the connection between the ship and the goods.
Packaging:
You can choose the packing form (such as cartons, wooden cases, woven bags, etc.). ) according to the different commodities. Different packaging forms have different packaging requirements.
1. General standard for export packaging: packaging shall be carried out according to the general standard for trade export.
2. Special export packaging standards: export goods are packaged according to the special requirements of customers.
3. Packaging and marks (marks and numbers) of the goods: they should be carefully checked and verified to make them conform to the provisions of the letter of credit. Customs clearance procedures:
Customs clearance procedures are extremely cumbersome and important. If you can't clear the customs smoothly, you can't complete the transaction.
1. Export commodities subject to statutory inspection shall be subject to export commodity inspection certificate.
In 2005, China's import and export commodity inspection mainly included four links:
(1) Acceptance of inspection: inspection application means that foreign trade applies to the commodity inspection authorities for inspection.
(2) Sampling: After accepting the application for inspection, the commodity inspection authorities will promptly send personnel to the goods storage site for on-site inspection and appraisal.
(3) Inspection: After inspection, the commodity inspection authorities will carefully study the declared inspection items and determine the inspection contents. And carefully review the terms of quality, specifications and packaging in the contract (letter of credit), find out the inspection basis and determine the inspection standards and methods. (Inspection methods include sampling inspection and instrument analysis inspection; Physical examination; Sensory test; Microbiological examination, etc. )
(4) Issuance of certificates: In terms of export, all export commodities listed in the category list will be issued with a release form after passing the inspection by the commodity inspection authorities (or a release stamp will be affixed to the customs declaration form of export goods to replace the release form).
2. The professional holder of the customs declaration certificate shall go through the customs declaration formalities with the text of box list, invoice, declaration power of attorney, export settlement verification form, copy of export goods contract, export commodity inspection certificate, etc.
(1) Packing list is the packing details of export products provided by exporters.
(2) The invoice is the export product certificate provided by the exporter.
(3) The Power of Attorney for Customs Declaration is a certificate that a unit or individual without customs declaration ability entrusts a customs declaration agent to declare customs.
(4) The export verification form is applied by the exporting unit to the foreign exchange bureau, which refers to the certificate that the unit with export ability obtains the export tax refund.
(5) The commodity inspection certificate is obtained after passing the inspection by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department or its designated inspection agency, and it is the general name of inspection certificates, appraisal certificates and other certificates of various import and export commodities. It is an effective certificate with legal basis for all parties concerned in foreign trade to fulfill their contractual obligations, handle claims disputes, negotiate arbitration and provide evidence in litigation. It is also a necessary proof of customs clearance, tariff collection and tariff reduction and exemption.
Shipment:
In the process of loading the goods, the loading mode can be determined according to the quantity of the goods, and the insurance can be insured according to the types of insurance stipulated in the purchase contract. Optional:
1, independent container
Type of container (also called container):
(1) According to specifications and dimensions: By 2009, the commonly used dry containers in the world are:
The external dimension is 20 feet× 8 feet× 6 inches, which is referred to as 20 feet container for short; Referred to as a 40-foot ×8-foot ×6-inch container; And the 40-foot by 8-foot by 9-foot by 6-inch cabinets widely used in 2009.
20-foot cabinet: the internal volume is 5.69mx2.13mx2.18m, the gross weight of delivery is17.5t, and the volume is 24-26m3.
40-foot container: the internal volume is11.8mx2.13mx2.18m, and the gross weight of distribution is generally 22 tons and the volume is 54 cubic meters.
40-foot-high cabinet: the internal volume is11.8mx2.13mx2.72m, and the gross delivery weight is generally 22 tons and the volume is 68 cubic meters.
45-foot-high container: the internal volume is:13.58m x 2.34m x 2.71m, the gross weight of distribution is generally 29 tons, and the volume is 86 cubic meters.
20-foot open-top cabinet: the internal volume is 5.89 m X2.32 m X2.3 1 m, the gross delivery weight is 20 tons, and the volume is 3 1.5 cubic meters.
40-foot open-top cabinet: internal volume12.01m x 2.33 m x 2.15 m, distribution gross weight of 30.4 tons, volume of 65 cubic meters.
20-foot flat-bottomed container: the internal volume is 5.85 m X2.23 m X2. 15 m, the stowage gross weight is 23 tons, and the volume is 28 cubic meters.
40-foot flat-bottomed container: the internal area is12.05 m x 2.12 m x10.96 m, with a gross weight of 36t and a volume of 50m3.
(2) According to the box-making materials, there are aluminum alloy containers, steel plate containers, fiberboard containers and FRP containers.
(3) According to the use, there are dry goods containers, refrigerated containers, clothes rack containers, open-top containers, flat-frame containers and tank containers.
Step 2 assemble the container
When assembling containers, freight is generally calculated according to the volume and weight of exported goods.
Transportation insurance:
Usually, when signing the purchase contract, both parties have already agreed on transportation insurance in advance. Common insurances include marine cargo transportation insurance, land transportation insurance and air postal cargo transportation insurance. Among them, the risks covered by marine cargo insurance clauses are divided into basic risks and additional risks:
There are three basic risks: F.P.A., W.P.A. or W.P.A. and All Risks. The coverage of FPA includes: total loss of goods caused by natural disasters at sea; Total loss of goods during loading, unloading and transshipment; Sacrifice, contribution and salvage expenses in general average; Total loss and partial loss of goods caused by collision, collision, flood and explosion of transport ships. W. p. a. insurance is one of the basic risks of marine insurance. According to the insurance clauses of People's Insurance Company of China, its liability scope includes not only the risks listed in FPA, but also the risks of natural disasters such as bad weather, thunder and lightning, tsunami and flood. The coverage of all risks is equivalent to the sum of W.P.A. and general additional risks.
(2) Additional risks. There are two kinds of additional risks: general additional risks and special additional risks. General additional risks include theft, tpnd, fresh water rain, theft, leakage, breakage, hook damage, mixed pollution, package breakage, mildew, damp heat and peculiar smell. Special additional risks include war risks and strike risks.
Bill of lading:
The bill of lading is a document signed by the shipping company for the importer to pick up the goods and settle the foreign exchange after the exporter goes through the formalities of export declaration and customs clearance.
The signed bill of lading is issued according to the number of copies required by the letter of credit, usually three copies. The exporter keeps two copies for tax refund and other businesses, and one copy is sent to the importer for delivery and other procedures.
When the goods are shipped by sea, the importer must take delivery with the original bill of lading, packing list and invoice. The exporter shall send the original bill of lading, packing list and invoice to the importer. )
If the goods are transported by air, you can directly fax the bill of lading, packing list and invoice to pick up the goods. After the export goods are loaded, the import and export company shall correctly prepare documents (such as packing list, invoice, bill of lading, export certificate of origin, export settlement, etc.) in accordance with the provisions of the letter of credit. Submit to the bank for negotiation and settlement of foreign exchange within the validity period of presentation stipulated in the letter of credit.
In addition to the settlement of foreign exchange by letter of credit, other payment and remittance methods generally include telegraphic transfer, sight draft and letter transfer. Due to the rapid development of electronicization, by 2009, remittance will be mainly conducted by telegraphic transfer. In China, enterprises enjoy preferential export tax rebate policy. This stage is often ignored by foreign trade enterprises and is an important factor for the sustained and stable development of foreign trade.
Accounting benefit refers to measuring the ratio of input to output. Input is the sum of export commodity cost and trade-related direct cost; Output refers to export foreign exchange income. The main index of accounting benefit is input-output ratio; Profit and loss of export commodities; Exchange cost, exchange rate creation, etc. Export trade should not only pursue the absolute growth of export quantity and amount, but also strive to improve economic benefits, so that export development has positive significance. Lossy export trade is not conducive to economic development.
Summarizing the gains and losses should include summing up the experience in all stages of the whole trade process, so as to be more skilled and confident in future trade.