THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH ——(((((—— INTERNSHIP REPORT Company LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY Supervisor Nguyễn Thu Trang Student Trần Thị Ngọc Ánh Student co[.]
THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH ———— INTERNSHIP REPORT Company: LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY Supervisor : Nguyễn Thu Trang Student : Trần Thị Ngọc Ánh Student code : 19D170285 Class : K55N5 Hanoi, 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .ii LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS AND IMAGES iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .iv INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information and development of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company 1.1.1 General introduction 1.1.2 History of establishment and development 1.1.3 Vision, mission and core values .3 1.1.4 Products and services .4 1.1.5 Organizational structure 1.2 Information of the internship department: Import and Export Department .6 CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS IN LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 2.2 Difficulties and lessons during the internship time 11 2.2.1 Difficulties 11 2.2.2 Lessons 13 CHAPTER 3: CURRENT SITUATION OF USING ENGLISH IN LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS., JSC 14 3.1 The reality of using English at Lacco .14 3.2 Solutions to improve English skill for Lacco 14 CONCLUSION .17 REFERENCES I i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly, I would like to send my deepest gratitude to people who have contributed to making this internship for the past four weeks such a memorable experience of my life Though this internship is still short, I have perceived and drawn a lot of lessons for myself To complete this internship report, I would like to send my deepest thanks to Ms Trang, who has guided and helped me complete this internship report I would also like to express my gratitude to the leadership of the Thuongmai University and the teachers in the Faculty of English for giving me the opportunity to practice at my favorite businessand, and to apply the knowledge that the teachers have taught Besides, I must be thankful to the leadership and staff of Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company for creating favorable conditions for me to learn practically during the internship process at the company Finally, I would like to thank the import and export department for helping me provide the actual data to successfully complete this report In addition, they shared practical experiences and useful skills such as communication skills, teamwork skills, which are essential for my work later Therefore, I feel very fortunate when I had the opportunity to be a part of the company Because my knowledge is still limited, in the process of practicing and completing this report, I am not immune to errors, I hope to receive comments and suggestions from my teachers as well as the company Sincerely, Ha Noi, August 1, 2022 Student Anh Tran Thi Ngoc Anh ii LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS AND IMAGES No Tables, Diagrams and Images Page Image 1.1 LOGO of Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company Diagram 1.1 Organizational structure of Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Terms JSC NVOCC C/O Certificate of Origin CFS Container Freight Station Địa điểm thu gom hàng lẻ CIC Container Imbalance Charge Phí cân container B/L Bill of Lading Vận đơn đường biển ETD Estimated Time of Departure Thời gian khởi hành dự kiến HS code Harmonized System Code Mã số hàng hoá TOEIC Test of English for Bài kiểm tra tiếng Anh giao 10 IELTS English Meanings Vietnamese Meanings Joint Stock Company Công ty cổ phần Non-Vessel Operating Nhà vận tải đường biển Common Carrier không sở hữu tàu Giấy chứng nhận xuất sứ hàng hóa International Communication tiếp quốc tế Hệ thống Kiểm tra Anh ngữ International English Language Testing System iv Quốc tế với kĩ năng: Nghe, Nói, Đọc, Viết INTRODUCTION In recent years, Vietnam's economy has been integrating more and more deeply with the world economy When competition is getting fiercer, work results are always the top concern of business owners Therefore, the requirement for employees is to always work continuously, accurately and efficiently For every student who is preparing to enter the labor market, an internship to apply the knowledge learned in the job before graduation is extremely necessary It not only helps students initially get acquainted with the real working environment but also creates opportunities to practice and apply the knowledge they have learned to get an overview of the functions, tasks, production organizational structure and working environment of an enterprise That is also the purpose that the board of directors of the Faculty of English, Thuongmai University set for the internship for 4th year students majoring in Business English Realizing the meaning of this internship, I have chosen to intern as a documentation staff in the import and export department at Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company - a profession directly related to Business English major and suitable for my future career orientation to learn and foster knowledge CHAPTER 1: A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information and development of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company 1.1.1 General introduction Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company was established in 2008 It is known as one of the major logistics companies in Vietnam The company’s goal is to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese companies in the transportation of goods and bring their brands to the international level Lacco has a head office in Hanoi, branches in Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang and representative offices in Lang Son, Da Nang Lacco always makes constant efforts to develop its network and conquer customers with prestige, trust with the most enthusiastic and professional attitude ● Original name: Công ty TNHH Giao nhận Vận tải Quốc tế ● Foreign name: Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company ● Abbreviation name: LIFF., JSC ● Logo: Image 1.1 LOGO of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company ● Legal Representative: Nguyễn Chiến Thắng ● Date active: 2012/07/24 ● Address: 5th Floor, Building 29 Ministry of Defense, 73 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City, Vietnam ● Tax code: 0105951958 ● Email: info@lacco.com.vn ● Wedsite: http://lacco.com.vn/ ● Phone / Fax: +84 906 23 55 99 ● Charter capital: 35,000,000,000 VND ● Company Type: Service Business, Transport Agent ● Economic type: Private 1.1.2 History of establishment and development - 17/10/2008: Established a company called International Freight Forwarding Limited Liability Company - 9/2009: Opened Lacco Branch Office and warehouse in Hai Phong - 24/07/2012: Rename “International Freight Forwarding Limited Liability Company” to “Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company” - 3/2013: Opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City - 4/2015: Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company is officially certified by the General Department of Customs, Ministry of Finance as a Customs agent according to Decision No 965/QD-TCHQ - 1/2020: Opened Branch Office in Noi Bai-Hanoi - 1/2021: Opened a representative office in Bac Giang 1.1.3 Vision, mission and core values ● Vision: Lacco always wants to become a leading private enterprise in Logistics services and is loved by customers, bringing the pride of Vietnam to the world with high-class service, professional and dedicated personnel, creating added value, contributing positively to the development of the community Motto: “Always accompany your success” ● Mission: For customers: Lacco’s mission is to provide customers with modern and comprehensive logistics solutions, provide services with outstanding quality, reasonable prices, meeting the maximum needs and legitimate interests of customers Lacco always upholds the spirit of cooperation and development and is committed to becoming a “Reliable Companion” For employees: Building a full, scientific, dynamic, professional and humane working environment; facilitating high incomes and equitable development opportunities for all employees Core values - Respect: Respecting for the government and the community; respect for customers and shareholders; respect for partners and employees - Reliability: Honesty brings trust in all relationships with colleagues, customers and partners This is one of Lacco’s top criteria - Teamwork: Understanding the value of teamwork always brings success Motivate, encourage, work together towards common goals - Occupational Safety: Providing a workplace that ensures safety for all stakeholders, neighborhoods and having responsibility for the community, environmentally friendly All potential risks can be prevented at each project 1.1.4 Products and services The Lacco’s service include: ● Shipping Currently, Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company is cooperating with leading international shipping lines such as MAERSK, ONE, HAPAG-LLOYD, CMA-CGM, EVERGREEN, YANG MING, MSC, KMTC, WANHAI, NAMSUNG, etc and connecting with a network of NVOCC agents worldwide Lacco’s international sea freight solution can provide customers with a wide choice of reliable, cost-optimal and time-optimized services to meet the needs of customers, ensuring a full range of services throughout with high quality in the shipping process ● Domestic transportation Inland transport is an important part of the logistics chain Aware of that, Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company always tries to improve the quality of domestic transport services to provide customers with the most effective transportation solution With the advantage of owning branches and representative offices at the ports and the main border gates, Lacco is ready to serve customers with the following services: - Transporting import and export goods by regular container trucks, dwarf container trucks or trucks from customer warehouses to Vietnamese ports and vice versa - Transporting full container goods and retail goods from warehouses to warehouses within the territory of Vietnam - Transporting goods in transit through the territory of Vietnam ● Air Freight With a network of leading prestigious partners, including major airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, China Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, Air France, Emirates Skycargo, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines , Lacco can flexibly transport and provide the earliest routes at the most optimal cost for customers ● Customs clearance Lacco has developed professional customs declaration solutions for customers, including: - Advising on Customs laws and regulations - Advising on tax exemption procedures - Supporting consulting, handling tax refund procedures - Personnel support service: Lacco's staff will work at the customer's office as a representative of the company with close, careful and detailed support, flexible according to all customer needs , and ensure confidentiality - Working directly with Customs: for important projects, if customers want to discuss directly with Customs officers about their problems, Lacco can arrange an official meeting between the parties ● Warehousing- Warehousing Services With an extensive warehouse system at many ports, Lacco can easily supply and meet the warehousing requirements for a variety of goods, from small shipments to large ones, from bulk cargo to heavy machinery Lacco's warehouse system is conveniently located with Hai Phong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh ports ● In addition to the strong services, Lacco now also provides a number of accompanying services as follows: - Export license application service for specialized items such as rice, chemicals, refrigerant gas, - Import license application service for items such as functional foods, milk, frozen fruits, frozen meat - Services for applying for export certificates such as certificates of origin of goods, phytosanitary certificates, animal quarantine certificates, fumigation certificates; synchronous inspection license application service 1.1.5 Organizational structure Administrative Council Board of Directors Departments Branches Human resources department Ha Noi Branch Accounting department Hai Phong Branch Sales department Ho Chi Minh Branch Sales support department Noi Bai Branch Import-export department Bac Giang Branch Diagram 1.1 Organizational structure of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company (Source: Human Resources Department) 1.2 Information of the internship department: Import and Export Department The import - export department plays an indispensable role in logistics enterprises such as Lacco This department has the main function of receiving documents from the sales support department to check and ask customers to repair when there are errors When having all the customer's documents, prepare a set of customs declaration documents and relevant dispatches, apply for a quarantine registration certificate, apply for an export certificate licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, declare the added value of import and export goods, communicate regularly with shipping lines via email to understand the transportation situation of shipments and notify the shipper In Lacco, the import-export department is in charge of doing the following tasks: - Contacting suppliers, customers, shipping lines to schedule transportation and arranging according to the progress of the work - Receiving import and export document requests for shipments from sales department transfers - Making import and export documents to help customers such as: Invoice, Packing list, C /O, Fumi, Phyto, all kinds of certification, licensing, quality inspection, etc to parallel with the operations staff to complete the fastest - Transmitting import and export customs declarations for shipments, then hand them over to operation staff for customs clearance at the branch - Making Bills, support Verified Gross Mass declaration, on Debit Note from the system to send the sales department, then the sales department sends the customer - Making pre-alert, declaring E-manifest - Monitoring and controlling the delivery schedule, solving problems arising when delivering and receiving goods and customs clearance CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS IN LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 2.1 Internship activities During this internship, I applied for the position of documentation staff in the import - export department of Lacco International Freight Forwarding Joint Stock Company I interned at the company for weeks (from July 18, 2022 to August 13, 2022) on Mondays (from 8h to 17h30), Wednesdays (from 8h to 17h30), Thursdays (from 8h to 17h30) and Saturday (from 8h to 12h) I can only work part-time because at this time I still have to study specialized courses at university At first, I felt quite anxious and disturbed I always ask myself the question of what I have to do, what to prepare for my internship to be the best This is also a completely new working environment for me and I have not had any experience at a company like Lacco However, after exchanging work with the manager in the department, I had a better understanding of the company and looked forward to working in a dynamic and professional environment like Lacco I feel satisfied with my internship because I have done the work I love Honestly, this is a good opportunity for me to practice in the English environment, interact and learn from experienced seniors In addition, you can not only develop your English skills but also develop the skills needed for an import-export executive During the internship, I was guided by Mr Hoang Van Phuong – a document staff He supported me throughout the internship and gave me the opportunity to experience many different tasks related to the import and export activities such as managing shipments and logistics, making an electronic customs declaration, translating documents, etc Thanks to that, I have had closer contact with practical operations and improved my specialized knowledge of import and export Here are the details of my internship at Lacco ● Week (from July 18, 2022 to July 23, 2022) In the first week, colleagues in the import and export department helped me get used to the working environment in the company On the first day, Mr Phuong helped me get to know all the staff in the department Besides, I also should know the position of each person in order to learn from them later Then, I learned about Lacco's general information such as the history of formation and development, the company's main services, achievements, vision and mission and functions of the company Specifically, Lacco is a forwarder company with an extensive network and is always ready to serve customers with prestige, trust with the most enthusiastic and professional attitude Mr Phuong also introduced me to the duties and functions of the Import – Export Department to understand more specifically what I would In addition, I also learned some company’s regulations such as punctuality, discipline, clothing and manners In the following days, I learned about the import and export process of goods It was important for me to know what the dossier for a shipment consisted of, distinguish between the house bill of lading and the master bill of lading, and learn how to use the scanner to scan some documents After that, I was instructed by Mr Phuong to declare the manifest for the goods and update them to the national portal: https://vnsw.gov.vn/ Mr Phuong showed me the notes when declaring the manifest correctly so as not to be reported errors At first I was quite confused and troubled because this was my first time doing this work However, with the enthusiastic help of my instructor and colleagues in the department, I finished my work Week (from July 25, 2022 to July 30, 2022) In week 2, I learned about some English terms in the import and export activity such as: air freight, sea freight, CFS, customs declaration, local charges, etc Then, I was assigned the task of translating commercial invoices, sales contracts, packing lists and email I had to translate them into English-Vietnamese bilingual language Then I submitted the translated documents to my supervisor for his examination and evaluation This is a difficult job requiring me to accurately translate specialized words and phrases After receiving feedback , I translated again and practiced more and more at home During the translation process, my mentor and colleagues helped me correct mistakes This helped my translation skills improve Over the next two days, the instructor helped me learn about the local charge of export and import goods Specifically, the export goods will have the following local charge fees: loading and unloading fees at the port, container cleaning fees, document fees, CIC After that, I continued to learn about some types of B/L such as: house bill (bill of lading issued by the shipper), master bill (bill of lading issued by the shipping line to the shipper or forwarder company), surrendered bill (bill of lading presented) and seaway bill After that, I must read the 2010 International Commercial Terms (Incoterms) to know what rules are relevant to the price and the responsibility of the parties (the seller and the buyer) in an international trade operation ● Week (from August 1, 2022 to August 8, 2022) In the week 3, I was guided by Ms Ha – a documents staff who has worked at the company for years - to learn about the Import and Export Tariff 2022 and how to look up the HS code of goods on the General Department of Customs to be able to determine the import - export tax rate, and other policies related to goods This work was actually quite difficult for me because I had to learn about the characteristics of each type of goods If the wrong HS code is applied, it will lead to a lot of consequences such as having to correct the customs declaration, applying for a tax refund or having to pay more In the next few days of my internship, I was assigned an important job, which was to make an electronic customs declaration using the available documents Mr Phuong guided me extremely carefully and in detail when performing this task After careful observation, I started making customs declarations for a shipment of sneakers of Dong Luc Footwear Company through Ecus 2018 – an electronic customs declaration software commonly used today A lot of information must be filled out in the customs declarations such as information about the import and export company, bill of lading number, detailed description of the goods, HS code, number of packages, total weight of goods, date of arrival, loading location, information about commercial invoices, shipping, sales contract, taxes, etc When filling out the declaration form, all information must be extremely accurate, otherwise the goods will have to go through a slow customs clearance process 10 ● Week (from August 8, 2022 to August 13, 2022) Last week, Mr Phuong instructed me to learn how to look up the schedule of ships to book freight ships on the website of Maersk: https://www.sealandmaersk.com/ Booking is a fairly easy job for me, it is important to choose which shipping line is reasonable, book early to promptly transport goods The information that needs to be provided to the shipping line to book a ship such as: port of loading, port of discharge, name of cargo, weight, ETD (expected date of departure of the ship), type of container, etc In the following days of last week, I was guided to make electronic C/O declarations on the Ecosys system – an electronic export certification and management system Especially, all information such as Export Declaration Number, Export Declaration Attached, Exporter's Business Name, Port of Loading, Port of Discharge, Vessel’s Name, Departure date, Goods description, etc must be declared in English This work has helped me learn the meticulousness of an import and export executive because it requires all information to be absolutely accurate Although the last week of my internship passed very quickly, I learned a lot of useful knowledge and experienced the important duties of a documentation staff 2.2 Difficulties and lessons during the internship time 2.2.1 Difficulties This internship not only offers the opportunity to be exposed, encountered and experienced practically, but also a valuable opportunity for me to orient my career path in the future I feel that this is a time to help me understand what I need, what knowledge lacks to be able to participate in a high-quality workforce During the internship, I met an enthusiastic instructor and kind colleagues They have supported me a lot, which made my internship go pretty smoothly However, due to my unfamiliarity with the work as well as the working environment, I still encounter some difficulties that make me lose focus when working The first difficulty is that there are many new specialized terms and acronyms that I have never encountered before when translating documents and making 11 electronic C/O declarations As a student of the Faculty of English, I have learned a lot of basic knowledge about translation and interpretation Furthermore, I also learned quite a lot of vocabularies related to import and export majors in the business English module However, due to the lack of in-depth vocabulary about commercial invoice, especially the vocabulary about products in the packing list Moreover, during the translation I encountered many new acronyms This took me a long time to look them up on the Internet Besides, I have to translate so that the style is as natural and close to the original document as possible This is not easy for an intern like me The second difficulty is the lack of specialized knowledge about the import export operation Although I have learned the basics in university But when I worked in practice, I realized that I lacked a lot of professional knowledge This makes me take a lot of time to complete the assigned tasks For example, I was unable to distinguish between the house bill of lading and the master bill of lading When the instructor asked me about these two bills of lading, I was quite confused and answered incorrectly Although I have read many documents online, I cannot distinguish But when I was guided and studied directly on two that B/L, I understood and differentiated them The third difficulty is the problem of communicating with colleagues and asking questions Despite my dedicated guidance, my colleagues weren't always able to help me Everyone has their own job and is quite busy In the early days, I was quite shy about asking for help and did not want to bother them Honestly, my communication skills are still limited because I am timid and introverted Communication issues were really challenging, which could hinder my internship Fortunately my colleagues are extremely enthusiastic, sociable and fun They stayed hard for overtime to guide and teach me a lot During the internship, I am still studying at the school, so the time spent on the internship is not much I could not be allowed to participate in many jobs, nor did I really study the company’s activities If you have more time and dedication to the internship, along with being more bold and proactive in your behavior, the results you achieve after the internship may be better 12 2.2.2 Lessons Although during my internship I encountered many difficulties But from those difficulties and challenges, I have learned a lot of practical lessons and experiences for myself This is really a great experience to help me learn more knowledge and especially practice problem-solving skills in all situations First, I have accumulated quite a bit of expertise for a documentation staff The internship is like a real subject This is a time to help me understand more deeply about my favorite industry The import and export industry and logistics are good specialties but quite difficult Therefore, practical knowledge and evidence such as dossiers and vouchers help me better understand what I have learned in class In particular, I have learned a lot of specialized vocabulary and acronyms in an import and export dossier Furthermore, thanks to the actual document translation, my translation skills have also improved more Secondly, not only acquiring new and interesting specialized knowledge, but also improving some soft skills in the working environment It's how people behave in the company; teamwork skills; how to use photocopiers, scanners; get used to working style in a professional environment; improve the ability to learn and acquire new knowledge; work creatively to bring high efficiency but also need to listen to your instructions to complete the assigned work well Thirdly I should be more proactive in asking questions to my instructor and colleagues I’m always worried about being annoying to them It did not take long for me to understand that they were not only there to answer, but they wanted to help with any difficult problems They were serious about their work but they expected me to know everything and succeed too Asking what I did not know from experienced people is always the best thing so as to reinforce my specialized knowledge and working ability If my instructor was in a meeting or not available at the moment, there was always someone in my department that I could turn to that was willing to help 13 CHAPTER 3: CURRENT SITUATION OF USING ENGLISH IN LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS., JSC 3.1 The reality of using English at Lacco During the integration period, English has become a critical key to opening the future for people in terms of knowledge and creativity in the information era, which also expands cooperation relationships all over the world As a result, the use of English is becoming more common in most businesses, particularly in logistics companies like Lacco Moreover, employees working in this modernized industrialized environment need to possess specialized English to serve their work Lacco is a forwarder company, so they have to regularly work with major shipping lines and airlines Most employees in all departments in the company must know English and have basic communication skills to ensure that they can negotiate and transact with foreign partners Especially the departments that have direct contact with foreign customers such as the sales department, import – export department, they use English more often and professionally than other departments For more detail, the import and export department uses English to execute sales contracts, commercial invoices, documents in English, negotiations about prices, etc However, in addition to the small number of translators, other employees have low basic skills in English communication Many employees pronounce words in English incorrectly Many English terms in import - export business activity, transactions, contract negotiations are still quite new for employees who not study economics in depth, so they still face many difficulties at work To sum up, at Lacco, using English is very common because it is the best way to serve the company Nonetheless, there are still differences between departments and employees, so the company should attempt to improve work performance by raising English levels 3.2 Solutions to improve English skill for Lacco After the internship time, I perceived that using English at Lacco still has some limitations, which directly hinders some of the company's service business 14 ... LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information and development of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company 1.1.1 General introduction Lacco International. .. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF LACCO INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDERS JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information and development of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company 1.1.1... Foreign name: Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company ● Abbreviation name: LIFF., JSC ● Logo: Image 1.1 LOGO of Lacco International Freight Forwarders Joint Stock Company ● Legal