1 THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT INTERNSHIP REPORT Company VNLOGS EXPORT AND IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY Supervisor Ly Kieu Hanh, M A Student Nguyen Thi Thom Class K54N6 Student Code 18[.]
THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT - - INTERNSHIP REPORT Company: VNLOGS EXPORT AND IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY Supervisor: Student : Nguyen Thi Thom Ly Kieu Hanh, M.A Class : K54N6 Student Code: 18D170287 HANOI, 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i INTRODUCTION iii LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS AND IMAGES iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF VNLOGS EXPORT AND IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information about VNLOGS 1.1.1 General introduction of VNLOGS 1.1.2 The process of foundation and development of VNLOGS 1.1.3 Vision, mission and core value 1.1.4 Organizational structure of VNLOGS 1.1.5 Business results in the period of 2018-2020 1.2 Information about internship department 1.2.1 Role of purchasing department 1.2.2 Purchasing department duties CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS AT VNLOGS 2.1 The duties in the internship process 2.2 The difficulties and lessons of experience in the internship process 2.2.1 The difficulties 10 2.2.2 The lessons of experience 11 CHAPTER 3: THE REALITY OF USING ENGLISH AT VNLOGS 13 i 3.1 The reality of using English in the company 13 3.2 Suggested solutions to improve the usage of English in the company 14 3.2.1 Solutions for the company 14 3.2.2 Solutions for employees 15 CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTED TOPIC FOR GRADUATION ESSAY 16 CONCLUSION vi REFERENCES vii ii INTRODUCTION International integration is happening faster and stronger under the influence of many factors, especially the market economy Implementing the policy of international economic integration of the Party, our country has step by step actively integrating into the regional and world economy As a joint stock company operating in the field of export and import, VNLOGS company has made its name and formed a competitive advantage thanks to advances in applied technology in each step of the operation export and import of the company Being recommended and allowed by the Faculty of English – Thuong Mai University, I have gratefully experienced as an intern in the office of the VNLOGS First and foremost, I would like to express special thanks to the teachers of English Faculty in particular and all teachers of Thuong Mai University in general By their knowledge and dedication, they taught me many meaningful lessons I also would like to thank Ms Ly Kieu Hanh, my respectable supervisor, who always give me precious advices to help me complete well my internship report In the time of practicing in VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company, I would like to extend my profound gratitude towards the director of company: Mr Mac Huu Toan as well as the whole staff at VNLOGS for giving me many valuable instructions so that I can learn working skills and apply my knowledge in practice Last but not least, I sincerely thank my family and friends who are always by my side during the part school years All their support and encouragement are actually the most significant and valuable motivation for me to perfect this internship period Hanoi, January 20th, 2022 Student Nguyen Thi Thom iii LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS AND IMAGES Image 1: Logo of VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company Diagram 1.1: Company’s Structure Table 1.1: Revenue of VNLOGS in the period 2018-2020 Table 3.1: Investigation on the English proficiency of Staffs 13 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviation English meaning Vietnamese meaning VNLOGS VNLOGS Export and Công ty cổ phần xuất nhập Import Join Stock VNLOGS Company TT Telegraphic Transfer Chuyển tiền điện LC Letter of Credit Thư tín dụng B/L Bill of Lading Vận đơn D/O Delivery Order Lệnh giao hàng v CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF VNLOGS EXPORT AND IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information about VNLOGS 1.1.1 General introduction of VNLOGS Image Logo of VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company - Official name: VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company - Trading name: VNLOGS.,JSC - Head Office: 26A1, 49 Alley, Le Duc Tho Street, My Dinh Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi - Tax Code: 0107001486 - Tel: 0987287988 - Email: toanvnlogs@gmail.com - Website: vnlogs.com - Director: Mac Huu Toan - Type of business: Joint stock company 1.1.2 The process of foundation and development of VNLOGS VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company was established by Mac Huu Toan and four main shareholders, officially operating on September 22, 2015 Through the initial time of building the organizational structure system with many initial difficulties, put into operation from 2015 until now, the company has continued to stabilize and develop • 2015: The company provided export and import entrustment services, document management and logistics for domestic and international business At this time, the company mainly developed the logistics service route Korea - Vietnam • 2016: This is a year of rapid market demand, VNLOGS continued to open more specialized inspection and licensing services • 2017: The company deployed more export logistics services • 2018: This is a special year for VNLOGS, a growing VNLOGS with the capital contribution of one shareholder The company continues to set up logistics services to import goods from China by sea • 2019: With the outstanding development of 2018, VNLOGS opened more import entrustment services by sea • 2020- 2022: The company has continued to expand the import entrustment service from China and entrust import by road Along with the staff's constant efforts under the leadership of the Board of Directors, the company has gradually affirmed its position in the logistics market The company established a network of agents and shipping lines such as Smooth International Logistics Limited, Yangming, etc 1.1.3 Vision, mission and core value • Vision: VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company makes continuous efforts towards building a leading enterprise in transportation, export and import, logistics, constantly improving service quality, satisfying customers With the rapid development of technology, VNLOGS company gradually upgraded to become a supply chain, operating in more fields • Mission: With the motto "Every customer is served wholeheartedly and thoughtfully as the company's only customer", VNLOGS always respects and commits to bringing customers the best products and services, ensuring both quality and reasonable price • Core values: - Customer service: VNLOGS provides customers with high quality and best services, always understanding that customers expect the company to provide safe, on-time and reliable services - Integrity: VNLOGS is based on integrity, ethics, passion and responsibility - Humans: VNLOGS creates a friendly, disciplined but creative working environment, focusing on improving skills and appreciating the contribution of employees in the success of the company - Technology: VNLOGS always actively applies new technology to improve efficiency and convenience for customers 1.1.4 Organizational structure of VNLOGS VNLOGS JSC is a small enterprise with quite a simple structure, including four main departments Although each department has its functions, a department can not work effectively without a connection with other departments Board of Directors Purchasing Department Sales &Marketing Department Customer Service Department Financing and Accounting Department Diagram 1.1: Company’s structure VNLOGS has built a team of experienced personnel in the field of logistics, import and export who are trained from famous universities and college Each department has a special function: • Board of Directors: be responsible for managing the company's business activities, developing business strategies, controlling the progress of work reports and evaluating performance • Purchasing Department: be accountable for sourcing and placing orders according to customer requirements In addition, it is in charge of negotiating, selecting and managing suppliers It is also responsible for the management and tracking and reporting related to purchasing activities • Sales & Marketing Department: take charge of doing market research on consuming trend all over the world, looking for potential customers, updating new specifications, new products and answering all of customer’s enquiries • Customer Service Department: monitor and implement the chain of logistics services for customers including freight forwarding, customs procedures, International payments It also deals with and resolves any customer complaints to create and maintain positive relationships • Financing and Accounting Department: manage the company’s financial status, take responsible for accounting the business activities, manage company’s assets and capital, set up financial plans It also supervises the implementation of the finance related to contracts, collects debts and writes financial statement 1.1.5 Business results in the period of 2018-2020 No Items 2018 Logistic service for goods 2,125,042,962 2019 2020 2,277,538,087 3,779,167,922 from Korea to Vietnam Inspection services 1,509,871,457 2,168,309,062 5,179,161,389 Export logistics service 3,170,479,623 3,309,229,025 5,600,006,533 Logistic service for goods 3,036,210,615 6,711,778,639 3,045,872,121 from China (by sea) Import entrustment services 3,778,639,011 5,525,942,021 Logistic service for goods 0 12,779,579,053 from China (by road) Other 1,022,458,012 1,262,741,202 2,619,884,950 Revenue 10,864,062,669 19,508,235,026 38,529,613,989 Table 1.2: Revenue of VNLOGS in the period of 2018-2020 (unit:VND) According to the business result report of VNLOGS in three years, the company’s business performance tends to increase gradually over years VNLOGS' revenue in 2019 increased by more than billion compared to year-on-year By 2020, the company's revenue will increase by more than 19 billion compared to 2019, a remarkable increase compared to 2018 Although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company's revenue still grew The reason for this strong growth is due to the right strategy of the company when expanding logistics services for Chinese goods to Vietnam and Import entrustment services, especially the brand value of VNLOGS is increasing In addition, VNLOGS knows how to capture the market, has experience in exporting and importing goods, so it is quite easy for the company to check the documents and clear the shipment The market expansion brings in a relatively stable source of revenue, and the import and export transactions to each country are at a stable level It also brings in a large number of customers and partners Therefore, it can be concluded that VNLOGS has stable business activities, growing and developing every year 1.2 Information about internship department 1.2.1 Role of Purchasing Department The purchasing position can be considered the "backbone" of the company, where deciding on successful contracts can determine the performance of the business Purchasing is part of a company's strategy because the ability to procure raw materials determines the success or failure of other activities A business can not survive if input prices are higher than sales profits, making it impractical to sell products 1.2.2 Purchasing Department duties At VNLOGS, the purchasing department is divided into two main parts: the European purchasing department and the Asian purchasing department (mainly Korea and China) The purchasing department performs the following common tasks: • Following the state, local, and federal procurement laws • Working with government agencies for subsidies and other benefits • Acquiring goods at competitive rates • Maintaining long-term exclusive partnerships with top vendors • Placing best bids and acquiring orders before business competitors • Sending lucrative proposals to acquire vendors in advance In general, they all have to buy goods at the best possible price Purchasing department must continuously evaluate materials based on quality and, more importantly, on pricing! Purchasing staff must achieve bulk discounts on these orders and negotiate with alternate vendors for better pricing CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS AT VNLOGS 2.1 The duties in the internship process During my internship at VNLOGS, I was able to broaden my horizons in the field of purchasing by various tasks assigned by my supervisor and have the opportunity to dedicate myself to the Purchasing department As a trainee to the purchasing department, I was taught the necessary knowledge as well as the fundamental skills to perform my job I would report my job during the internship days as follow: WEEK INTERNSHIP PROCESS Week - Visiting around the office and greeting seniors in each department in (From the company December 27th, 2021 to January 2nd, 2022) - Reading documents, the terms, confidentiality in the contract and sign the internship contract - Starting the training and familiarization process under the guidance of team leader - Joining the orientation session with new members of the company to understand: history of formation, development process, human resource structure, operating principles, core values that the company are aiming for - Learning how to looking for suppliers: After receiving a request to buy products from customers, I need to look for reputable suppliers with quality and reasonable prices through ecommerce platforms such as Alibaba, Amazon, Taobao, 1988, Tmall, Trade Korean, Global source and especially through google search engine (google search), and through relationships with the agents' customs officer Week - Learning how to negotiate prices: After finding a supplier, I proceed (From to contact and exchange with suppliers via phone, Gmail, messaging January apps We negotiate around issues such as quantity, quality, payment 3rd, 2022 to methods Then directly negotiate prices and force prices with suppliers January 9th, 2022) - Checking sample: After the supplier sends the sample through the courier companies (DHL, UPS, Fred Ex, TNT), I conduct a sample quality check in terms of size, material, quality, colour, see if it is the same as what we discussed earlier Week - Learning how to make payment contract: Mainly pay by LC, or TT, (From here for the first product purchase January - Learning how to make payment: Directly contact the bank opening the 10th, 2022 LC to pay with the partner When the goods have been received, to January confirm with the bank, and the bank will transfer the money to the 16th, 2022) partner's bank Week - Knowing the way to preparing B/L, commercial contact, packing list, (From invoice send the pre-alert for foreign agents January 17th, 2022 - Participating in the general meeting of all countries about the new feature of the application as well as the proposed plan for the company to January 21st, 2022) - Finding and preparing materials for the internship report - Having a warm party with everybody at VNLOGS - Writing and accomplishing my internship report 2.2 The difficulties and lessons of experience in the internship process Working as an intern at VNLOGS offered me thousands of challenges, but it also provided me with invaluable experience and lessons for my future career 2.2.1 The difficulties The first week at the company was the most challenging of my four-week internship This is the first time I experience the actual working environment and everything is new to me Then, I faced a lot of challenges in terms of both knowledge and skill ❖ My knowledge difficulties My knowledge of office computers and machines such as printers, copiers and fax machines is limited, so I have to spend a lot of time on them In addition to product knowledge, many processes and procedures I still not understand and still need a lot of help from management I have a lack of knowledge about purchasing items, I have not experienced many different products and items I misunderstood the details of documents, which could have an adverse impact on the activities such as drafting sales contract, Invoice, CO,ect Working in the purchasing department, English is not enough Because my company's partners are from all over the world, English is not their native language and I need to learn another foreign language to be able to understand them ❖ My skill difficulties I found the job requires a lot of skills such as negotiation skills, communication skills, search skills, time management skills, but I am still confused with it This is the first time I negotiated the price with a foreign supplier I had difficulty negotiating the price with them, actually with that supplier before, but this is the first time I have cooperated with them They demanded to raise the product price by 1.5 times I insisted on emailing clear and uncompromising politeness at a fair price I actively searched for other suppliers to hedge my risk, and we finally agreed with a reasonable price 10 2.2.2 The lessons of experience After my internship at purchasing department of VNLOGS, I gained a lot of practical experience It can be said that the lessons I received are extremely valuable, the have helped me improve my knowledge and skills ❖ Lessons of knowledge The internship allowed me to apply the knowledge I learned at Thuong Mai University, especially the knowledge related to the business English major and many product knowledge It is sure that my English skill has been improved English is an indispensable tool when you have decided to work in this industry Because meeting, dealing with foreign partners, drafting contracts, sending emails are all in English Without English, it isn't easy to work In addition, must actively learn and improve specialized English I also know that I need learn another foreign language If you have two or more foreign languages, you can easily improve your position, easily enter new markets Always prioritize your second foreign language as your favorite language such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, After the internship, I have had an profound insight into international trade such as import, export procedures as well as customs procedures ❖ Lessons of skills I learned many soft skills As a purchasing intern, sometimes finding the right supplier is not easy, sometimes I encounter short-tempered suppliers, or those who are the price is too high compared to the company's financial ability, or the quality of the goods is not satisfactory I must always be persistent, calm and not give up Besides, I got confidence through communicating with customers and suppliers every day I also learned how to work myself and got more initiative I also learned how to build myself 11 some necessary skills to serve the job such as risk management skills, supply management skills, good customer care skills, work pressure skills and work arrangement skills I learned how to communicate with the new colleagues They guided me wholeheartedly in work and gave me valuable lessons in the life I also learned some necessary characteristics such as attentiveness, initiative, honesty, loyalty and professional attitude in order to work well with other colleagues Moreover, I realized that I must maintain and develop these relationships They may be related to my future and they can open a lot of doors for me to show myself and have more opportunities The difficulties and experiences I obtained are the luggage and valuable lessons after I graduate This is all that I summed up after my internship 12 CHAPTER 3: THE REALITY OF USING ENGLISH AT VNLOGS 3.1 The reality of using English in the company Nowadays, English has become a global language that allows people all over the world to communicate with one another VNLOGS is not an exception, especially VNLOGS is a logistics company which often cooperates with many foreign agents to provide the best transportation services to customers To adapt as well as develop sustainably and long-lasting among the competitive market, the company encourages staff to use English in the workplace VNLOGS is an export-import and logistics enterprise, so it works with many foreign partners, employees often have the opportunity to practice English and each employee has an English level equivalent to 450 TOEIC or more Staff and professional training are always cared for and created maximum conditions by the company leaders, often having professional training sessions However, the English level of the staff is still not high, they still have difficulties in communicating with foreign partners and customers Staff who master all four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing is still limited Most of staff skills are at basic level, only used to read documents, not really communicate fluently Because English is not their mother language, and they only use English as a tool In addition, when working with foreign partners and customers, approaching with many different accents, making them misinterpreted the other's intentions Staff in the financing and accounting department and customer service department use English as not influent as the rest of the departments and they have difficulty in compiling figures suitable for foreign clients and communicating with customers Specifically on the qualification of the employees in each department of the company will be more clearly expressed in these following table: English level Toeic 450-650 Toeic 650-850 Quantity Ratio Quantity Ratio (person) (%) (person) (%) 13 Purchasing Department 15 10 67 33 Sale & Marketing 20 15 75 25 15 12 80 20 80 20 Department Customer Service Department Financing and Accounting Department Table 3.1 Investigation on the English proficiency of staffs 3.2 Suggested solutions to improve the usage of English in the company 3.2.1 Solutions for the company The company should determine the advantages of having both good English skills and expertise From these, it will take measures to improve the English skill of its staffs To improve English level, VNLOGS should invest in organizing English courses for the staff, create conditions for the employees to have the opportunity to take part in English training courses VNLOGS can recruit staff with good English right from the time of recruitment, VNLOGS should evaluate realistically, objectively, prioritize candidates with good foreign language communication skills, should not just look at a few Certificates included in the curriculum vitae On exceptional occasions, the organization can construct a mini-exam for the entire team and award those who have shown significant progress in English communication This will help improve the staff's English proficiency and the efficiency with which they use English It also creates a playground for employees and stimulates a passion for foreign languages in each individual The company can pay high salary for staff who have a good command of English, which a motivation for them to improve their English skills 14 ... VNLOGS EXPORT AND IMPORT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 1.1 Information about VNLOGS 1.1.1 General introduction of VNLOGS Image Logo of VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company - Official name: VNLOGS Export. .. Type of business: Joint stock company 1.1.2 The process of foundation and development of VNLOGS VNLOGS Export and Import Joint Stock Company was established by Mac Huu Toan and four main shareholders,... actively integrating into the regional and world economy As a joint stock company operating in the field of export and import, VNLOGS company has made its name and formed a competitive advantage