on order fulfillment of sales department at mercedes benz vietnam ltd

These are Sales Department, Marketing Department, Network Department, Finance Department, Human Resources Department, Production Department, IT Department, Controlling Department and Log

BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Name: Ms Le Thi Minh Thuy Title: Master of Arts

Department: Foreign Languages

Date of submission:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I am grateful that Mercedes Benz Vietnam had accepted my application so that I had a chance to put what I learned from my university into practice I also would like to express my sincere thanks to Sales Department for offering me a wonderful experience to work as an intern in the foreign company Especially, I appreciate the help, support, and encouragement from the team leader as well as other employees in Order Management team Without their instructions, I would have never been able to identify my strength, develop my potential skills and complete the internship successfully

Furthermore, I would like to express my gratefulness for having Ms Le Thi Minh Thuy as an internship instructor Thanks to her guidance, I could have a good preparation and a profound grasp of how to write an internship report efficiently I treasure the precious time that she invested in me and helping me to identify and fix all mistakes in spelling, vocabulary, and grammar As a result, I could make a better internship report in time

All in all, it was such a worthwhile three-month period of working Again, thanks for every lesson, every project that I had within three months at Mercedes Benz Vietnam I did not acknowledge that three months could pass so fast Eventually, what I learned during the internship will be a significantly valuable experience for me to deal with new challenges in my future career path

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

I Overview of the company 1

1.1 Introduction of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Ltd 1

1.2 Introduction of Order Management in Sales Department 1

2.2.1 Self-learning by observing and answering questions 3

2.2.2 Filtering and analyzing data 3

III Order fulfillment of sales department 4

Stage 1: Receiving orders 4

Stage 2: Preparing orders 4

Stage 3: Issuing VAT invoices 5

Stage 4: Reimbursement payment 6

IV Reviewed experience and acquired skills 6

4.1 Reviewed experience 6

4.1.1 Getting familiar with the working environment and colleagues 6

4.1.2 Knowing car import documents 7

4.1.3 Knowing the procedure of order fulfillment 7

4.2 Acquired skills 7

4.2.1 Time management skills 7

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1.1 Introduction of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Ltd

Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Ltd (MBV), a subsidiary of the German-based Daimler AG, was incorporated on April 14, 1995 In particular, three independent companies are operating under the control of Daimler AG, such as Daimler financial services, Daimler truck AG, and Mercedes-Benz AG which is responsible for cars and vans Furthermore, MBV’s scope of business is the manufacturer, distributor, and customer service of Mercedes-Benz cars in the Vietnamese market The organizational structure includes the board of directors with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Mr Bradley Christian Anthony Kelly, Deputy General Director (DGD) – Mr Nguyen

Anh Tuan, and nine departments These are Sales Department, Marketing Department, Network

Department, Finance Department, Human Resources Department, Production Department, IT Department, Controlling Department and Logistics Department

1.2 Introduction of Order Management in Sales Department 1.2.1 Sales Department

Sales Department under the control of Ms Duong Thi Thu Trang – Sales Manager is in charge of making sales plans and adjusting them in accordance with the orders of the superiors to achieve sales targets In MBV, there were four dealers, including Haxaco, An Du, Vinamotor, and Vietnam Star Specifically, sales plans are made quarterly and detailed for each month for each dealer Concerning sales targets, they are set based on the scale and sales performance of dealers in previous months, and the number of models produced in the previous years that have yet to be sold

Main duties are commodity management, import and export, coordinating goods for stores, and production order Moreover, in this department, there are four teams: Fleet and Used Cars Management, Retail Management, Product Management (managing and pricing products), and Order Management

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1.2.2 Order Management

I had an opportunity to work in Order Management, instructed by Ms Bui Thi Quynh Anh – Senior Manager who has experienced in MBV for 8 years This team, run by one senior manager and three assistant managers, is responsible for managing orders from dealers and supporting other teams in the Sales Department

In specific, its main tasks were checking the date of releasing cars, the number of cars in stock, and supporting dealers to fulfill related documents which are required to place an order successfully Although my supervisor – Ms Quynh Anh was busy nearly all the time, other employees under her instructions frequently helped and supported me to get tasks done well in time

II ASSIGNED TASKS AND METHODS OF IMPLEMENTATION 2.1 Assigned tasks

2.1.1 Preparing documents

During the period of internship, I performed admin tasks at the office such as file maintenance, insurance claim, photocopy, fax as needed Furthermore, I assisted other employees with not only scanning documents but also checking demo reimbursement documents on COMSYS - the online software of the company to manage documents Those scanned documents were considered as my main references so that I could have general views about the Sales Department and basic knowledge of documents related to it like sales contract, invoice, and credit note In addition, I was responsible for following up with dealers, sales admin for their in-time demo documentation submission and collecting necessary docs (name change invoice, name change memo) to fulfill assigned tasks

2.1.2 Translating invoices

Due to spending time preparing documents for my team, I had a chance to gain profound knowledge of invoices in both English and Vietnamese After that, I was assigned to translate English invoices into Vietnamese invoices which are needed to import cars In general, an invoice

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includes details of cars (paint, interior, year of manufacture) and prices To be more specific, I was asked to complete invoices for Logistic Department by translating details and parts of cars from English into Vietnamese Then, they could be delivered to Vietnam Customs, which is one of the steps of customs clearance

2.2 Methods of implementation

2.2.1 Self-learning by observing and asking questions

Because of being a student with no experience at the office, I had difficulty getting given tasks done at first To fulfill my knowledge on accomplishing the assigned tasks, it was crucial to invest a huge amount of time in self-learning with consideration, observing, and asking for advice from the team leader and co-workers in the team Then, I attempted to do the work by myself under their guidance and practice afterward For example, during the internship, scanning and printing documents were my daily tasks so I needed to use office machines frequently Since I had never been exposed to printers, fax machines, so I had to ask other employees for instructions and watched them using those machines Another example is because the documents which I had to prepare were so complex sometimes and different for each purpose, so I needed colleagues to show me the ways of identifying and categorizing those papers

In addition to this, I tried to join conversations between my colleagues to know how they communicated with other employees and to find out the way they expressed their ideas during meetings Good communication was highly recommended so as to build up relationships among co-workers Likewise, I learned not only solutions to solve unexpected problems but also how to avoid making mistakes by listening to their stories about the tough time that they had experienced

2.2.2 Filtering and analyzing data

Reading previous invoices from co-workers could enrich my knowledge of translating details included in a complete invoice There were lots of invoices for various car models As a result, it

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was significant for me to classify those invoices into different groups according to their models By doing this, I could find the appropriate translation for them at a fast speed

Thanks to advanced technology, I could save a huge amount of time while completing my tasks As there were a large number of orders on daily basis, I had to deal with tons of information With regards to COMSYS, it gave me easy access to fill forms, search and check data quickly Additionally, it was much useful for me to download and transfer documents online Also, storing and managing documents could not be more convenient without this online software Regarding Microsoft Office Excel, this tool helped me to access data more effectively and to calculate numbers more precisely

After considering sales plans and sales targets, the next process is the order fulfillment of Sales Department Under control of Order Management, this actual process includes those following stages:

➢ Stage 1: Receving orders

Firstly, Production Management made production plans, and sent the list of cars to Order Management, prior to send to dealers at the beginning of each month in a year Specifically, this list covered car models, paint colours, and car interior According to it, the dealers could select which car was suitable for their customers and place an order on the online system which was bought by MBV in order to manage and store data and information Upon verification, the team leader of Order Management – Ms Bui Thi Quynh Anh was about to approve the orders that were appropriate Then, the information of those orders was sent to other Order Management staff before proceeding with the next steps

➢ Stage 2: Preparing orders

The following step was to collect orders, required papers and prepare complete documents for approval In terms of Completely Built-Up (CBU) car models, Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh

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was in charge of working with Mercesdes-Benz AG – the parent company to place orders for customers For example, she ordered cars and received documents required to import cars from the parent company Meanwhile, Logistics Department was responsible for handing over those documents and completing the customs procedures at Vietnam Customs The documents delivered to the Logistics Department included a sales contract, a commercial invoice, a certificate of origin, a certificate of quality (if any), and a bill of lading To make a payment for the parent company, a full set of documents, including one photocopy of the original bill of lading, one photocopy of the original contract, one photocopy of the original invoice, was required to send to Finance Department

With regards to a commercial invoice, it included invoice number, date of issue of invoice, date of making the contract, components of the vehicles, and shipping cost Since the invoice was written in English, I was told to translate them into Vietnamese Then, the Logistic Department could send it to Vietnam Customs so as to fulfill documents required for customs clearance

Regarding Completely Knocked Down (CKD) car models, before informing the dealers whether their orders were accepted or not, Ms Huynh Thi My Kieu checked inventory, then contacted Production Management to not only ensure that the factory of the company could meet the demands of dealers but also check what the date of releasing cars was At the same time, the Production Management sent chassis numbers so that Ms Kieu could attach them to specific orders The last step was that Controlling Department checked the orders again

➢ Stage 3: Issuing VAT invoices

The next step was to issue VAT invoices for dealers After being informed that the orders have been successfully placed, the dealers had to send the payment plan to MBV Following this, Finance Department, specifically the accountant was going to issue VAT invoices only when they received the receipt of payment from the dealers Since 2019, MBV has used E-invoices because of its convenience, and efficiency These invoices are posted on a system where the dealers have

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access to them Finally, Ms Kieu sent the factory quality check slip and the chassis number to the dealers when the sales transaction was successful

➢ Stage 4: Reimbursement payment

Each dealer would receive the sales plan needed to be achieved in order to be compensated when the sales were equal to or exceeding the level set by MBV This plan was launched monthly and notified to the dealers by the Order Management of the Sales Department To receive the reimbursement, the dealers were asked to submit required documents relating to their car sales through an internal system on the internet Following this, those documents were checked twice: once by the Order Management, once by the Controlling department It took a few days to completely check them because they were sometimes so complicated This both helped to control the sales of the dealers in the month and avoided false claims or understatements of sales for purposes

When those documents were appropriate, Mr Nguyen Thanh Bang was forecast to prepare the reimbursement document and send it to Sales Manager, head of Controlling Department, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for approval After that, it was handed over to the accountant for VAT invoice issuance

4.1.Reviewed experience

4.1.1 Getting familiar with the working environment and colleagues

Due to the helpful guidance of my team leader and colleagues, I could get used to the office workplace I also learned how to deal with problems such as stress by connecting positively with other members of my team Therefore, I could be more enthusiastic and motivated to work more sufficiently Concerning teamwork skills, whenever I needed help, my colleagues did not hesitate to support and give me advice, which somehow established a good relationship between me and other members of the team as well as in the department Overall, getting familiar with the working

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environment and co-workers not only helped me build up my confidence but also improved my communication skill in such a new workplace

4.1.2 Knowing car import documents

Within three months, this was a great opportunity for me to analyze the actual documents for car import I learned not only what car import documents were but also how to manage those documents effectively Besides, I also knew how to translate invoices, especially components of cars and some major technical specifications By doing this, I could compare theoretical knowledge and reality Additionally, I gained profound knowledge about cars which I had not been interested in before Fortunately, I could improve my writing English skills as well as my reading English skills That was because I also had a chance to analyze sales contracts, credit notes, bills of lading, certificate of origin, and certificate of quality which were all written in English

4.1.3 Knowing the procedure of order fulfillment

During this process, I had a deep insight into how to fulfill order requirements It could be seen clearly that it was much better to learn in a practical way than searching for information on the Internet Moreover, I could have a good grasp of the steps required to proceed with this process For example, I learned how to manage papers carefully while doing lots of tasks at the same time I also found out ways to divide difficult tasks into small tasks, which is useful for me to complete work more sufficiently In general, those experiences were so valuable, paving the way for my future careers

4.2 Acquired Skills

4.2.1 Time management skills

It was too difficult for me to practice managing time at first because I had to make sure that I was spending my time self-organizing and prioritizing tasks wisely The key to organizing both my time and my workload is that I needed to distinguish between urgent tasks and important ones