The freight forwarder company that I am doing my internship, TCL Company, is making his full use of the existing capacity to avoid the risks and to exist in a severe competition.. This r
COMPANY BACKGROUND
Company formation and development history
Company name: Tan Ca Loi Trade and International Freight Limited Company
Transaction name: TCL International Co., Ltd
Head office: Room 1125, Floor 11, CT5 Building, Pham Hung Str., My Dinh Ward,
Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Branch in Hai Phong city: No1, Van My, Ngo Quyen, Hai Phong
Branch in Hai Phong city: No160 Nguyen Tri Phương Street, Thanh Khe District,
Website: http://www.tclfreight.com.vn
TCL was established in 1996, specialized in shipping and transporting all kinds of merchandise It has been recognized as one of the leading and most prestigious International freight forwarders
Since its inception in 1996, TCL has made great efforts for continuous development to confirm its stance in the field of freight forwarding Besides, it is considered as a trustworthy partner by international agencies
TCL is a member of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), China Global Logistics Network under WCA Family of Logistics Network-World Cargo Alliance (CGLN)
It possesses a reliable global network of agents located in Asia, Europe, America, Africa, and Pacific Ocean, especially in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore
TCL is able to provide freight forwarding services to every corner of the world, including even tough markets like the Russia and SNG countries, etc
The staff is not only well-trained and experienced Moreover, staff’s knowledge is constantly improved through supplementary training courses held by the general Department of Customs and the Ministry of Trade as well as regional and global conferences
TCL frequently upgrades facilities, especially the communication systems for a better service to its customers
Scope of activity
Ocean and international air freight forwarding (Terms of delivery: FOB, Exwork, CIF,
Customs Declaration, Certificate of Origin, Phytosanitary, Fumigation and Cargo Insurance, etc
Warehouse, cargo preservation, packing, crating and dunnage
The stringent selection of reputable shipping lines and close relationships with Mol, K’Line, Nyk, Wanhai, Dongnama, Cosco, Maersk, Rcl, Msc, Pil, Cma, Yangming, Zim, Germatrans, Apl, Happalloyd, Ocl, Heung-A, Hyundai, Evergreen, helps TCL take advantage of their strengths in order to satisfy all its customers’ requirements
TCL offers a wide range of services: Full Container Load (FCL), Less than Container Load (LCL) consolidation and deconsolidation for general cargoes, frozen commodities, hanging garment, project cargoes, personal effects, both to port and to door
TCL provides Import and Export services at any port to/from any Vietnam port, particularly Hai Phong port (Viconship Warehouse) and Cai Lan Port-Quang Ninh province
TCL has also signed the Liability Insurance for Transportation and Logistics companies with prestigious Insurance Firms such as Bao Viet Insurance Company
Close co-operation with the leading airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Air France and Thai Airways… enables the company to book timely flights at customers’ request regardless of weight per shipment
On the basis of global agency networks, the cargo can be delivered to all international airports or any inland destination as per their request
Term of delivery: Warehouse to airport, airport to airport or door to door is available Air cargo insurance available upon request
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TCL possesses a large warehouse located on Truong Dinh Street (Hanoi) allowing all kinds of heavy trucks and containers to load and unload round the clock
The warehouses are equipped with crane-trucks, forklifts, all night lighting equipment and security systems which is qualified for cargo stuffing, unstuffing and safe preservation
TCL also has warehouse at Viconship Haiphong port located in No.1 Ngo Quyen Street; Van
My, Hai Phong – one of the most modern seaports in Vietnam, converging all necessary conditions for export loading and import cargo discharge in a safe manner
TCL’s honest, enthusiastic, experienced and professional warehouse staff is determined to carry out the slogan: “security, safety, swiftness and convenience”.
Objective
TCL is sensitive to customer’s requirements in order to provide the best service:
Slogan
“Keeping quality in every service”
Human Resource
Over 50 experienced, well-trained staffs are working for the company now
The majority have BA degree and certificate of specialist-skill internal training course and overseas as well
Customers
Targeted customers of TCL may be internal or oversea individuals or enterprises including manufacturing companies and even logistics companies Below is the list of typical customers:
Sumitomo Heavy Industries (Vietnam) Co., Ltd (Thang Long I.Z, Dong Anh, Hanoi)
Denso Manufacturing Vietnam Co., Ltd (Thang Long I.Z, Dong Anh, Hanoi)
Nichias Hai Phong Co., Ltd (Nomura I.Z, Hai Phong)
Iriso Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd (Tan Truong I.Z, Hai Duong Province)
Vietnam Stanley Electronic Co., Ltd (Duong Xa, Gia Lam, Hanoi)
Review of freight forwarding business of the company (2008-2010)
Over the three years (2008-2010), the company has gained more than 1290 contracts, equivalent to 17,450 billion VND
Table 1 Freight services overview from 2008 to 2010
Scope of activity Number of contracts
The proportion of sea freight is 57.4%, illustrating that most of the customer tend to export their cargo by sea because of the following reasons:
Convenient form of shipping bulk export cargo
Not required to adhere to a certain schedule
Compared to sea freight, air freight only counts a proportion of 26.1% The reason is that it is more expensive and suitable only for quickly shipped cargoes
Standing last in the list is multimodal transportation (16.5%) It shows that the company did not forget to concentrate its efforts on exploiting this mean of shipping.
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Table 2 Sea freight data from 2008 to 2010
Sea freight is the main activity as well as the strength of the company As we can see, the number of sea freight service contract increased gradually Despite financial crisis in 2008, the company still well maintained The number of contracts shows the non-stop efforts of Marketing Department in searching for the customer and flexible policies of the company
Table 3 Air freight data from 2008 to 2010
Air freight is the second largest activity in the company after sea freight Normally, air freight is used for shipping important and expensive cargoes Therefore, the number and weight of the cargo is relatively smaller compared to other means of freight
COMPANY STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION CHART
Company Structure
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Function and responsibility of each department and division
Looking at the above company structure, we can realize that the company is organized logically The highest position is Managing Director, below is Vice Director and below Vice Director is different Departments and Sectors Generally, the company is organized under broad business model
According to the above organization chart, problems if any in functional departments will be solved by officers And relating to the common problems in the company, there will be discussion between the Managing Director and Vice Director Managing Director will give the last solutions and is entirely responsible for his decision
I was assigned to work in Export and Import Department It can be considered as the most important department in the company Below is the function and responsibility of these departments in general, and of Export and Import Department in particular
This department is comprised of two divisions: Freight forwarding and cargo procedure division It is responsible for receiving contracts for importing and exporting cargoes, commitment contracts and allocating work to staffs in order to get most effectively and rapidly results
The freight forwarding division provides the following services:
Consulting service on International law and Import and Export regulations
Booking space with the ocean air carrier,
Completing export and import documentation,
Providing guidance on packaging, marking and labeling,
Arranging for products to be packed and containerized,
In addition, this division also offers a complete customs clearance service from/to any destination:
What is more, it provides
Cargo documentary procedure division: is responsible for monitoring, managing and storing all documents and official correspondences, preparing customs clearance and necessary correspondences to support the Freight forwarding division The staff in this division has to frequently monitor the cargo process and always keep in touch with the customer to inform them of necessary information relating to the cargo
This department has responsibility of
Making sales visits to shippers and consignees
Sending sales leads to other agents
Market research, searching for new customers, advising services and price quoting They need to actively contact with companies or individual via email, telephone or even through direct marketing They can do business with different shop owners in old streets to export or import cargoes for customers Also, the shop owner will introduce the company’s services to the customer when they need to export or import the goods Actually, the Marketing Department plays an important role in the company’s business activity, helps to increase share market and brings about a lot of valuable contracts for the company
Functions of an accounting department include:
Payroll: Calculate gross wages or gross earnings, the correct amounts of income tax, social security tax, and other deductions from gross wages
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Prepare freight disbursement and accounts for the ship owner for each voyage
Complete the remittance of freight for the ship owner
2.4 Administration and human resource sector
Receiving and sending official correspondences
Storing goods temporarily before being exported or delivered to recipients
Loading/unloading of containers and vehicles
Arranging deliveries in addition to other warehouse duties
THE MISSION: ASSIGNED TASKS AND GOALS
The tasks assigned to my position
In the export and import department I work as general assistance for viewing two types of contracts: Transportation contract and Agency agreement I was also assigned to support Customer Relationship Management (CRM) The Head of Export Department asked me to pay more attention on solving dispute basing on the contract In addition to this, there were many small tasks lying ahead of me, however, to a certain degree, it made the job exciting
Checking all necessary terms for a contract,
Checking terms relating to risk avoidance and compensation as ruled by law,
Checking contract’s terms to be matched with regulations of Vietnamese Law, International Law and the Law of destination country
Whether contract’s conditions ensure TCL’s interest or not
Reviewing terms/clauses relating to disputes to check if the dispute violates which term of the contract and who is responsible for it
Negotiating with customers to solve disputes relating to Overage/Shortage/Damage (OSD),
Keeping usual contact to customers who deliver FCL cargo for market survey or getting some information of the competitor
The link between the subject matter and my mission
So as to have an overall look of all types of risks in sea freight forwarding before giving proper countermeasures, I follow the following steps
Subject: Identifying the risk in sea freight forwarding before giving proper countermeasures
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Define how many operations the company have in sea freight forwarding (By brainstorming with experienced staff)
Relation: I check claim-list against a list of risk items, and then compare with clause regulated in the corresponding contract
Define which risk in pre-process, in process, and after process (By brainstorming with experienced staff)
Relation: I check claim-list against a list of risk items, and then compare with clause regulated in the corresponding contract
Categorize the risk in group, investigate possible causes, and make fishbone diagram (answer why-why question)
Relation: This step will analyze causes in a nutshell, and then customer/market information will support me in finding out what the fact is
Test & Propose C/M (countermeasures) to board of managers to improve performance & reduce risk
I will gather information relating to my proposals (whether it has already done by other companies in the field or not)
If done, I will gather additional information from competitors in the field to make clear properness/ non-properness to the company’s businesses;
If not done, I will carry out a test & get customer response in a benefit-cost analysis, then check whether it should be applied in reality of the business or not
Select proposals to report & keep document as the current modified operation
This step will shed light on my study.
The goal I am asked to reach
Point out all possible risks influencing company’s profit and group them logically
Base on theoretical and practical knowledge to find out the solution to help the company to limit the risk, increase the profit and improve the company business situation
On the basis of risk analysis, find out the matters that need consider in drafting and writing a contract to prevent the risk and ensure the company’s rights in the contract
4 What can I bring to the company?
In the early period of my internship, I gather and classify risks that freight forwarding companies often face in sea freight Afterward, I investigate and make real causes of risks that TCL encountered in the past in group This should help the company understand the nature of different kinds of risks and to understand which risk has the greatest influence to the company’s business operation The aim is to find out the solution to avoid and manage the risk
Furthermore, experienced members (after brain-storming meeting) in TCL give ideas to find out the most reasonable measures to minimize the risks Precious ideas from experienced members and my risk collection, classification and my own research are common background to plan business strategies for the company on the basis of predicted risks
Also, my risk analysis is also a base to predict company’s future business performance Moreover, the company can give the best solutions to recover it when the risk arises Finally, the assigned daily work can also help the company in many aspects such as:
Through negotiation with customers by CRM operations, FCL order can be improved Also, FCL order can reduce cost per order as well as achieve an effective timing transaction
Quality of goods delivered can be improved significantly To achieve the result, risk-avoidance must be set up in receiving, packing, warehousing & transportation
Because of usual contact to customers, the quality of service can be improved and therefore the company can attract more customers and get more orders
I am asked to review the contract to check whether there are any mistakes or not before it is printed and sent to the customer/agency It is very essential because the
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14 company may avoid mistakes of making a contract and takes more advantageous in transporting goods The Company can be able to avoid disputes arising outside the contract
5 How can I put the theoretical knowledge acquired during my academic year in Master AMI into practice during my internship?
During my academic year in Master AMI, I have learnt a lot of subjects and each subject brought me useful knowledge Actually, the theoretical knowledge acquired can help me a lot during my internship The list of main subjects that I can use during my internship is as below
5.1 International trade payment and risk insurance
In this subject, I learnt about the risk of exporting and importing There ate totally 7 kinds of risks which are not easy for any company to solve Thanks to this subject, I can easily discriminate each kind of risk and can apply theoretical solutions to practice Furthermore, through international transactions I can understand more about different methods of payment The company may use Confirmed Letter of Credit, Stand-By Letter of Credit or Cash depending on each transaction Sample Ocean B/L, Commercial Invoice or L/C, etc that I saw in my lesson will help me a lot when I use them in practice
In session 4 mentioning to Finance, the lecturer explained very clearly about Bills of Lading and Letter of Credit as well as contract language and documents usually required Using knowledge acquired in this session, I can pay more attention on the following things while making a contract:
All necessary terms for a contract, especially for a international contract
Methods to examine a contract and how to write an effective one
The contract must be clearly stated
The contract must mention to all parties and each party’s obligations, rights and benefits
The contract must have “price” term and “payment” term
The contract must have terms to solve possible problems if disputes arise (Between two parties signing the contract or with the third party)
Methods to solve a dispute based on contract terms
Thanks to a variety of practical exercises and tests, I know how to divide risks into groups These risks may happen in transaction, in doing business with customer and even in making contract
Thanks to Incoterms, I understand international commercial terms (Incoterms) such as FOB, CNF, CIF, EXW, etc, different methods of payment and know how to use them in the contract
Depending on customer’s requirement, I will assist the staff in entering commercial terms in customer’s document Certainly, it will be risky if I do not understand thoroughly those terms
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How can I put the theoretical knowledge acquired during my academic year in Master
During my academic year in Master AMI, I have learnt a lot of subjects and each subject brought me useful knowledge Actually, the theoretical knowledge acquired can help me a lot during my internship The list of main subjects that I can use during my internship is as below
5.1 International trade payment and risk insurance
In this subject, I learnt about the risk of exporting and importing There ate totally 7 kinds of risks which are not easy for any company to solve Thanks to this subject, I can easily discriminate each kind of risk and can apply theoretical solutions to practice Furthermore, through international transactions I can understand more about different methods of payment The company may use Confirmed Letter of Credit, Stand-By Letter of Credit or Cash depending on each transaction Sample Ocean B/L, Commercial Invoice or L/C, etc that I saw in my lesson will help me a lot when I use them in practice
In session 4 mentioning to Finance, the lecturer explained very clearly about Bills of Lading and Letter of Credit as well as contract language and documents usually required Using knowledge acquired in this session, I can pay more attention on the following things while making a contract:
All necessary terms for a contract, especially for a international contract
Methods to examine a contract and how to write an effective one
The contract must be clearly stated
The contract must mention to all parties and each party’s obligations, rights and benefits
The contract must have “price” term and “payment” term
The contract must have terms to solve possible problems if disputes arise (Between two parties signing the contract or with the third party)
Methods to solve a dispute based on contract terms
Thanks to a variety of practical exercises and tests, I know how to divide risks into groups These risks may happen in transaction, in doing business with customer and even in making contract
Thanks to Incoterms, I understand international commercial terms (Incoterms) such as FOB, CNF, CIF, EXW, etc, different methods of payment and know how to use them in the contract
Depending on customer’s requirement, I will assist the staff in entering commercial terms in customer’s document Certainly, it will be risky if I do not understand thoroughly those terms
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DEVELOPMENT
TYPE OF RISKS
The process of globalization is taking place strongly and requires supplying service at national and international standards In service industry, maritime transport sector plays an important role in economic integration, and in connecting domestic and international value chain in the process of worldwide division of labor Vietnam has a long coastline of
3160 kilometers and more than 1million square kilometers of the marine exclusive economic zones Along the coastline, there are a lot of ports including international ports where vessels can dick in Da Nang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Therefore, it is suitable and favorable for the development of maritime transportation in Vietnam This provides Vietnam with abundant marine resources and biodiversity Making full use of globalization trend and maritime’s advantage, TCL has offered sea freight service since
With over 10 years of experience in sea freight forwarding, TCL has achieved certain successes However, besides favorable conditions, ocean freight forwarding is facing different risks that the company can not anticipate These risks have made cargo loss and damage which caused harm to the financial situation of the company
Risks that the company often encounter in transporting goods by sea and measures to reduce them are listed as below
This kind of risk can happen in:
Before the cargo is shipped to the board, TCL uses crane-trucks to transport it from the warehouse to the port In transporting, the cargo may be damaged, lost or late delivered
The cargo is collapsed because the gross weight of cargo exceeds permitted gross weight of cargo Therefore, the crane cannot lift it or the cargo is fallen down in the process of lifting it (Due to wrong weight declaration of the customer) Also, incorrect loading and
17 unloading method causes cargo’s damage There are also serious accidents when using materials handling equipment
In the process of transporting goods from Vietnam to other countries, the goods may face many risks Freight forwarding companies in general and TCL Company in particular commonly encounter some problems such as damaged goods, theft, pilferage, cargo shortage… The theft normally happened to the garment and footwear-related cargo These items are usually packed in cartons and can be unloaded by workers in the port In addition, some accidents can happen to vessel that affect the delivery process such as stranding/grounding, sinking, fire and explosion, sunk or capsized/over-turning, derailment of land conveyance (for inland transit), collision, collision beyond the reef, pirates,
During shipping by sea, carriers always offer estimated time of shipping, so the vessel can be two or three days later than estimated time of shipping Most customers do not claim for this delay because of Estimate departure time (EDT), and Estimate arrival time (EAT)
No one can predict what will happen in the sea such as natural disasters, storms, damaged ship, problem arises with port forwarding However, there are also cases that the cargo is a week, two weeks late; the peak season may be delayed 3 weeks or even doubled When the goods were later transferred to the destination, the customer missed their plan They rejected the goods and claimed compensation Finally, the company must return the goods to Vietnam for pending
2 Credit risk or non-payment risk:
Credit risk can arise when TCL make a transaction with agents abroad or when importing and exporting goods
There have been some problems while doing transaction with agents When the customer request ocean freight collect (paying freight at port of destination), TCL sometimes asks the agent in importing country to collect the freight and vice versa, when the agent export cargo to Vietnam, TCL will do the same However, the agents sometimes do not transfer the money to TCL and TCL has to accept to lose that sum of money instead of lawsuits TCL does not like lawsuit because it is costly and time-consuming Furthermore, the freight is not too big and not worth a lawsuit
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The credit problem also arises when the customer does not come to the agent to receive their cargo (normally happen to Less Container Load) Less Container Load cargo is not too valuable but continuous abandonment will cause considerable loss to the company
Each political regime has different economic policy Instability of a political system can cause instability of policy This directly affects investment efficiency because the investor cannot predict business performance In some cases, they lose all assets In the import and export fields for example, the State use tax policy in controlling import and export goods
If import tax levied on goods increases, it can limit import goods If the import tax is increased during process of shipping goods, the forwarder company may offset the tax differences for the customer
Misunderstandings in communication and in international trade transactions arise because in most instances the forwarder and agency come from different cultures and express themselves in different languages In most instances, business practices, tax systems, rules and regulations, accounting methods, currency controls and customs systems all differ from that of the forwarder's own country
In the case of goods stolen or late delivery, being good in language and deeply understanding logistics terms, staffs can easily manage problems by telephone However, because of limited language skills, only two important officers in each Department can handle directly with customers Their task is uploaded so response is sometimes delayed There is no other ways; they have to solve the problem by Email instead of direct telephone Besides, the time zone is different from Europe’s so the company has to wait until the next day to make transaction Such delay would affect delivery to customers and may affect the profitability of the company if customers reject the goods
Three main operational risks are listed as below:
Size: Goods are packed in the wrong size package or box
Packaging: The cargo is not packed in the best and most packaging for each commodity
Misleading: Many goods are packaged in containers that are misleading An example of this is a floor cleaner, bright purple in color, packaged in a bottle similar to the size of a common athletic or energy drink Misleading packaging is apt for causing problems with the consumers purchasing them If the consumer thinks it's a drink, and drinks it, serious health consequences could occur Besides, wet, inherently moist or liable to leakage cargo is sometimes packed with dry goods
SOLUTIONS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF RISKS
Accident is unpredictable and it may cause great loss to the company In order to limit it, the driver must be trained carefully in driving course Besides providing their driver license, they should be tested by experienced drivers before being accepted to work in the warehouse Also, they must be punished if they steal customer’s goods Depending on goods’ value, the punishment policy should be given by Managing Director
The fact is that safety can be sometimes considered less important than high productivity with economy However, it is agreed that safety awareness is necessary; too many people fail to observe safety guidelines, even when using potentially dangerous materials handling equipment Therefore, guidelines such as no smoking in the terminal, and always using safety gear-helmets and special protective eye glasses, especially for hot works to prevent serious accidents should be followed However, the following guidelines should also be followed to ensure safety:
Know how to properly operate the equipment you are using
Use only equipment that is appropriate for the work to be done
Inspect the equipment to ensure that it is in good working condition before beginning a job In addition, ensure that regular inspections and maintenance are conducted as appropriate
Do not stress or overload the equipment
Transport exposes goods to risk of damage that may bring financial losses to parties having an interest in the goods As recovery from carriers is often uncertain or incomplete, parties need insurance that is easily arranged and gives protection against those losses The protection takes the form of a policy of cargo insurance that will pay the losses of any party who has an interest in the goods during transit
Therefore, it is necessary for the customer and the freight forwarder as well to buy insurance The customer should buy insurance for valuable and fragile cargo They can use two types of insurance relevant to forwarding practice: cargo insurance to protect against physical loss of or damage to goods, and liability insurance to protect a forwarder against a lawsuit
2 Nonpayment or late payment risks
At the moment, TCL is joining as a member of VCCI (Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry), CGLN (China Global Logistics Network under WCA Family of Logistics
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Network-World Cargo Alliance) The company can also take part in LOG-NET International Logistics Management System and APL Logistics The registration fee is from $1,000 to $1,500 per year The reasons of this registration are as below:
First of all, when the company exports the cargo to any country which is the member of these Associations, in case of co-load, if the agent does not pay the money to TCL or pay late, the company collects all of relevant documents and proofs; then sends them to the Association The Association will examine If it is true, the Association will use measures to urge the agent to pay earlier In the worst situation such as bankrupt, the Association is responsible for paying for the value of the cargo Next, it is risky to find the partner on the Internet because he can polish himself There are some cases that TCL found an agency through the Website of the Association However, the company did not pay attention to the effective deadline and as a result; the agency collected all the freight cost and did not pay back to TCL Joining in these Associations help TCL save time and be able to search out a reliable agent When TCL intends to develops its market somewhere, he should ask for help
Payment on progress of delivery can be given as the first solution to restrict risk of late payment or nonpayment Whenever goods or services are delivered, the payment need fulfilling in installments over procedure Therefore, when TCL completes the delivery, it can avoid the extension of total payment
Besides, TCL Company should regularly keep track of business situation of consignee and shipper The information is normally based on financial report or feedback from the competitor relating to shipper or consignee
And especially relating to important bulk, it is necessary to make detailed contract that specifies condition of payment
Additionally, TCL should give a condition: in case of late payment, the customer has to pay interest rate
Lastly, the forwarder can check balance of bank account of both consignee and shipper If the balance could cover in case of non/late payment, TCL will make request to bank for the payment
Unpredictable weather and stormy seas are not the only scenarios that need to be taken into consideration when the cargo is being packed and secured When vessels undertake long journeys that will take them through different climates, the temperature variance can affect the internal conditions of the container That is the reason why the company should inspect the container before it is packaged
3.1.1 Visual inspection of the container prior to packing
To ensure that the cargo arrives in the best condition, the important step is to make sure that the container is well-maintained and structurally sound Whether it is a FCL or LCL shipment, it is a good idea to carry out a thorough inspection of both the container’s interior and exterior, before stuffing and after unstuffing
Checking the exterior of a container
Structural strengths of a container: main framework, corner posts and fitting, etc
The walls, floor and roof of the container
The container doors: no broken, and should be capable of being securely locked and sealed in the closed position
Irrelevant labels or placards on the outside of the container referring to the previous cargo should be removed
Checking the interior of a container
No traces of sweeping, dust, grease or liquid
Must be dry and free of sweat and frost
Must be free from major damage, including broken moorings or protrusions such as nails, bolts, special fittings, etc This could damage the cargo, and could also injure people involved in stuffing or unstuffing the container
Must be checked to ensure that there is no infestation or any evidence of pests, insects or rodents
Must be 100% weatherproof against wind and water, to prevent the cargo from damage
Any vehicle, cargo unit, or non-standardized cargo can only be effectively secured during packing if there are a sufficient number of people carrying out the task, and if these
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24 personnel have been properly trained in the use of equipment and know the most effective methods of securing required for each type of cargo Therefore, the staff of warehouse should be given a chance to join training courses of packing
Not only to be trained, the thought: “Using the best and most suitable packaging for each commodity” must be grasped in the mind of the staff working in the warehouse
Moreover, if the goods are irregularly shaped and some empty space between them is unavoidable, then the stow should be completed via suitable means: filling in the gap with dunnage, folded cardboard, or airbags It is important not to use material that is incompatible with the cargo
3.1.3 For special items, the company should offer another company specializing in providing special packaging to help them avoid packaging problems
In order to safely stored, the following steps should be taken into consideration:
CONCLUSION
Have the goals been reached?
As stated in Chapter III, I am asked to reach three main goals:
Point out all possible risks influencing company’s profit and group them logically
Base on theoretical and practical knowledge to find out the solution to help the company to limit the risk, increase the profit and improve the company business situation
On the basis of risk analysis, find out the matters that need consider in drafting and writing a contract to prevent the risk and ensure the company’s rights in the contract
In my internship report (especially Chapter 4), I pointed out all kinds of risks which TCL faces with and put them in groups This is the knowledge I gained in Insurance and International payment risk, and International financial risk subject The aim is to find out the best solutions to the company With all data and documents, I try to analyze as specifically as possible each kind of risk
In conclusion, I have gained the above goals they assigned me in four month internship
My internship brings some advantages to the company The first one is that basing on the analysis have made on six groups of risks, the company can learn how to avoid them The second one is to get solutions to deal with them in case of facing to them The third one is to identify the risk that the company can consider them in preparing its short and long term strategies Besides, on the basis of identified risks, the company may consider the reorganization of work, human resources and personnel to minimize the risk
In my report, I indicate totally five groups of risks: transport related risks, nonpayment and late payment risks, operational risks, political risks and cultural, language risks These risks are all listed in targeted goals; however, I only can point out some typical solutions for each category of risk due to the limitation of my internship time Because of this, the remaining 60% of the measures is not easy to be given out because besides theory, I need to practice more The internship lasts only 4 months; it is not enough for me to analyze all of aspects of risks and gain all experiences in freight forwarding
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28 industry Without deeply understandings, I cannot give out all solutions to limit the risk for the company
However, my risk classification may help the company to overview possible risks, have basic arguments and this work is a basis for the future analysis of remaining risks Also, my report is a material for the company to understand their own risks Although the solution is not fully given, they have various methods to avoid them when they do transactions Lastly, my list of risks helps the company to make a stricter contract with the least risk.
Suggestions/ recommendations for the company
In Chapter 4, I proposed four appropriate measures to minimize the risk to the company Based on the risk analysis, the company should
Identify the risk which affects remarkably to TCL company’s business activities and the risk that TCL often encounters to have the suitable measures to manage it
Prepare business strategy and forecast business performance on the basis of forecasted risks
Give out the best solution to solve the dispute
Furthermore, during my daily work as an internee, I find out that the company should improve the following things for company’s further development, business performance and human resources as well
The company should continue analyzing to find out more measures for the success of the company
When the company signs a contract, they should consider my analysis of risks to restrict the risks and to ensure their right in the contract
In order to minimize operational risks, the current staff of the company should be trained once per year It should be at the beginning of the year or on holidays to avoid losing the company’s service in the year (not peak season) Especially, the candidate should be trained thoroughly before they undertake their official
29 position This training time is important because it is likely a certain answer to whether he or she has enough ability to take the job
If machines are broken, the transaction is interrupted and the company does not operate smoothly when machines are broken down or some problems happens to inland trucking Moreover, the truck can get in accident during transportation to the port and therefore, it is necessary to plan major maintenance during holiday or
Solving the customer’s claim: This job should be done in a fixed period (once/month) This is an activity to avoid unnecessary disputes as well as to build an image: TCL is doing its best to meet customers’ demand
For the task relating to customers, partners and all of company’s stages must be taken note and filed carefully The staff of Customer Service Department and the staff of operational Department as well need to preserve all documentary proofs such as contract, email, relevant documents, etc to be used when needed In addition, the staff should be provided a check sheet They will write down their task and what they have already done daily It is a way to avoid risks because this means that the task has been taken in account and exactly carried out
The company should issue “encouragements and sanctions” policy to staff of Marketing Department When the staff brings valuable and frequent order to the company, he or she should be given commission percentage which highly motivates them to work more effectively However, the staff in the company is punished when he or she makes a mistake Depending on the level of the mistake, he or she has to be punished different amount of money This collected money can be put in a fund
The company should create a Customer Service Department should be created because the current chart shows some disadvantages as shown below:
The scale of the company is getting bigger, number of order increases; the current organization chart is not favorable The reason is that each staff cannot assume the responsibility for their job and the task is overloaded This leads to low quality of the service and the company cannot handle all orders
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Customer information management is not good The company faces difficulty when the person being in charge of order and customer management move to another company The company then loses its existing customer information and the order It is very difficult to rebuild the relationship with them
The way to organize and examine job is not effective: Because each individual is responsible for their own task, there exist limitations in sharing the information
It is unable to take advantage of economies of scale If the staff shares all information, combines the different cargo to transport on the same truck, hire the same warehouse, etc, the cost is decreased and creates price competition
The ratio of leaking information is high and information security is poor Besides, building a powerful brand, a general image of the company is not easy
Because of the above reasons, it is vital for the company to reconstruct to be able to improve service quality, limit the cost and the risk as well
So what kind of job does the staff of Customer Service Department have to do?
Quickly response to customer / dealer questions
Keep contact and coordinate with foreign agents to track shipments, check freight cost and settle claims, etc
Negotiate, work with co-loader, shipping companies and sub-contractors to build, update freight cost and best services
For exporting shipment: keep track of exporting shipments for sales staffs to ensure that the cargo is sent safely and within possibly controlled schedule
For importing shipments: monitor and appoint importing shipments for sales staffs
Keep track of indicated shipments of the agency
Report, update cargo status to customers, sales staff, and agents
Check and urge customers to deliver and receive goods on time to avoid derived costs
Take care of existing customers as the role of a sales staff
When communicating with customers, try to gather customer information, market trends, demand trends relating to the company's services and report to the head of department
As a role of a direct marketer, it is necessary to polish and build brand for the company
Directly report to the person in charge of Import / Export Department and to higher position when needed
So what can the Customer Service Department bring to TCL Company?
Reduce work for the staff of Export and Import Department It helps them to more focus on their own task and reduces risk of operation
Regularly updated information helps to detect and solve the problem relating to the customer and the agency rapidly
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Collect the reason of claims from the customer/agency From this collection, the company will be more caution in drafting/ making a contract and to avoid repeating it in the future
Avoid losing customer’s and agent’s information when the staff of Operation Department moves to another company
Enhance deep relationship with the customer as well as the agency
What have I gained from the internship?
During my internship period, I had some difficulties in using logistics terms, collecting data and communicating with the customer However, I cannot deny that the internship brings me a lot for my future job
First of all, the internship program at TCL Company has been a remarkably beneficial experience for me Small tasks and work assigned have been related to real freight forwarding field, and have allowed me to develop my personal skills
Also, frequent communication with the customer via telephone enhanced my communication skills Besides, my language skill was also improved as I had to read Email from the customer and the agency Even though the transaction was often done inbound, both the customer and the staff consider English as the major language in communication They rarely write Email in Vietnamese
Furthermore, I have opportunities to review what I have learnt at school by reading documents provided by the company
What is more, I had more chances to ask and exchange information surrounding my internship title with Ms Binh, my Academic adviser in AMI Course and to be corrected by Ms Hanh, my internship guide
In addition, I had opportunities to exchange knowledge and learn from staff of company to cooperate with colleagues and learn how to teamwork
In the same way, reading and filing documents (mainly documents related to LCL) helped me a lot in knowing which paper will be sent to the customer to ensure the right of each party
Above all, I gradually understand the content of lessons in AMI course and have chances to apply what I have learnt to practice Besides, I get more knowledge of shipping terms used in the field of freight forwarding (Container language) which I have not heard before such as CFS, LCL, FCL, etc
THE SINGAPORE LOGISTICS ASSOCIATION WITH RACHEL HENWOOD IN CONSULTATION WITH TAE TEE HWA, Seafreight Forwarding, 2 nd edition, Singapore: Candice Chan, 2007, p.94-p.101, p 103-p.109
THE SINGAPORE LOGISTICS ASSOCIATION WITH CHEONG YUN WAN IN CONSULTATION WITH STANLEY LIM AND THOMAS SIM, Multimodal Transport, Singapore: Candice Chan, 2006, p.9
JONES, PETER, Legal Handbook on forwarding, 4th edition, Canada, 2008, p.139- p.150
HONG DAM, NGUYEN; VAN CHAU, HOANG; NHU TIEN, NGUYEN; SY TUAN, VU, vận tải và giao nhận trong ngoại thương, 2 nd edition, Foreign Trade University, 2005, p.244-p.251
VIETTRANS, giáo trình nghiệp vụ giao nhận hàng hóa, Ho Chi Minh, 1991, p.15- p.23
TCL international Co., Ltd, Annual reports, Accounting Department, 2008-2010
3) Web resources http://www.tclfreight.com.vn
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Table 1 Freight services overview from 2008 to 2010 5Table 2 Sea freight data from 2008 to 2010 6Table 3 Air freight data from 2008 to 2010 6