Asia became a manufacturing leader during the 1960s, when Japan began exporting electronics and other retail merchandise. Twenty years later, South-East Asia became dominated by Japanese-owned manufacturing plants. During those 2 decades South Korea and Taiwan also entered the industry. In 1990, following China’s entry, 26 1/2 percent of worldwide manufacturing was being done in Asia. Thirteen yea...
Free On Board or FOB is a legal term which specifies that the shipper owns the goods while in transit. CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) terms mean that the seller merely assumes responsibility for said goods until they reach the port of destination. DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) refers to the seller paying the duties and taxes of the shipment. These various acronyms are known as INCO terms. Many com...
What is Amazon FBA? FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) is the unique system that gives the opportunity for almost anyone to get involved in selling merchandise without having to store or ship the items. With FBA, you have your merchandise shipped directly to a fulfillment center. Once the merchandise arrives at the dock, it is checked in and placed into storage. When an order is placed and paid for, the o...
The Panama Canal expansion project is finally nearing completion after more than half a decade of work and an investment of billions of dollars. The third set of locks is scheduled to allow super-ships to pass starting on the 27th of June, 2016. What this means for economics and trade agreements worldwide has been a hotly debated topic ever since the project’s preliminary feasibility studies were ...
How to circumvent the pitfalls that can derail your international trade goals Global trade grew by 13.5 percent in 2010, marking the fastest-ever expansion in global commerce, according to the World Trade Organization. That represents a lot of transactions, and a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. With import and export trade volumes rising every year, companies are bound to make importi...
Freight forwarders are very good at moving shipments around the globe in the most compliant manner possible, but did you know that their capabilities and competencies actually stretch much further? Here are five things your freight forwarder can do to help you run your business more efficiently and profitably: Monitoring vendor performance: Using a dashboard application that tracks all imports and...
I understand that the temptation to buy on a Cost, Insurance & Freight (CIF) basis is very hard to resist. After all, isn’t it so much easier? When you don’t have to coordinate with a freight forwarder and don’t have to negotiate freight rates, all you have to do is to wait for the vessel or airplane to arrive, right? It’s almost too good to be true! Well, actually, it is absolutely too good to be...
Choosing between air and sea for international transportation isn’t always a straightforward decision. The prevailing assumption is that air is always the more expensive option, although when you factor time into the equation that assumption isn’t always accurate. Here are five scenarios where airfreight makes sense: When time is of the essence. When you need that shipment of parts quickly to avoi...
Your company’s future depends on effective transportation and information management. Whether you’re attempting to provide commercial buyers with products or importing the resources you’ll need to create them, your success relies on everything being in the right places at the right times. Getting your freight forwarding providers on board with Electronic Data Interchange, or EDI, could be the best...