A week in Exporting

People often ask me if I enjoy my work. It's sometimes a difficult question to answer, because at times what I do can be frustrating, aggravating and very, very stressful. But it is never boring. I deal with all cultures and backgrounds and I find everyone I deal with interesting because they all bring something new to me. Sometimes it can be difficult understanding what they mean, but part of the challenge is to find ways of communicating when, sometimes, there are very few shared staring points.

One of the most fascinating aspects of dealing with people on the international business stage is finding out what I call "the story behind the story."

For example, a recent advert on the television indicated that for the Chinese the number 4 is very bad luck. However, it didn’t explain why, so I asked a Chinese friend. She explained that in Cantonese, the word for “4” sounds very similar to the word for “death.” Ergo it is deemed to be unlucky. The Cantonese for 4, by the way, is “say.” The Cantonese for ”death” is also pronounced “say” but with more emphasis on the “y”. This juxtaposition of meaning between words which sound similiar is not limited to just one culture, of course, but I will be very careful from now on not to include the number 4 in any dealings I have with my Chinese customers or friends.

My friend also told me that she had heard a story that hotels in Las Vegas were in a quandry about bibles in their hotel rooms. This is because the word for “book” in Cantonese is “Sue,” very similar to the word that represents the phrase “lose money.” Since a lot of Chinese now travel to Las Vegas to gamble, the presence of bibles in their hotel rooms (because of course to most Chinese the Bible is just a book) was causing distress, so I wonder, if this story is true, how the Las Vegas hotels are coping.

I have just tried shipping, for the first time, goods from India direct to Nigeria and it has not been easy. Indian companies can get rebates from their Excise department if they can prove that the goods are exported. However, this then means that the customs rules and regulations administered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) come into force to prevent incorrect requests for rebates.

Before the goods can move from the manufacturing site to the port, the machine(s) and documents all have to be inspected by a representative from a regulatory authority – Central Excise. These visits need to be arranged in advance since they are only carried out by appointment. If the goods have to be pre-inspected, a second inspector, who again will only turn up by appointment, carries this out separately.

Regardless of who organises the freight and the final destination of the shipment, Bills of Lading from India must show the Indian supplier as the shipper and the buyer as the applicant. This can cause problems if the shipment is being made against a Letter of Credit.

However, Shipping Lines will switch Bills. If a full set of Original bills is sent to the applicant and they approach the Shipping Line/representative of the Shipping Line in their country, the Shipping Line will re-issue the bills in accordance with the shipper’s Letter of Credit instructions. It does mean a delay in submitting documents though, since the Bills first have to come from India and are then sent back to the shipping line. So at least 6 days are required to get compliant Bills issued.