international air freight export procedure in agility logistics ltd , vietnam third submission

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITYHO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS GRADUATION INTERNSHIP REPORT Major: International Business Management INTERNATIONAL AIR FREIGHT EXPORT PROCEDURE IN AGILITY LOGISTICS LTD.

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

HO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS

GRADUATION INTERNSHIP REPORT

Major: International Business Management

INTERNATIONAL AIR FREIGHT EXPORT

PROCEDURE IN AGILITY LOGISTICS LTD.,

VIETNAM

Intern: HO HOANG GIA BAO Student ID: 0952015007

Class: K48CLC Supervisor: Ms Pham Thi Chau Quyen

Ho Chi Minh City, March 2013

SUPERVISOR’S REMARKS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Title Page

Internship Organization’s Remarks

Supervisor’s Remarks

List of Abbreviations

List of Tables and Figures

Preface 1

Chapter 1: Introduction of Agility Ltd., Vietnam 3

1.1 Brief History 3

1.2 General Information 3

1.3 Organizational Structure 4

1.3.1 Organizational Chart 4

1.3.2 Functions of Main Departments 6

1.4 Business Outcomes 7

1.5 Roles of the Air Freight Export in the company 10

Chapter 2: The International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Logistics Ltd., Vietnam 11

2.1 International Air Freight Export Procedure 11

2.1.1 Receive a booking from customer 13

2.1.2 Book space with airline and confirm to customer 16

2.1.3 Prepare shipping documents and cargo labels 18

2.1.4 Pick up, receive cargo and complete documents 18

2.1.5 Check if cargo uplifted and submit documents to airline 20

2.1.6 Send a pre-alert to overseas Agility station 21

2.1.7 Trace daily and update on system for every shipment departed 21

2.1.8 File and store documents 21

2.2 Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses of the Air Freight Export

Procedure in Agility Ltd., Vietnam 22

2.2.1 Strengths 22

2.2.2 Weaknesses 23

Chapter 3: Outlook, Oriented Development and Recommendation for Improvement of the International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Ltd., Vietnam 26

3.1 Outlook of the Air Freight Export 26

3.1.1 Opportunities 26

3.1.2 Threats 28

3.2 The oriented development of Air Freight Export Procedure 29

3.3 Recommendations for Improving the Air Freight Export Procedure 30

Conclusion 34

References 36

Annexes 37

Annex 1 37

Annex 2 38

Annex 3 39

Annex 4 40

Annex 5 41

Annex 6 42

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Full Word

HAWB House Air WaybillMAWB Master Air WaybillCBT Customer, Brokerage and TransportationROA Return on Asset

ICC International Chamber of Commerce

TCS Tan Son Nhat Cargo Service CompanySCSC Saigon Cargo Service CorporationETD Estimated Time of DepartureETA Estimated Time of ArrivalCEO Chief Executive ManagerCFO Chief Financial ManagerCOO Chief Operation Manager

IT Information TechnologyIATA International Air Transport AssociationFIATA International Federation of Freight

Forwarders AssociationsISO International Organization for

Standardization

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Illustration 1.1 Hierarchy Chart of Agility Vietnam 5Table 1.1 Financial data of Agility Vietnam between 2009

and 2011

7

Illustration 2.1 8 Steps of Air Freight Export Procedure 11Table 2.1 Export Procedure divided by teams 12

PREFACE

Vietnam has been a potential market for logistics activities since 2007, when itbecame the World Trade Organization’s official member The growth of export andimport as well as retailing industry was remarkable, which fostered the rapiddevelopment of logistics sector in general and freight forwarding business inparticular Despite the negative effects of the worldwide economic and financialcrisis in 2008, Vietnam’s freight forwarding field has grew strongly with the

average rate of 20 percent annually In 2010, it was ranked at the 53rd out of 155busiest logistics markets globally, and the prospect is forecasted to be verypromising Although air freight is just the third common method for shipment ofgoods imported and exported, following behind sea and land transport, it hascontributed more and more to the development of Vietnam’s freight forwardingbusiness With the existing 26 airports including 8 big ones having 3000-meterrunways for large aircrafts, and the planned building of new bigger internationalairports and terminals, the infrastructure provided by Vietnam is considered verysufficient and capable of enhancing its air cargo forwarding In addition, more andmore airlines and freight forwarders will operate in Vietnam, which makes the airfreight gain a more important role in the whole forwarding industry.

In 2007, there were about 700 logistics companies in Vietnam, and thatamount went up to 1,000 in 2011, which indicates a very large number of freightforwarding firms However, most of them just offered separated air or sea transportservices, and worked as agents for foreign airlines or logistics companies There are

a few firms can provide global integrated methods for moving goods from Vietnam

to any country in the world and vice versa Agility Logistics Limited Vietnam is atypical company of that kind It has the expertise in serving emerging markets, and

in fact, it has spent 19 years in researching and offering optimal services forVietnamese shippers varying from freight forwarding by air/sea/land towarehousing management Among these services, perhaps air freight is the mostmodern and complicated operation of Agility Vietnam that could bring great values

to its customers The air freight procedure of this company is very detailed andefficient and it is linked to the international network of Agility to constitute a globalintegrated system Due to that reason, and due to the importance of air cargoforwarding in Vietnam nowadays, I decide to choose the topic for my graduation

report as International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Logistics Ltd.,

Vietnam to fully learn the effectiveness of a typical modern air freight procedure

The report will be divided into 3 chapters as follows:

- Chapter 1: Introduction of Agility Ltd., Vietnam

- Chapter 2: The International Air Freight Export Procedure in AgilityLogistics Ltd., Vietnam

- Chapter 3: Outlook, Oriented Development and Recommendation forImprovement of the International Air Freight Export Procedure in AgilityLtd., Vietnam

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all Agility Logistics LimitedVietnam’s members who supported me during my internship, especially Mr.VuTrong Anh Quan – COO of Agility Vietnam, Ms Hoang Thi Ngoc Nguyen – AirFreight Manager and Ms Bui Thi Ngoc Hien – Air Freight Supervisor I amsincerely grateful to Foreign Trade University and all my respected teachers whoaided me a lot during my time at school I would like to show my best gratitude for

my teacher and supervisor – Ms Phạm Thị Châu Quyên, who advised and corrected

my errors when writing the report I would like to thank all my friends for theirassistance Finally, I would like to show my thankfulness to my family whosupported and encouraged me all the time Without them, I could not complete thereport

In spite of my utilization of all efforts, there may be unavoidable mistakes anderrors in the report I honestly hope to receive feedbacks and contributions to make

it more precise

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OF AGILITY LTD., VIETNAM

1.1 Brief History

Agility, one of the leading global logistics companies, was founded in Kuwait

in 1979 Agility grew strongly since its establishment, and in 2004, it became thelargest logistics provider in the Middle East Today, Agility presents in more than

100 countries with over 22,000 employees working in 550 offices Agility provides

a wide range of logistics services, freight forwarding, and specialized solutions,which can serve the demand of various parties from government to corporation Agility Logistics Ltd., Vietnam was established on November 15th, 2004 underthe Investment License 731/GP-HCM provided by Ho Chi Minh People’sCommittee The license was later amended to the Investment Certificate

41102200033 in 2008 The company is an important component in the internationalnetwork of Agility Global that monitors the business in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodiaand part of South East Asia region Agility Vietnam has the headquarters in Ho ChiMinh City and other facilities in Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Vung Tau with over 160staff

1.2 General Information

- Legal Name: Agility Logistics Limited Vietnam

- Name for short: Agility Ltd Vietnam or Agility Vietnam

- Headquarters: Room 8.2-8.3, Etown 1 Building

364 Cong Hoa Street, Ward 13, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City

- Telephone: +84.8.39308.010

- Fax: +84.8.39308.019

- Email: vietnam@agilitylogistics.com

- Website: http://www.agilitylogistics.com

- Slogan: Global Integrated Logistics – A new logistics leader

- Milestone: 2004: Foundation of the company

2007: Opening of Ha Noi branch2010: Green and Corporate Social Responsibility Award2011: Certification of ISO 9001:2000 and EMS 14000

1.3 Organizational Structure

1.3.1 Organizational Hierarchy Chart

Agility Vietnam’s departments are organized in a simple but scientific andeffective way, which contributes to its achievement of goals and efficiency of dailyoperations Illustration 1.1 describes it in more detail The company’s structure is

classified as functional structure in which “similar or related occupationalspecialties” are grouped together (Stephen P.Robbins and Mary Coulter, 2009, page209) In other words, jobs are arranged “according to function” which ensures the

“efficiencies” and “coordination within each functional area” (Stephen P.Robbinsand Mary Coulter, 2009, page 202) This organizational design is highly appropriatefor a small business providing specialized services like Agility Vietnam The ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) is the top manager who is responsible for the overallactivities of the company The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is in charge for theaccounting and financial functions Main duties of the Chief Operation Officer(COO) are keeping all work procedure conducted rightly and productively TheSecretary is responsible for other functions such as human resources and IT

Personnel of the company are very young and most of them are between 25and 35 years old However, they are very skillful with the average experience of 5

to 7 working years The female/male ratio of staff is somewhat high, approximately1.5/1, but it does not affect the working environment as well as the outcome of thecompany All over 160 employees have certificates and education needed for theirjobs and most of them graduated from big universities and colleges in Vietnam such

as Foreign Trade University, University of Economics, Maritime University,National University and College of Foreign Economic Relation Agility Vietnamalways focuses on the quality of its staff because they are the main force tocontribute to its success Thanks to that policy, a large number of its workers aregiven the opportunities in learning deeper in logistics and forwarding fields In fact,

a high portion of the company’s personnel have got the career certificates andfrequent training from prestigious organizations such as International Federation ofFreight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and International Air TransportAssociation (IATA)

Illustration 1.1: Hierarchy Chart of Agility Vietnam

1.3.2 Functions of Main Departments

- Air Freight: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, carriers and customers tohandle goods shipped by air into and out of Vietnam and some regional countries

Source: Agility Vietnam’s internal information

This department is divided into smaller teams such as Customer Service,Documentation and Tracing

- Ocean Freight: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, carriers and customers tohandle goods shipped by sea into and out of Vietnam and some regional countries

- Fair & Event: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, and carriers to handlegoods especially used for fairs and events into and out of Vietnam and someregional countries This department has to liaise with the Air Freight or OceanFreight for the carriage of goods

- Sales: cooperate with Agility’s global network and agents to find customers forAir Freight, Ocean Freight, and Fair & Event departments

- Project, Logistics and Customs Service: conduct customs clearance, landtransportation by using refrigerated trucks or subcontracting vehicles andwarehousing management These departments contain 2 important teams Customer,Brokerage and Transportation (CBT) team belong to Customs Service Department,and Terminal Operation team belongs to Logistics Department

- Finance & Accounting: conduct all accounting functions and liaise with otherdepartments in making invoices and paying or receiving money This department isheaded by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who then reports to the ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) The chief accountant is in charge of accounting activitieswhich are tracked and monitored by the accounting system supervisor

- Other departments: include Secretary or Receptionist, Personnel, InformationTechnology and QESH (Quality, Environment, Safety and Health) departments,which are run by respective managers These departments conduct the main tasksthe same as their names suggest Information Technology (IT) department, forinstance, is responsible for the installation and maintenance of all electric devices aswell as their related software QESH department takes care of the safety and health

at workplace for all personnel as well as the quality of working environment to meetand surpass all standard requirements, consisting of ISO 9001:2000 and EMS14000

1.4 Business Outcomes

The table below indicates some main information regarding the company’sassets, revenue, cost and profit in the period 2009-2011

Table 1.1: Financial data of Agility Vietnam between 2009 and 2011 (million VND) Criteria Year 2009 Year 2010 Year 2011

Assets 35,967 37,860 40,255Revenue 38,484 32,070 29,062

Source: Agility Vietnam’s financial statements

dongs, approximately 9.38 percent Nevertheless, the falling rate was much lowerthan that of 2010 (9.38% compared to 16.67%) which indicated a slight recovery inthe company’s business activities This recovery, however, was extremely unstablebecause the negative effects of the crisis still remained and the international marketwas highly unpredictable.

In spite of diminished revenue, operating profit of Agility Vietnam was veryoptimistic thanks to the enhanced efficiency of all work operations From 2009 to

2010, total cost fell more slowly than total revenue (11.32% compared to 16.67%)

As a result, operating income in 2010 crashed dramatically over 2 times from 4,575

to 1,998 million dongs However, in the years 2010 and 2011, total cost dwindled

at higher rate than that of revenue (10.98% compared to 9.38%), which contributed

to the increase in operating profit from 1,998 to 2,291 million dongs In the coststructure, cost of goods sold played a key role when it shrank remarkably about17.90%, much larger than the ratio 10.98% of the total cost It implied that the joboperation and all procedure of Agility Vietnam were so proficient where best effortswere made to cut the cost of goods sold For a forwarding firm like AgilityVietnam, cost of goods sold is mainly comprised of freight and expense paid tocarriers To minimize them, the firm had close relationships and long-term contractswith some critical shipping companies, airlines and forwarding agents for largespace allotment The more regular shipments and the more cargo carried, the lowerthe freight those carriers offered to Agility Vietnam In the meantime, AgilityVietnam focused on its traditional and large customers such as Nike, Nokia, Rieker,Sam Sung and Siemens who continually had a great amount of goods to betransported even during the difficult time of the world economy Agility Vietnamencouraged its customers to ship large quantities of cargo on some scheduled time

in the week so that the freight and expense it charged were much lower Byimplementing this method, every party would be beneficial For the customers, theyenjoyed the best freight paid to Agility Vietnam For Agility Vietnam, it couldreduce its total cost of goods sold and be more flexible in organizing workprocesses For carriers, they would achieve more stable demand and managed theirfleets more efficiently

As Agility Vietnam focused on its main operation where it had the mostcompetitive capacity (i.e air freight and ocean freight), the profit from otheractivities such as warehousing was strongly scaled down nearly 90 percent from

168 million dongs in 2010 to just only 17 million dongs in 2011 Appropriateattempts were made to recover from the year 2010 when the total profit hit thebottom In facts, the company’s efforts were productive as total profit slightly went

up from 2,166 million dongs in 2010 to 2,308 million dongs in 2011 The net profitalso changed in the same upward direction, and so did the profit margin and ROA(Return on Asset) Profit margin measures how many dongs of net income that onedong of revenue can generate, while ROA measures how many dongs of net incomethat one dong of asset can generate During 2010 and 2011, profit margin grewalmost 17.60% from 6.08 to 7.15 percent Despite a very hard time in doingbusiness, Agility Vietnam planned to gradually expand its assets to proactively copewith the sluggishness as well as prepare for strong future development when theinternational situation becomes more promising That initiative gained somepositive results in 2011 when the ROA slightly rose from 5.15% to 5.16%

In conclusion, the period 2009-2011 was extremely challenging for AgilityVietnam in particular and for the entire forwarding and logistics industry in general.Year 2010 witnessed the significantly fall of profitability when all indicatorsincluding net profit, profit margin and ROA declined roughly 2 times In thefollowing year, they showed a small growth, but the resumption was too early to beconfirmed During the three years, total cost, notably cost of goods sold,consecutively slumped due to the developed proficiency in all task procedure andbecame a vital force for the effectiveness of the company Agility Vietnam hadinitiative to deal with the difficult situation actively, and the outcome in 2012 and

2013 is expected to be around the 2011’s result or even able to face losses becausethe global economy conditions are still impacted by the crisis in 2008 Theinternational market is still fluctuating and unpredictable Only until 2015 will thesituation be stable, and that will be the opportunity for Agility Vietnam and otherlogistics firms to fully recover and expand their business

1.5 Roles of Air Freight Export in the company

Air freight, along with ocean freight, is Agility Vietnam’s backbone and mainsource of income and competitive capacity Air Freight Department is the onewhich has the largest number of personnel and the most sophisticated procedure inthe company The control system run by this department is state of the art in themarket where only a few ones from big international forwarders could compare.Thanks to that system, the cost relating to each shipment is minimized, whichincreases the productivity of the whole firm It also helps other departments,especially Ocean Freight and Fair & Event, to ship goods and serve clients’demand Multimodal transportation is more and more crucial nowadays, and airfreight is of the essence in this process In recent years, air freight has contributed alarger amount of total income (nearly 54%), which nurtures the whole company’sbusiness result The exporting component plays a crucial role in the AgilityVietnam’s Air Freight It has liaised strongly with other departments and withAgility’s branches in other countries to make the transportation of goods moreintegrated globally – a competitive advantage of Agility over its rivals AgilityVietnam offers a wide selection of air freight export services so as to deliver bestcustomer satisfaction, create prestige as well as enlarge the company’s marketshare These services are Air First, Air Plus, Air Value, combined transport Sea/Air,Land/Air, and Air/Sea, which could satisfy all types of customer from organization

to individual in moving their cargo abroad Not only serving Vietnamese customersbut air freight export selections have also been in business with companies in Laos,Cambodia and some other countries in the region

CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNATIONAL AIR FREIGHT EXPORT

PROCEDURE IN AGILITY LOGISTICS LTD., VIETNAM

2.1 International Air Freight Export Procedure

The Air Freight Export Procedure takes place at Agility Origin – usually thecountry of the shipper In this report, Agility Origin is understood as AgilityVietnam The procedure consists of 8 steps as displayed in the following diagram.

There are normally 4 main parties who take part in the process to make sureall cargo are successfully exported and delivered to the final destination They arethe shipper – who would like to send goods abroad, Agility Vietnam – the airfreight forwarder or the contracting carrier, the airline – the actual carrier, and theoverseas Agility Station – Agility’s branch or agent in the foreign country Among

Step 4: Pick up,

receive cargo and complete

documents

Step 5: Check if

cargo uplifted and submit documents to airline

Illustration 2.1: 8 Steps of Air Freight Export Procedure

Source: Agility’s Air Freight Export Handling

these parties, Agility Vietnam plays a role of connecting and liaising with the others

to make sure the work is done as scheduled In order to achieve that, cooperationamong teams in the company is very vital Recall in Chapter 1, part 1.3.2 that theAir Freight Department is divided into smaller teams including Customer Service,Documentation and Tracing teams In addition, the procedure requires the support

of other teams such as CBT (Customer, Brokerage and Transportation) andTerminal Operation to function properly The following table shows how individualstep of the procedure is shared and conducted among mentioned teams

Table 2.1: Export Procedure divided by teams Step Team in charge

Step 1: Receive a booking from

Documentation, Terminal Operation

Step 4: Pick up, receive cargo and

complete documents CBT, Terminal Operation,DocumentationStep 5: Check if cargo uplifted and

submit documents to airline Customer Service, DocumentationStep 6: Send a pre-alert to overseas

Agility station

Documentation

Step 7: Trace daily and update on system

for every shipment departed Customer Service, TracingStep 8: File and store documents Documentation

Source: Agility’s Air Freight Export Handling

2.1.1 Receive a booking from customer

The procedure begins when there is a booking to Agility Vietnam to shipcargo for a customer Customer of the company can be a shipper (i.e Vietnameseexporter in a sale contract with an importer in a foreign country), or a consignee

(i.e the importer in that contract) Who will use air freight export service of AgilityVietnam is subject to the trade term stipulated in the sale contract between the sellerand the buyer Under ICC Incoterms® 2010 such as CPT, CIP, DAT, DAP andDDP, the exporter has obligation to settle carriage of goods, and he/she will requestthe air freight export service of Agility Vietnam to move cargo abroad On thecontrary, under ICC Incoterms® 2010 such as EXW and FCA, the importer hasobligation to settle carriage of goods, and he/she will go to an office of Agility’sglobal network in his/her country to order air freight service This office will thenpass the booking information to Agility Vietnam to ask for air export procedure toship cargo from Vietnam to the importer’s nation

Once received booking from the shipper or from the overseas office via email,fax or telephone, Customer Service team in Air Freight Department of AgilityVietnam has to make sure that the following information is obtained:

- Shipper’s and Consignee’s details: name and address of the shipper and the

consignee as well as the notify party For shipment to the US, it is required tocollect the consignee’s telephone number

- Final destination: the city or the airport of final destination If the cargo is to be

transshipped via some airports, their names will be included Customer Serviceteam should notice that shipments to countries where the use of wood packingmaterials is strictly regulated must have the correct Certificate of Fumigations.Documents such as Certificate of Origins and original invoices must be alsoattached if required by the destination country

- Number of Pieces: the number of pallets or containers or pieces that contains

goods Also, data regarding number of packages per pallet and quantity of goods ineach package need to be provided by the shipper

- Gross weight (estimated): the estimated gross weight gauged by the shipper at his/

her factory The gross weight is usually expressed in kilogram This information isvery crucial for further activities such as House Air Waybill (HAWB) issuance orfreight calculation by Agility Vietnam

- Dimension (estimated): the measurement of cargo in terms of length, width and

height given by the shipper Dimension of cargo is usually indicated in centimeter

It is very important because it is used for calculating the air freight, along with thegross weight The formula to convert from dimension (measured in cubic

centimeter) into weight (measured in kilogram) is [Length]x[Width6000]x [ Height] Grossweight or converted weight, whichever is higher, will become the chargeable weight

to work out the freight charges

- Commodity and Nature of Shipment (especially cargo to the US and EU): name

of commodity, type of goods and their characteristics They are used fordetermining whether there is any special handling or packaging required for theshipment Fail to collect these data may lead to the disapproval of cargo to beexported or denial of airlines for carrying such cargo There are two special casesthat need to be taken into consideration, including dangerous goods and perishablegoods

+ For dangerous goods (DG): If the shipper claims that the items are not

DG, Customer Service team will have to request for a Letter of Certification fromthe shipper to make sure it is accurate However, if the shipper is not sure whetherthe goods are DG or not, Customer Service team must advise the trained personnel

in the company to properly handle the DG shipment and obtain a valid DGcertificate According to the regulations of International Air Transport Association(IATA), each air forwarding company must have at least two employees who arefully trained in dealing with DG shipments In Agility Vietnam, those people belong

to Customer Service and CBT team These staff will check the list of dangerousgoods provided by IATA or by respective airline as well as check the DG manual tosee rules and guidance for DG cargo operation They will also inform the shipper,the consignee and CBT team to pack cargo based on the DG rules Coordinationwith the airline or airport cargo terminal service such as Tan Son Nhat CargoService Company (TCS) or Saigon Cargo Service Corporation (SCSC) will effectonly if, after all the best efforts were made, the DG trained personnel cannot judgewhether the shipment is DG or not

+For perishable goods (such as fruits or live animals): Customer Service

team checks with the airline for special requirements and ensures to achieve theapproved Cargo Clearance Permit for the shipment

- Airline preference: the preference of shipper or foreign agent of Agility in

selecting airline conducting the carriage of goods If the shipper prefers a specificairline, the Customer Service team will attempt to book space with that airline forthe shipment to deliver best customer satisfaction In case the effort is unsuccessful,another suitable airline with lowest cost will be offered to the shipper or foreignagent so that they can make optimal decision

- Terms of payment for freight charges: “freight prepaid” or “freight collect” If

the place of payment is Vietnam, the freight is called prepaid If it is settled in thedestination country, it is considered as freight collect Under CPT, CIP, DAT, DAPand DDP terms, the shipper is liable for carriage cost and has to make payment toAgility Vietnam for air forwarding service Under EXW and FCA terms, thecarriage cost is for the consignee’s account and it is paid at Agility’s branch in theconsignee’s country

- Pick-up point: the place where goods are delivered by the shipper under the

discretion of Agility Vietnam In other words, it is the point in which the shipperfulfills his/her obligation in delivering cargo and passes risks to the consignee Thepick-up point may vary depending on which trade term is stipulated in the salecontract between the shipper and the consignee It might be the shipper’s premiseswhen the term is EXW or other places if the term is FCA It is usually the airportcargo terminal such as TCS and SCSC when other terms are used If the shipperrequests Agility to pick the cargo up at a different point, the exact location and timemust be given

- Other special instructions or requirements:

+ Declaration by Agility Vietnam or self-declaration: used when the cargo are

DG

+ Any special equipment needed at the point of collection: tools and vehicles withtailgate, crane, pallet jack, etc

Let take an example of a real shipment executed by Agility Vietnam OnFebruary 18th, 2013, the shipper Greystones Data Systems Vietnam contacted thecompany to request air freight export service with the intended departure and arrivaldays as February 20th and February 22nd respectively by sending email containingthe necessary data All data was recorded in a new file by Customer Service teamand transferred to the Documentation team as follows:

- Shipper’s and Consignee’s details: (as shown in the HAWB original 3 in Annex

1)

- Final destination: Bangalore, India

- Number of Pieces: 1 pallet including 12 boxes per pallet and 20 pieces per box

- Gross weight (estimated by the shipper): 72.0 kilograms

- Dimension (estimated by the shipper): 110 x 56 x 75 cubic centimeters

- Commodity and Nature of Shipment:

+ Name of commodity: Refurbished HDD (hard disk drive)

+ Description: under Invoice No GDSVN 190213C

+ Nature of shipment: Normal cargo, non-DG

- Airline preference: None

- Terms of payment for freight charges: Freight Prepaid, CPT term

- Pick-up point: None Shipper delivers goods at airport terminal SCSC

- Other special instructions or requirements: None

2.1.2 Book space with airline and confirm to customer

Customer Service team is in charge of booking space with airline subject tothe request of the shipper or consignee If the client prefers an airline to the others,Customer Service team must check if the nominated airline has any available flight

to comply with the date and time of departure and arrival requested by the client.Next, if the flight is ready to book, Customer Service team must work out whetherthe rate offered by airline is within the air freight charged by Agility Vietnam to thecustomer to ensure profit for the shipment If the rate is too high, a new rate forclient’s preferred airline is established and advised to the customer as well asAgility’s agent to wait for further decision Meanwhile, Customer Service teamcommunicates with the customer to suggest new airlines serving the same route

with better prices The choice will be at the customer’s discretion In case there is

no customer’s preference for any airline, Customer Service team will search for theoptimal airline with the best price

After deciding which airline is chosen, Customer Service team proceeds tocheck space available for the cargo Agility has a wide relationship with almost allmajor airlines operating routes to the US, Europe, and Asia and frequently has spaceallotment with those airlines Space allotment can be defined as a long-termagreement between a forwarder and an airline to reserve a specified amount ofspace on future flights If the allotment is adequate for the shipment, CustomerService team will finalize the booking with the mentioned airline If the allotment isinsufficient, additional space is required Regarding the airlines to which AgilityVietnam has no allotment, Customer Service team checks the company’s airlinepriority list to find which one can be selected for the destination and reports to theAir Freight Manager to confirm the booking and provide a new rate

When space for the cargo is reserved, if the shipper or consignee cancels thebooking, Customer Service team will delete all data and file created and informother teams The customer needs to reimburse Agility Vietnam for any cost incurredduring the booking process If the customer continues, Customer Service team willcheck the Master Air Waybill (MAWB) number and send the instruction to theshipper via email

In our example, Greystones Data Systems Vietnam would like its goods todepart Ho Chi Minh City on February 20th and arrive at Bangalore, India onFebruary 22nd, 2013 The shipper had no special preference for any specific airline.Agility Vietnam, therefore, was only required by the shipper to carry the cargo ontime with the best price Hence, Customer Service team searched and booked spacewith the most suitable airline, Tiger Airways, with the route SGN-SIN-BLR(Saigon-Singapore-Bangalore) ETD is February 20th, but the ETA is February 21st –one day ahead of schedule However, the shipper was informed and agreed with thenew date The Customer Service booked space with Tiger Airways on February 19th

via email and obtained MAWB number as 388-9054-0601 from the BookingConfirmation of that airline, which is shown in the Annex 2