Practical Exporting After the War
By Michael Harris
Export Manager , Max Factor Co., and Chairman, Foreign Commerce Committee ,
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
EDITOR'S NOTE: Under the auspices
.of the P.ostwar Planning C.ommittee .of the
Harbor, F.oreign C.ommerce and Shipping
C.ommittee .of the L.os Angeles Chamber.of
Commerce a series .of 12 weekly meetings
were held during Oct.ober and ovember
and the fundamentals .of imp.orting an:!
exp.orting were described and explained.
The addresses given at these meetings were
made by successful importers, exp.orters and
executives .of firms .or governmen tal agen·
cies c.onnected with the serv ices .of inter·
nati.onal trade. American coin controlled
equipment has had a g.o.od sale in foreign
markets and this type .of equipment will
be in great demand in the future. Thr.ough
the c.ourtesy .of the Chamber we are pre·
senting s.ome .of the m.ost inf.ormative ad·
dresses given during this first F.oreign
Trade Clinic, f.or the enlightenment .of man·
ufacturing, jobbing and distributing .organi.
zations interested in expl.oring f.oreign fields
at the c.onclusi.on .of the War.
T
* * * *
HERE is n.ot any mystery about ex-
p.orting. It has a lot more different
w.ordings, names and practices than d.omes-
tic business has, but actually exp.ort busi-
ness is just additi.onal business t.o what we
get at h.ome. It d.oes n.ot fall into .our laps
just because we like t.o get it. It must be
gone after in much the same way as d.omes-
tic v.olume.
It will n.ot c.ome by itself, s.o that means
we must s.olicit the business by mail .order
campaigns, by having pers.onal representa-
tives call .on the trade t.o establish dealers
.or distributors, .or .other types .of .outlets.
We must establish l.ocal distribut.ors and
headquarters and, if the v.olume warrants,
expand to branch offices .or branch fac-
tories.
But it is after y.ou get the .order that
exp.ort w.ork bec.omes distinctive fr.om d.o·
mestic w.ork in the manner .of handling the
d.ocumentati.on, acc.ounting and general rec·
.ord keeping. The differences c.ome under
three headings: Shipping, c.ollecti.ons and
f.ollowing.of special instructi.ons.
A. SHIPPING
Under this heading we find several im·
portant items:
1. We must in m.ost cases w.ork with
metric weights and measures and cubic feet
.of space f.or carg.o, instead .of .our usual
American system .of pounds and cubic feet.
2. We must prepare, in additi.on t.o .our
usual d.omestic f.orm .of inv.oice, a c.om·
mercial inv.oice and a c.onsular inv.oice
usually in the language .of the c.onsignee.
This type .of inv.oice becomes the basis f.or
clearing the g.oods at the destination and
the payment .of duties.
3. Marine Insurance-a distinctly spec·
ialized type .of c.overage, m.ore or less re-
lated t.o an all-risk policy c.overing pers.onal
effects at h.ome. Ordinary marine insurance
c.overs what is kn.own as .ordinary marine
hazards, but in nearly each .one .of .our busi-
nesses we have special c.onsiderati.ons and
special c.overages which bec.ome necessary
to pr.otect .our consignment, and f.or these
it is necessary t.o have special end.orsements
.or special clauses in the p.olicy s.o as t.o
c.over unusual sources .of l.oss.
The actual b.o.oking .of a shipment via
steamer t.o a f.oreign p.ort is little different
fr.om making a shipment .on a d.omestic
carrier, except that y.ou must arrange in
advance f.or the particular ship .on which
the carg.o is t.o g.o, instead .of simply deliv-
ering it t.o the carrier t.o be f.orwarded as
he sees fit.
B. COLLECTIONS
F.or the establishment .of credits and c.ol-
lecti.ons, exp.ort business .offers much the
same ources.of inf.ormation and the safe-
guards f.or c.ollecti.on as h.ome business.
B.oth f.oreign and American banks maintain
extens ive credit departments, specializing
in the financial standing .of f.oreign im-
p.orter .
The L.os Angeles Chamber .of C.ommerce
and the United States Bureau .of F.oreign
and D.omestic C.ommerce, in c.onjuncti.on
with the State Department, U. S. Depart-
ment .of C.ommerce and American C.om·
mercial Attaches, maintain a very elab.orate
and c.omplete set .of cred it files.
The Dun & Bradstreet C.ommercial
Agency likewise has a specialized f.oreign
divisi.on, and there are a c.onsiderable num-
ber .of special f.oreign credit .organizati.ons
wh.o buy c.ommercial paper and assist in
financing internati.onal translati.ons.
In m.ost cases, an .opening .order is ac-
c.ompanied by a Letter .of Credit, which is
n.othing more .or less than an arrangement
f.or paying c . .o.d. right here in Los Angeles
f.or the merchandise which y.ou will ship,
and y.ou get y.our m.oney the minute y.ou
deliver t.o the bank the bill .of lading and
.other d.ocuments t.o indicate that the ship-
ment has been made in accordance with the
terms .of the .order.
Once y.our business has been established,
then y.ou f.oll.ow the usual business prac-
tice .of extending credit limitati.ons t.o y.our
purchasers, based .on y.our past experience,
.on their financial standing, and the extent
t.o which y.ou want to c.o.operate in helping
them carry the l.oad.
e.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
These are pr.obably the m.ost imp.ortant
things in c.onnecti.on with exp.ort business
-in fact, they are all-imp.ortant, and neg-
lecting t.o f.oll.ow them minutely and care-
fully will result in hard feelings, l.oss .of
business and considerable financial ex-
pense. In every case there is a g.o.od reas.on
f.or these special instructi.ons.
F.or instance, duties are levied by c.oun-
tries .on net weight, which is the exact
weight .of the pr.oduct in its immediate jar
.or b.ottle c.ontainer with.out any wrapping at
a ll. A second country will levy duties .on
the legal weight, which is the net weight
plus its immediate packing, such as a cer-
tain .or c.orrugated paper .or .other covering.
A third c.ountry will levy duties .on the
gr.oss weight, which is the entire weight .of
the shipment, including any .outside cart.ons
.or w.o.od b.oxes used f.or packing.
As the rates of duty are usually quite
high, any excess weight which can be pr.op.
erly eliminated with.out resulting damage
t.o the merchandise sh.ould be eliminated s.o
that y.our g.o.ods will land at its destinati.on
at the lowest p.ossible landed cost.
Many c.ountries levy duty als.o .on ' the
cubic c.ontents, .or gall.onage, .or number .of
.ounces in a package, s.o it is a great waste
t.o ship a b.ottle that can h.old a quart but
- - - - - - - T U R N PAGE
IF YOU WANT TO
SELL
Any Type of Coin-
Operated Equipment
-SEE-
Lion Manufacfuring Corp. is rapidly absorbing disabled and medically discharged service men
info fhe Lion organizafion. The group shown holding fhe Lion Army-Navy E-Flag have all been
in fhe Unifed Sfafes armed services of World War II . Left fa right (Firsf Row): Fred Fredrick-
son, Carl Schommeir, James Piefschmann, Norberf Zdenek: (Second Row) Frank Ficht, John
Soss, Joseph Leier, Roberf Grosse , Sigman Barlosiak, Fred Cronin; (Third Row) Edward
Malecek, Florian Gorski, Frank Gogowski, George Bradek, Evereff Urban, Chesfer Vogf, David
McNulfy. After fhe war fhese men will again be busy building Bally games and venders.
PAUL A. LAYMON
DISTRIBUTOR
THE BLUE BLOODS OF THE INDUSTRY READ THE REVIEW EXCLUSIVELYl
. COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
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FOR
MARCH
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