Chapter 18 chapter Five

Xu Zhao and his partners have never done a loss-making business. The key is that he pays special attention to the details in the trade, and turning details into money is the skill of the delicate Suzhou people. "Let's talk about containers." Xu Zhao told us: Foreign trade is inseparable from containers, and it is impossible for laymen to pay as much attention to it as we do.But for us foreign traders, the container is like a "money magic box". Whether we can make money or not, this container often dominates our money bags.Usually a container is full of 25 tons of goods, and its volume is 30 cubic meters.Xu Zhao said that he is in the bicycle accessories business. If the bicycle chains are shipped this time, when a container of 25 tons of chains is filled, the volume it occupies is only 9 cubic meters, and the remaining 21 cubic meters is equivalent to waste.If the rims are shipped this time, a full container of rims will only weigh 5 tons, which is equivalent to wasting another 20 tons of loading.what to do?These details were rarely considered by irresponsible traders in the past planned economy era.But Xu Zhao is not. He usually spends a lot of energy on these issues.In order to maximize the rational use of containers, Xu Zhao has to repeatedly and accurately calculate before each shipment, until the "magic box" is exhausted.It was he who put this thought to his home. The cost he and his company spent on foreign goods was always 20-30% lower than others, and sometimes even lower than half. The cost reduction was actually profit.Once, an exporter thought he was satisfied with packing 21 tons of goods in a container, but Xu Zhao gave him a stern approval, saying that you wasted nearly one-fifth of the space, what kind of credit is it?

"International trade under the conditions of a globalized market economy is extremely competitive. If you want to win success and win the market, if you don't work hard on the details, you will be sent out of the trade arena." Xu Zhao said. People who don't do business don't know how to make money.Let’s say a container to South America and West Africa, if you load less than one-tenth of the goods, it is equivalent to five or six thousand dollars and it will be gone.Those who don't account for this account will definitely not be able to become a master trader. The secrets of the shipment alone are enough to learn for a while.

Let me talk about the shipping method of the container first. There are generally two types: one is to transport your goods to the wharf with customs and load them into the container.There is also a "door-to-door", in which the container express company uses a car to drive the container to the place where your cargo is, and then pull it away after it is full, which seems to be convenient for you.But in this "convenience", they will "bite" a large piece of your meat severely-the transportation cost is horribly high.But people who don't use their brains are easy to feel grateful for this "convenience" of others, but they don't know the "gentle knife" they use.

For another example, some countries calculate your terminal loading and unloading fees based on the number of boxes, such an algorithm is used in countries such as Panama and Ghana.This requires suppliers to design their own boxes according to the delivery situation.But not the bigger the box, the more the better.If the box is too large, it will often crush the paper backing board in the inner box, and the result will be more serious crushing and damage of the goods.Still a word: only reasonable and scientific design can make money. Trade "barriers" vary from country to country around the world.Let’s talk about containers again. Some underdeveloped countries do not charge you according to the size of the box, but according to the value of the goods in your box.For example, in some countries, when the goods in the container exceed 30,000 U.S. dollars, it charges you with a 10% tariff, and when it is less than 30,000 U.S. dollars, it only imposes a 5% tariff.Xu Zhao's tactic is: I will only pack goods worth more than 29,000 US dollars for you.This satisfied the importer and saved him half of the tariff at once.In addition, some countries have a large gap in tariffs between finished products and semi-finished products. Xu Zhao rationally arranges the factory to produce A and B packages and ship them every other week, so that even if the customer lowers the tariff, it will not affect the customer's demand for the finished product.However, as suppliers, Xu Zhao and the others usually spend a lot of time to complete a reasonable mix of high and low priced goods.A reasonable and balanced shipment arrangement for those small accessories that cost a few cents or even a few cents, itself reflects a kind of witty hard work and a tacit understanding between the supply and demand merchants for the sake of each other.

The end result, of course, is that the two sides made more money again, and continued the cooperation again... In international trade, Hong Kong people and Singaporeans have always been respected by their counterparts in the world in the past, which is related to their oriental cultural background, and their common feature is "doing fine work".As the birthplace of oriental culture, mainland China has lost its respected status in international trade due to the long-term influence of the planned economy.After the reform and opening up, China's foreign trade has developed rapidly, and there are more opportunities to go out, but some "officials and businessmen" who have changed their tastes do not pay attention to their own image in the integration with world trade. Whenever they have the opportunity to go abroad to participate in exhibitions, etc. , what is busy all day is not how to negotiate business, but spending a lot of public money to travel and have fun, leaving a bad impression on outsiders.

"Xu, you are not like them, you are even better than people in Hong Kong and Singapore." All the foreign businessmen who have cooperated with Xu Zhao praised this doctoral businessman from Suzhou. "This often makes me feel embarrassed." Xu Zhao said: "In fact, when it comes to talking about oriental culture, is there anything that can be better understood and embodied than us Chinese, especially mainland Chinese? No. This makes me often Thinking about a question: In international trade, if we want to do a good job in China's business, the strength of the country is of course the most important thing, but shopping malls are like battlefields, and it is not enough to have a strong national economy as the backing. The special charm cast by culture conquers and influences the world. Our Suzhou can be said to be the essence and typical representative of oriental culture. Shaping the image of Suzhou businessmen in China will undoubtedly make a difference in spreading Chinese culture and opening the door to foreign trade around the world. role.” Xu Zhao said: “We have not only stimulated the development of the economy, but we have also become pioneers in promoting China and Suzhou overseas.”

Therefore, Xu Zhao positions himself in international trade as: sincerity, diligence, wisdom, amiability, comprehensiveness, and win-win. "China is a developing country. Although our labor is cheap and our products are exquisite in craftsmanship, the success factors in trade are not limited to these. It is often finally reflected in the cultural heritage of a businessman. Culture is not an empty concept, it is More often it is a detail, a detail that can make the other party feel comfortable, a detail that makes people have to feel emotional." In 1996, Xu Zhao led a team to participate in the international exhibition held in Cologne.On the day of the exhibition, there was a German wandering around in front of Xu Zhao's booth, and they usually don't accept people at this time.But Xu Zhao immediately stopped what he was doing, and chatted with the German very politely.

"OK, Steven! The largest buyer of bicycle accessories in Germany!" Xu Zhao took the other party's business card and checked it, only then did he know that the businessman named Steven who "delivered to the door" was actually the one he wanted to see A big client who has never had a chance to meet. "Xu, Xu from China! You are also very famous in the business world!" Steven also held Xu Zhao's hand tightly when meeting each other. Friends are friends, and there must be no ambiguity in business matters.And the Germans are the most particular about orderly work, "but I am willing to cooperate with Xu, he makes me completely at ease." Steven said.

The reason why Xu Zhao was able to gain the trust of a big business like Steven was all due to the special charm of Xu Zhao's Suzhou doctor business. Don't you Germans pay attention to order?So Xu Zhao took out the craftsmanship of Suzhou embroidery girls to prepare and ship goods for German customers.I have thought of what your importer thinks according to your requirements, and I will do what you didn't think of. I didn't think of it beforehand, and I will make up for it after repeated inspections to make you more satisfied. After going back and forth, Steven's satisfaction with Xu Zhao's Suzhou suppliers increased day by day.As for Xu Zhao and the others, they are also constantly learning and improving themselves in the interaction with international procurement masters like Steven, and seek a win-win situation with the friendliness and wit of the Orientals.

"Xu, this batch of mine must be shipped on the 15th. In any case, you must ensure that the goods are loaded on the sea ship on this day." One day, Steven called Xu Zhao urgently. "Loading on the 15th?" Xu Zhao felt embarrassed. He knew that his batch of goods could only be loaded on the 18th due to conditions, but Steven said there was no room for maneuver. "Yes, on the 15th, it must be loaded on this day, and I will ask you to sign the delivery time!" Steven hung up the international call after finishing speaking. Xu Zhao knew Steven's temper, and even more the working habits of German businessmen.They tell you the exact time, if you change it, he will think you lose credibility, and the consequences will be very bad.But here, Xu Zhao knew that it was impossible to ship on the 15th, and he tried his best to get it on the 18th. "Backdated! Backdated to the 15th!" An unexpected situation made Xu Zhao heave a sigh of relief, so he made this decision decisively: the loading and signing time sent to Steven is still the 15th required by the other party.

On the 15th, there was no movement on the pier.On the 18th, the cargo ship set sail with a "woo--" flute... "Xu, I have received your goods!" Steven received the goods sent by Xu Zhao within the expected time. After earning enough US dollars, he excitedly sent a fax of gratitude to Xu Zhao . "Here is a situation to explain: Although the loading time we sent to Steven was three days earlier than the actual loading time, our cargo caught up with the Clippers, and the time to reach the other side was the same as the loading time on the 15th. It’s only one day away, so Steven is very happy. Foreign companies pay attention to the terms of the contract, and they must do what they say, otherwise there is a problem with the credibility of the cooperation. Like the above case, if we see that the 15th can’t be loaded, As soon as we send faxes to the merchants according to the actual loading time on the 18th, they will be very unhappy and feel that we have not fulfilled the contract. To deal with such a matter, we need to use the unique wisdom and wisdom of the oriental people.” Xu Xu Zhao said.