Chapter 2

2.1 Analysis of the procedure of importing Full Container Load (FCL) by sea of
Blue Sea Transportation and Trading Co., Ltd.

2.1.1. General forwarding process for FCL imported goods by sea at Blue Sea
Transportation and Trading Co., Ltd

2.1.1.1. General flowchart of the forwarding process

Source: Compiled by the author, 2022.

2.1.1.2. Explain the delivery process

Step 1. Find customers and sign a delivery contract

This is the first step of the delivery process. Specifically, BSTT will promote the
implementation of advertising activities to increase the spread of the BSTT brand to
domestic and international businesses, thereby identifying potential customers for the
company. Next, the staff of Sales & Oversea sales department will actively contact the
new source of customers by calling or sending email directly to potential customers or
through actual customers’ surveys and research done by the company. Then the Sales
staff will approach, introduce and quote the services currently provided by the
company to customers for reference and consideration.

In the case of familiar customers who have used BSTT’s services, Sales staff must
perform well in customer relationship management, regularly contact to provide more
information about service packages. new services as well as building long-term
cooperative relationships with customers.
When the customer agrees to use the service, the delivery contract will be signed. In
the contract, it is necessary to specifically mention the issues of rights and obligations
between the two parties, the time of service performance, the cost of forwarding
services, the method and term of payment, the level of representation of BSTT.

Step 2. Receiving orders and implementing the delivery plan

After collecting all the necessary information from the customer, this stage will be
undertaken by the Documentation Department. At this stage, the Documentation
Department staff will base on the type of service that the customer uses to implement
the process for the Operations department (hereinafter referred to as OPS for short).
Next, the Documentation Department staff will check the cargo handling plan, check
the feasibility of doing customs procedures as well as transporting the goods (the cargo
handling plan will be implemented according to the general regulations of the
company). At the same time, they will also contact and note some necessary
information with customers, such as: working time of the warehouse, time of
unloading the container, regulations of the warehouse, payment method, set of
documents and total time. For consignment. After the two sides have agreed, the
Documentation Department staff will open the file.

Step 3. Receiving and checking relevant documents

To carry out the delivery of a shipment, there are many related documents required.
Therefore, OPS staff must clearly understand the types of documents and carefully
check them when receiving them from customers to quickly receive goods and limit
unexpected costs.

When the customer informs OPS staff (usually via email) that the original documents
are available, the staff will come to get the original documents at the customer
company or the bank (in case of transferring documents through the bank, OPS staff
must bring a referral from BSTT). Normally, before handing over the documents to
BSTT, the buyer has checked the validity of the documents. However, in order to
show professionalism and care in the working process as well as for the future delivery
process to be done quickly and to limit risks, the OPS staff in charge of the shipment
will conduct an inspection of the package. documents again before clearing goods.
Important terms such as: sender's name, consignee's name, contract and invoice date,
ship name, ship arrival date, bill of lading number, container number, seal number,
cargo details ... need to be carefully checked. If during the inspection process, any
errors are found, OPS staff must immediately notify the customer for timely
reasonable adjustments. In some cases, based on expertise and experience in the field
of freight forwarding, BSTT can advise customers to correct some issues when
necessary to facilitate the import of goods. chemical. Normally, this step will take
place very quickly, only about half an hour, but if there is any additional editing, it can
take up to about 1-2 days.

Step 4. Implementing customs procedures

Stage 1: Determining the type of imported goods

It is necessary to determine what types of imports fall under to determine what needs
to be done. For example, if it is an ordinary product, there is no need to pay special
attention, but if it is a goods that must be declared standard conformity, the enterprise
must carry out procedures for announcing the conformity before the goods are brought
to the port...

In the case of goods belonging to the group of food, animals, fertilizers, etc., a
certificate of quality, food safety or animal and plant quarantine is required from a
competent authority or a certification company. receive and inspect to be allowed to
legally import the shipment. Therefore, when receiving the information of the
shipment to be imported, Docs staff will help customers prepare these documents.

Stage 2: Carrying out customs declaration procedures

The customs declaration is through the electronic software ECUS5-VNACCS. The

stages of customs declaration and collection of delivery orders (Delivery order,
hereinafter abbreviated as D/O) can be interchanged as long as it is most convenient
for the company. The customs declaration process by electronic software is usually
performed by the Documentations department at the company, including the following
steps:

- Set up the system and register new import declarations

For ECUS5 software, this is software provided by Thai Son company and it runs very
smoothly for win 7 operating system. Therefore, the company still uses win 7
operating system. First, Docs member starts the ECUS5 software and fills in the
username and access code and then logs in. The thing to note in this step is that Docs
staff should pay attention to choose the right customs office to declare and the
customer business.

- Get declaration information from Customs (IDB)

Next, Docs staff will get customs declaration information to process data entry. Note
that the fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are mandatory to enter and the gray boxes
are information returned automatically by the system or by the program, so employees
do not need to enter these criteria.

- Information declaration in advance (IDA)

After completing the input of the required customs information, the data entry staff
records and clicks on the box before declaration information (IDA). If there are any
errors, the computer system will report and have instructions to fix those errors. In
case the business still cannot fix it, you can contact the call center for advice. When all
information is declared according to the requirements of the customs authority, the
system will notify BSTT that the declaration is successful as well as return the
declaration number and declared information along with a copy of the declared
declaration. Tax calculation for enterprises to check.

- Register for the Official Import Declaration (IDC)

After successfully registering the declaration in advance of the declaration information

and checking the correct information returned by the system, the declarant will
officially register the declaration with the customs authority, select the professional
code "Register for the Official Import Declaration (IDC)”.

- Get the results of channeling and clearance

After the customs declaration, the company will receive the results of the goods flow.
There are 3 types:

 Green stream: no need to check the set of documents and actual goods.
Staff only need to hold the customs declaration (including 2 and the same) and give it
to the receiver. This person will check and stamp, then give the officer both
declarations for the officer to go to the desk of the chief/deputy/person in charge of the
customs declaration room to sign. After signing, the staff will give back to the receiver
a declaration for storage, the remaining sheet is kept by the staff. At the end of this
process, it is called "cleared goods".

 Yellow stream: need to check the set of documents.

The employee holds the declaration and the set of documents to present. The recipient
will check the details of the dossier to see if it matches what was received from the
customs network. The remaining steps are similar to the green flow.

 Red stream: need to check both documents and actual goods.

In addition to checking the details of the dossier, the goods will also be inspected. The
staff will take the documents to submit to the inspector, then there will be a rotational
officer of the customs to receive those documents and enter the data into the machine
and then transfer it to the inspection department. Right now, if a company employee
submits the application in the morning, the employee will fill out a paper called
"Registration of Inspection Certificate", which will be forwarded by the inspection
department to the Head of Inspection Department and conduct inspection (allocate
who and at what time will conduct inspection of goods). After the OPS staff has full
information, they will hold the file and conduct the check and sign such as green and
yellow lines. However, if the employee submits the application in the afternoon, the
employee does not need to write in the "Registration for inspection" but will withdraw
and take the file directly to the head of the inspection department (because the
inspection department will start work in the afternoon).

After receiving the results of the channelization, the enterprise will print a declaration
to attach it to the set of documents together with the commercial invoice, packing slip,
bill of lading, contract, certificate of origin (if any) and inspection certificate. plant
diseases (if any) to go through customs procedures.

- Get information declaration for correction (IDD)

This is a service that can help BSTT call for declaration information to declare and
amend if necessary.

Stage 3: Receive D/O, bet on containers and pay incurred costs

OPS staff bring the customer's introduction letter and original bill of lading (Bill of
lading, abbreviated as B/L) to the shipping line to apply for D/O at the place specified
in the contact box above B/L.

When receiving all 3 copies of D/O, OPS staff will double-check the information on
the D/O including: vessel name, trip number, port of discharge, port of loading, cargo
name, container number, seal number must match B/L, if there is a mistake, contact
the shipping company to repair. In addition, to get the D/O, the forwarder needs to pay
the D/O fee, container cleaning fee, service fee, etc. and carry out the procedures to
pay the deposit or register for the container bet. In case the D/O is overdue, OPS staff
will have to pay an additional fee for D/O renewal.

Besides, OPS staff need to make a container loan with the information obtained on the
D/O. Next will pay the amount to borrow the container with the shipping company
(the amount depends on the item or type of container to be borrowed). Regarding the
return of empty containers after picking up the goods, they will have to return them to
the place where the shipping company will designate the port or warehouse for the
carrier to bring to that right place, that designation is written on the container loan
paper or on the empty unloading note. On the set of orders received after checking and
completing the necessary procedures, there will be the word “COLLECTED FEES”,
OPS staff must pay attention to the validity period of the D/O and the time the ship
docks on the A/N. in warehousing, storage, and storage of containers in separate
warehouses to avoid additional costs.

Step 5. Preparing vehicles and transporting goods

To serve the delivery of goods to the customer's warehouse, BSTT is responsible for
arranging transportation of BSTT (based on the signed contract). At the same time,
based on the characteristics, nature and quality of the goods of the shipment, OPS staff
will coordinate the means of transport that are both economical and safe for the goods
during transportation from port to the customer's own warehouse, both saving time as
well as avoiding unexpected arising.

Step 6. Implementing procedures to receive goods at the port and deliver them to the
warehouse for customers

The port procedures include 3 main stages:

Stage 1: Pay the container lifting fee, receive the EIR

After completing the customs procedures, OPS staff come to the port sales office to
pay the fee and receive the EIR , which shows the location and status of the container.
When receiving the EIR, it is necessary to carefully check the information on the ticket
such as container number, seal number.

Stage 2: Customs clearance and physical inspection of goods with customs (if any)

 If the goods belong to the green channel or the yellow channel: At this time, the
CHB staff will contact the Customs to calculate their shipment tax to enter the
machine to check the details of the documents and consider the goods are eligible for
customs clearance. or not, if valid, the customs seal will be stamped in the clearance
confirmation box on the import declaration.

 If the goods fall into the red channel: After registering the declaration and
transferring to the tax calculation Customs to check the details of the dossier and
calculate the tax, the OPS staff completes the application for registration of inspection
to transfer the dossier to the Customs officer. inspect and request for shipment
inspection. At the inspection yard, OPS staff along with the customs inspection
witnessed the workers cutting the seal, opening the container door, taking the goods
for customs inspection. If the goods are classified by scanners, OPS staff will hire a
crane to bring the goods to the yard for the next procedure. If the customs inspection
finds it suspicious, a physical inspection will be requested.

After the inspection is complete, sign for receipt and wait for the receipt of the
approved declaration of the actual condition of the goods on the declaration. If there
are no errors in the declaration, the customs inspection will stamp the customs mark in
the box to confirm the clearance.
Stage 3: Gate liquidation

After paying the customs fee, OPS staff waits to receive back the declaration stamped
with the completion of customs procedures and clears the gate to deliver the goods to
the carrier to deliver the goods to the customer's private warehouse.

In this step, OPS staff of BSTT must always follow up the shipping process and notify
the exact time of arrival of the goods to the customer so that the customer can arrange
the receipt of the goods, avoiding the situation of mooring due to aviation. can enter
the warehouse. At the same time, request customers to sign for the delivery of goods
and documents as well as pay service costs for BSTT.

Step 7. Returning the empty container and getting deposit back

After taking the goods out of the container to deliver to the customer, the carrier must
return the empty container to the shipping line at the right place within the time limit
specified on the container loan. At this time, the staff at the depot will issue 4 copies of
the container loan (empty), its function is to assign the driver to carry out the
procedure to return the container when the goods are unloaded. After that, the
forwarder will receive a confirmation that the empty container has been returned to the
shipping company to get back the container deposit. The shipping line staff will check
if the container is damaged, then BSTT must pay the damage repair or cleaning fee,
etc.

Step 8. Final settlement, saving documents and contract completion

After completing the above steps, the delivery staff must check and rearrange the
documents into a complete set and return the documents to the customer, at the same
time BSTT also saves a set.

The set of documents for customers includes:

- Customs clearance import declaration + barcode of declaration with customs stamp

- State budget payment slip: 1 original

- Value-added invoices in the process of making goods: Value-added invoices for

service charges.
At the same time, it is accompanied by a copy of Debit Note (1 copy for customers, 1
copy for company), which includes: the fees that the company has paid to customers
with red invoices, shipping service fees, etc. goods delivery, expenses incurred (if
any)... then the director signs and stamps this debt note. The forwarder brings all the
documents along with the Debit Note to settle with the customer. At this point, the
process of delivery and receipt of imported goods is considered completed.

2.1.2. Process for an actual shipment of FCL imported by sea in Blue Sea
Transportation and Trading Co., Ltd

The above process is concretized through a practical example of the following

organization implementing FCL import of Fire Extinguisher, Fire Hydrant, Nozzle,
Fire House, Fire House Reel Assembly, Fire Fighting Emergency Light, Safety
Hammer shipment.

Parties:

- Seller: HANGZHOU PRI-SAFETY IMP. & EXP.CO.,LTD.

Address: A-413 MEIDU PLAZA, GONGSHU DISTRICT, HANGZHOU, CHINA.

- Buyer: NHA PRODUCTION TRADING ENGINEERING CO.,LTD.

Address: 64C NGO CHI QUOC STR, BINH CHIEU WARD, THU DUC DIST,
HCMC, VIETNAM.

- Items: FIRE EXTINGUISHER, FIRE HYDRANT, NOZZLE, FIRE HOSE, FIRE

HOSE REEL ASSEMBLY, FIRE FIGHTING, EMERGENCY LIGHT, SAFETY
HAMMER.

- Packing: SAY ONE (1X20'GP) CONTAINER ONLY.

- Total invoice value: USD 25,662.50

- Net weight: 11,403,500KGS.

- Shipment term: FOB NINGBO PORT.

- B/L No: KMTCNBO801067.

- Port of Loading: NINGBO, CHINA.

- Port of Discharge: CAT LAI, HO CHI MINH.

Step 1. Find customers and sign a delivery contract

Nhan Hoa Production Trading Engineering Co.,Ltd imported a contract shipment of

fire extinguishers and other items and needed to find a logistics company to carry out
customs procedures, receive goods at Cat Lai port and inspect, storage and
transportation of goods to the warehouse. Upon receiving the needs of customers, the
staff of Sales and Oversea sales of BSTT will conduct bids and agree on basic
conditions showing the rights and obligations between the two parties. When the
customer agrees to use the service, the delivery contract between the two parties will
be signed. In the contract, it is necessary to specifically mention the issues of rights
and obligations between the two parties, the time of service performance, the cost of
forwarding services, the method and term of payment, the level of representation of
the BSTT…

Step 2. Receiving orders and implementing the delivery plan

After collecting all the necessary information from the customer, this stage will be
undertaken by the Docs department. At this stage, Docs staff will proceed to open the
file and enter data into the system.

Step 3. Receiving and checking relevant documents

After receiving the order and implementing the delivery plan, the Docs department
staff will receive the documents and check. The set of receipts includes:

- Sales contract: 01 original and 01 copy.

- Commercial invoice: 03 originals and 03 copies.

- Bill of lading: 03 originals and 03 copies.

- Packing list: 03 originals and 03 copies.

- Certificate of origin: 01 original, 01 copy.

- Insurance certificate: 01 original, 01 copy.

- Import license: 01 original, 01 copy.

When receiving the documents from Nhan Hoa Production Trading Engineering
Co.,Ltd, Docs staff must check in detail and carefully for the consistency and validity
between the documents. This work is extremely important because if there is a
discrepancy or invalidity between the documents, the customs will not accept the
registration of the declaration, and the adjustment of the documents will be very time
consuming and costly. A set of documents is called valid if all content of goods on all
documents such as contracts, commercial invoices, detailed lists of goods, etc. are
consistent with each other.

- Commercial invoice:

 Invoice number: 2018PRI-052.

 Invoice issue date: 17th Sep 2018.

 Payment method: L/C.

 Incoterms: FOB Ningbo China.

 Net weight: 11,403,500KGS.

 Total invoice value: USD 25,662.50.

- Packing list

- Bill of lading:

 B/L No: KMTCNBO801067.

 Bill of lading date: 26th Sep, 2018.

 Train name: Tokyo Tower 18011S.

 Port of loading: Ningbo, China.

 Port of discharge: Cat Lai, Ho Chi Minh.

 Loading date: 26th Sep, 2018.

- Arrival notice:
After Hangzhou Pri-Safety Imp. & Exp.Co.,Ltd deliver the goods to Nhan Hoa
Production Trading Engineering Co.,Ltd, the goods will be delivered to the destination
port of Cat Lai. Next, Nhan Hoa Production Trading Engineering Co.,Ltd will send a
notice of goods to BSTT staff for customs clearance.

When receiving this paper, BSTT will check important information such as: arrival
date, ship name, trip number, container number, seal number and company (recipient)
information.

Step 4. Implementing customs procedures

Stage 1: Determining the type of imported goods

Since imported goods do not belong to the group of food, animals, fertilizers, etc.,
certificates of quality, food safety or animal and plant quarantine are not required.
Therefore, when receiving the information of the shipment to be imported, Docs staff
will help customers prepare the documents.

Stage 2: Carrying out customs declaration procedures

Includes the following steps:

- Set up the system and register new import declarations

Docs staff start the ECUS5 - VNACCS software and fill in the username and access
code, then log in. The thing to note in this step is that Docs staff should pay attention
to choose the right customs office to declare and the customer business.

- Get declaration information from Customs (IDB)

Next, Docs staff will get customs declaration information to process data entry. Note
that the criteria marked with a red asterisk (*) are required to be entered while the gray
boxes are information returned by the system automatically or by the program, so
employees do not need to enter it.

- Information declaration in advance (IDA)

After completing the input of the required customs information, the data entry officer
records it and clicks on the information declaration in advance (IDA) box. If there are
any errors, the computer system will report and have instructions to fix those errors. In
case the business still cannot fix it, you can contact the call center for advice. When all
information is declared according to the requirements of the customs authority, the
system will notify BSTT that the declaration is successful as well as return the
declared number and information along with a copy of the calculated declaration. Tax
for business inspection.

- Register for the Official Import Declaration (IDC)

After successfully registering the declaration before the declaration information and
checking the correct information returned by the system, the declarant will officially
register the declaration with the customs authority, select the professional code
"Register for the Official Import" Declaration (IDC)”.

- Get the results of channeling and clearance

After fully entering and checking the shipment information, Docs staff will transmit
the declaration online to customs. If the transmission is successful, the system will
automatically process and report the receipt number of the dossier, the declaration
number and the results of the goods flow.

This consignment is classified as a golden stream, so just check the documents.

Records include:

 Customs declaration

 Packing list

 Referral letter

 Bill of lading

 Commercial Invoice

 Contracts

All are true copies of the original with the original C/O, the C/O Triplicate must be
saved for explanation if the goods are checked after customs clearance. After
confirming that all documents are valid, the goods are officially cleared. At this time,
print 2 barcodes like green channels to do the procedures for receiving goods.
Stage 3: Receive D/O, bet on containers and pay costs

OPS staff bring the customer's introduction letter and the original Bill of Lading to the
shipping line to apply for a D/O.

When receiving all 3 copies of D/O, Docs staff will check the information on the D/O,
including: vessel name, number of trips, port of discharge, port of loading, name of
goods, number of containers, number of seals must match. B/L, if there is a mistake,
contact the shipping company to repair. In addition, to get D/O, OPS staff need to pay
D/O fee, THC fee, container cleaning fee, service fee for shipping line.

Besides, Docs staff need to make a container loan with the information obtained on the
D/O and give it to OPS staff to pick up the container. After picking up the goods, it is
necessary to return the empty container to the location specified by the shipping
company.

Step 5. Preparing vehicles and transporting goods

To serve the delivery of goods to the customer's warehouse, BSTT will base on the
characteristics, nature and quality of the goods of the shipment to coordinate means of
transport that are both economical and safe. for goods during transportation from the
port to the customer's warehouse.

Step 6. Implementing procedures to receive goods at the port and deliver them to the
warehouse for customers

The port procedures include 3 main stages.

Stage 1: Pay the container lifting fee, receive the EIR . voucher

Stage 2: Customs clearance

OPS staff will contact the customs assigned to calculate their shipment tax to check the
details of the dossier, consider whether the goods are eligible for customs clearance or
not, if valid, they will stamp the customs in the confirmation box. customs clearance
on the import declaration.

Stage 3: Liquidation of the gate

After paying the customs fee, OPS staff waits to receive back the declaration stamped
with the completion of customs procedures and clears the gate to deliver the goods to
the carrier to deliver the goods to the customer's private warehouse. Note that it is
necessary to ask the customer to sign for the delivery of goods and documents as well
as pay the service costs to the BSTT to avoid unexpected arising.

Step 7. Returning the empty container and getting deposit back

After taking the goods out of the container to deliver to the customer, the carrier will
return the empty container to the shipping line. After that, OPS staff will receive a
confirmation that the empty container has been returned to the shipping company to
recover the container deposit.

Step 8. Final settlement, saving documents and contract completion

After completing the above steps, the delivery staff will check and rearrange the
documents into a complete set and return the documents to the customer, and at the
same time, the BSTT also saves a set. At the same time, send a debit note to the
customer of the expenses incurred during the procedure for settlement. At this point,
the delivery contract is considered completed.

2.2 Project methodology and steps of execution

2.2.1 Project methodology

This report uses the quantitative research method as the main method to analyze the
current situation of the company's implementation of the FCL import freight
forwarding process by sea because this method helps to generalize the trend of factors
in the 3-year period from 201 to 2021. From there, it provides an overview to help the
author identify the causes and factors affecting the implementation of the process at
BSTT to make recommendations. appropriate solutions to improve and enhance
operational efficiency at the company. In addition, the report also uses other methods
such as collecting data from the company and news related to company field.

2.2.2 Steps of execution

The reporting process is carried out in the following order:

The first step is to choose a topic. At this stage, observational methods are used to find
out what outstanding problems are in the BSTT, and to estimate what metrics to cover
and use and whether those data can be readily made available. easily by BSTT or not.
In addition, refer to documents, including academic articles and articles in the press, to
identify trends in the current business environment to update and generate ideas from
which to choose the right topic. suitable for their own capacity and can contribute to
the business.

Next, I proceeded to identify the outstanding problems in the FCL import delivery
process at the company. At this stage, the method of observation and expert opinion
was chosen by me. I consulted with Mr. Remy Nguyen, who directly guided me during
the internship, about the remaining limitations in the company's process as a secondary
data source for the report.

After clearly identifying the factors related to the problem to be analyzed, I proceeded
to collect and process the data. The data in the report is divided into two categories:
secondary data including essays on relevant topics, information and data on the
logistics industry, the status of import and export goods delivery from reputable
websites. credit and business results of BSTT…; Primary data was collected by
observation method. During my internship at BSTT, I observed the operation and
freight forwarding process and realized some problems that needed to be fixed. Next, I
proceed to process the data with Excel software to show the correlation between the
factors, set up tables and graphs to illustrate the information, and the trend of the
factors in some period.

The data in the report is analyzed by quantitative methods, namely statistics -

description. Data collected in the period from 2019-2021 is analyzed and compared by
Excel software between the years and identified the causes affecting the company's
performance. Finally, there is the stage of proposing solutions and remedial directions
as well as development goals for BSTT in the following years.

2.3 Key Results

2.3.1. Strengths that need to be developed

2.3.1.1 Building a friendly partnership with many agents and shipping lines

During the nearly 17 years of establishment and development, the leadership team and
staff of BSTT have built and maintained relationships with many forwarder
companies, shipping partners around the world as well such as leading reputable
shipping lines such as Maersk, YangMing, EverGreen, KMTC, CMA - CGM,
OOCL... As of June 2022, BSTT has had transactions with more than 70 shipping lines
and signed partner contracts with about 35 firms. According to data from the Vietnam
Logistics Business Association, currently 90% of operating logistics enterprises are
Vietnamese enterprises, but only account for about 30% of the market share, the rest
belongs to foreign enterprises. This is actually quite a modest number, but it also
shows that there are still many opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to expand
market share, such as BSTT. That requires that the collection needs to be more
dynamic and perfect every day. Building close cooperation relationships with transport
companies as well as shipping lines also contributes to the smoothness and speed of
carrying out import and export procedures. Moreover, receiving preferential rates from
shipping lines thereby offering customers diverse packages at competitive prices
compared to the common market helps BTT consolidate its leading position at the
same time. prevent new competitors from entering the industry.

Table 2.1 : Freight rates in key areas of BSTT in 2021

Unit: VND

20' / 40' container shipping price Difference

Route
BSTT Market (+/-) %

Cat Lai -
3.700.000 - 3.900.000 4.100.000 - 4.300.000 - 400.000 9.3
Tay Ninh

Cat Lai -
2.800.000 - 3.000.000 3.000.000 - 3.200.000 - 200.000 6.25
Song Than

Cat Lai -
3.100.000 - 3.300.000 3.700.000 - 3.900.000 - 600.000 15.38
My Phuoc

Cat Lai -
2.800.000 - 3.000.000 2.900.000 - 3.100.000 - 100.000 3.22
Đong Nai
 Cat Lai -
3.100.000 - 3.300.000 3.600.000 - 3.800.000 - 500.000 13.15
Nhon Trach
Source: BSTT, 2021

Currently, the key areas where BSTT is exploiting transportation services are Tay
Ninh and Nhon Trach. At the same time, thanks to the sustainable cooperation
relationship between BSTT and transport contractors and shipping lines, the company
has provided much more favorable service prices than the market, specifically the Cat
Lai – Tay Ninh rout difference is 9.3% and Cat Lai - Nhon Trach route difference is
13.15%. Thanks to this competitive pricing policy, the number of customers
concentrated in these two areas is very large, and accounts for about 40-45% of the
total output of BSTT.

In addition, in order to reduce the cost of its products as well as the price of its
services, BSTT has implemented cost control by establishing common norms for the
whole company such as: regulations on material consumption, regulations on use and
equip facilities… BSTT also continuously implements improvement measures in
management, maximizes cost savings, and strengthens connections between member
companies to improve efficiency in co-business. optimize and improve vehicle rotation
performance.

2.3.1.2 Enthusiastic and professional staffs

BSTT is not only led by a team of enthusiastic, visionary and strategic thinkers but
also has a dynamic, eager to learn and highly qualified staff. Sales and Oversea sales
staff always strive to increase the company's market share by prioritizing finding
customers who have the ability to cooperate long-term and limiting customers who are
only seasonal for the sake of profits. is not high. Along with that, the Docs department
always works with the criterion of putting customers as the top priority for the
sustainable development of BST. In addition, most of OPS's staff are highly
professional and have many years of experience in the industry. Therefore, the work is
done smoothly, avoiding unwanted errors and handling incidents in the most
harmonious way. Experience in handling goods at the port also helps OPS staff
understand how the inspection regulations work, when is it appropriate to pay, when to
receive declaration information, how long to wait to complete the whole procedures,
so that more suitable jobs are arranged, there is no waiting time.

2.3.1.3 Customer care and support are paid special attention

In all types and fields of business, focusing on customer satisfaction is always the top
priority of the business, this is even more important for the service industry - where
trust and satisfaction Customer loyalty is always the goal and motivation of the whole
business. Understanding this, in the process of importing and exporting goods and
services, BSTT's staff is always proactive in seeking the most beneficial information
and incentives for customers, preparing documents carefully to avoid missing out.
omit unnecessary documents that interrupt work, keep in regular contact to promptly
exchange corrections, add information to the declaration, or promptly pay taxes so as
not to be overdue. For items with many components or types of goods that do not have
a specific name in the tariff, OPS staff in coordination with the Docs department
proactively carry out pre-classification analysis to determine the exact type of goods
and apply correctly tax code to receive goods on time, avoiding that after being
assigned to the red stream, it will take time, cost of inspection, cost of storing goods at
the port as well as other unexpected problems.

2.3.1.4 Application of information technology in management

BSTT is currently using OTM software deployed since 2020 in order to synchronize in
the database system and facilitate management. This can be seen as a great step
forward in the development of the company, because the application of information
technology has contributed to support the Board of Directors to unify in management
and at the same time help staffs easily. Easily look up records when problems arise.
Especially with a young, dynamic and fast-learning staff, almost 3 months after
deployment, the software has been put into operation smoothly.

2.3.1.5 The flow of information between departments takes place smoothly

As introduced in Chapter 1, BSTT operates with 4 main departments and highly

qualified staff. Although the organizational structure sometimes arises quite
cumbersome, but the departments still coordinate with each other very smoothly and
flexibly in solving arising problems. From the stage of finding customers to the
implementation of the contract and finally to keeping the records, all of the company's
staff members do and handle it promptly and quickly, bringing customers absolute
satisfaction. With the operation motto of the company is "provide the best services to
meet the strict requirement of our customers", so the interests of customers are always
the guideline and motivation for the collection.

2.3.2. Weaknesses that need to be overcome

2.3.2.1 Limitations on seasonality

Figure 2.1: The chart shows the monthly revenue of BSTT in the period of
2019 -2021
2,500,000,000

2,000,000,000

1,500,000,000

1,000,000,000

500,000,000

0
r y
ar
y ch ri l ay ne Ju
ly us
t
be
r
be
r
be
r
be
r
ua ru ar Ap M Ju g o m
an b M Au em Oc
t
ve em
J F e pt o De
c
Se N

2019 2020 2021

Source: BSTT Accounting Department, 2021.

Based on chart 3.1, we can easily see that in the first months of the year, specifically in
January to May, the amount of goods to be transported is quite low, but in June, July
or the last months of the year (such as November and December), this is the peak
shipping season, the workload to handle is very large. During the low season, the
stages in the freight forwarding process are often done on schedule due to the number
of employees meeting the requirements. However, in the peak seasons, the number of
shipments to be handled is quite large, so the staff of the departments have to keep
track of many orders at the same time, leading to difficulties in managing as well as
ensuring the calculation. efficient in work, especially at the stage of customs
declaration and transportation of goods to the specified location at the request of the
customer. The forwarders have to do many jobs at the same time, tracking orders,
making electronic customs declarations, paying taxes at the treasury, and applying for
import and inspection permits... This easily leads to backlog of documents and
sometimes unintended errors. On the contrary, in the low season, the orders are less
and less frequent, so the working productivity has not reached the optimal level,
thereby not only wasting human resources but also putting pressure on the total cost of
BSTT.

2.3.2.2 Limitations in receiving and checking related documents

In recent years, BSTT is doing a relatively good and stable job of receiving and
checking documents. However, some employees are still young and their professional
skills are not high, so sometimes the inspection of documents still has errors that need
to be overcome. This is a very complicated job because it involves many stages and
must prepare many types of documents such as contracts, commercial invoices, import
permits, etc. If one of the prescribed documents is missing, the goods will be damaged.
will not be able to pass through. During the application process, due to objective as
well as subjective factors, OPS staff sometimes make mistakes in comparing
information of documents with reality and when declaring with customs, resulting in
the need to change the declaration information and need more time to fix the problem
that caused the shipment clearance process to be delayed.

The consequences of this problem depend on the time of detection. If the error is
recognized in time, it can be corrected easily and less time consuming. However, if it
is discovered after the documents have been shipped or when the deadline for delivery
of the documents has been reached, additional storage costs and compensation costs
for customers due to untimely delivery will be incurred. Therefore, the document
checking phase plays a very important role, affecting the entire process of performing
the business. In fact, sometimes this stage is overlooked and poorly implemented,
which is also a major inadequacy, it is necessary to take radical remedial measures as
soon as possible in order to improve the reputation and efficiency of the company.

2.3.2.3 Limitations in receiving goods at the port and delivering them to the
warehouse for customers

According to the annual statistics of the BSTT, the number of containers that are
mistakenly towed and dragged by FCL imports fluctuates insignificantly compared to
the total volume of FCL imports.
 Table 2.2: Number of containers mistakenly towed and towed in the period

2019 – 2021

Unit: TEU

Year 2019 2020 2021

Volume of FCL imports

7,424 5,318 4,236
per year

Number of containers
512 350 290
pulled by mistake, missed
Source: BSTT, 2021.

It can be seen that in the period of 3 years of statistics, this index has always been in
the range of no more than 7% and there has been almost no decline or improvement.
The basic cause for this problem is that the container declaration lists of the shipping
lines and ports do not match, leading to mistakes and missing goods for customers.
During the process of making the dossier, it may be because the data entry stage has
errors or because some OPS staff are new and inexperienced, so they do not double
check the container number and the seal number. This has many dire consequences.
The first thing to mention is that customers may rely on the loss of goods to make it
difficult for the company, forcing the company to reduce service prices or not receive
goods or do not pay. Moreover, these errors will also create negative effects on the
company's reputation as well as the next cooperation times in the future. Thereby
affecting the position of BSTT in the whole industry.

2.3.2.4 Infrastructure and facilities of the company has not been invested enough

In order to guarantee that the shipment will be delivered on time, transportation

companies must have a fleet of vehicles that is large enough and appropriate for the
sort of items being transported. If there are not enough carriers, even if they lack the
equipment to convey the cargo, they will be unable to manage the transfer themselves,
which may result in them having to delay deliveries during busy times and raising both
the exploitation and transportation costs.

Table 2.3. Current status of BSTT Company's facilities in 2022

 Infrastructure and facilities Quantity
Office space 80m2
Computers 12
Printers 3
Air Conditioners 3
Containers or trucks 0
Source: BSTT Accounting Department, 2022.

The infrastructure component is a significant factor that affects how the business
performance of the organization may be enhanced. The facilities of the business
determine how quickly work is accomplished, keep information updated, and have an
effect on employee morale. Positive work attitudes encourage employees to put in a lot
of effort and feel comfortable in their roles, which promotes innovation and increases
labor productivity. All company processes, particularly the identification of customer
sources, markets, and new markets, are significantly impacted by the speed at which
information is updated. These are key jobs in company that increase the efficacy of the
organization's operations. The slow updating of the information might cause the
business to miss out on advantageous opportunities.

The infrastructure component is a significant factor that affects how the business
performance of the organization may be enhanced. The facilities of the business
determine how quickly work is accomplished, keep information updated, and have an
effect on employee morale. Positive work attitudes encourage employees to put in a lot
of effort and feel comfortable in their roles, which promotes innovation and increases
labor productivity. All company processes, particularly the identification of customer
sources, markets, and new markets, are significantly impacted by the speed at which
information is updated. These are key jobs in company that increase the efficacy of the
organization's operations. The slow updating of the information might cause the
business to miss out on advantageous opportunities.