This takes me back a few years to the time when I was a working lady in the export department of a Swiss tool factory. Due to being basically with english mother tongue, export was ideal for me. Goods were sent all over the world, and I was responsible for export to mainly the Far East, but also some companies in Germany and even France now and again. Even Russia was one of the countries I would send the goods to.

When goods are exported, you cannot just put them in a box with a stamp. Each country has its own rules and regulations and specific documents that have to be establshed proving the value of the goods being sent. You also have to complete the rules to ensure that your company gets paid for the goods.

India and Pakistan were particularly difficult and to ensure that payment was made you generally had a so-called Letter of Credit issued by the foreign bank. The customer deposited the money in his bank and as proof we got the Letter of Credit specifiying that certain documents, with various statements, should be issued and authenticated with various stamps and statements signed by official bodies. When you had everything you sent it to your bank. They would compare everything with the Letter Of Credit specifications and if everything was OK, you got your money and the customer was happy to receive the goods.

Sometimes you also had to get a Certificate of Origin. Everything cost and before actually sending the order you make a so-called Pro Form Invoice and sent it to the customer showing what the value of the goods would be and including the expenses incurred for documentation, rules and regulations.

Of course this was mainly for the countries far away. Sending goods around Europe was less complicated, although you stil had to comply with certain rules and regulations for the export.

I could write a book on the life of an export clerk, which was my working life for thirty years. When I began everything was done manually, but with the years the computer moved in, although certain rules and regulations could not be covered by the computer.

I hope I have managed to explain the export methods. It is a very complicated task.

FOWC with Fandango: Export