Along with choosing the right transport, the suitable delivery term or trusted logistics agent for your international freight, defining suitable payment methods also deserves equal concern. In fact, the most secure method for exporters is clearly not the case for buyers, making it hard for both sides to reach the consensus on the payment term. To avoid losing your customers due to the lack of flexibility in offering a favorable term, it’s better that exporters/importers understand all the payment methods commonly used in international trade.

This article will explain to you the 4 common methods of payment used in Vietnam and a number of financial systems that can be used for paying Vietnamese suppliers.

1. Cash In Advance

Cash In Advance is a payment method which requires importers to pay fully and before the shipment is received. In Vietnam and other Asian countries, exporters commonly ask for making use of Telegraphic Transfer as an option to pay in advance. Telegraphic Transfer, abbreviated to TT, is the transfer of funds from the importer’s bank account to the exporter’s one by electronic means. The fee could be charged by the sending bank or receiving bank.

While buyers are not willing to agree on this method, it is the most desired one by exporters, however. It is mostly because the sellers could avoid all the risk of default. An example is that when there are problems with order or damages to the shipment, the sellers already have cash in hand and they do not have to worry whether buyers will pay for the goods or not. Besides, in some cases, the buyers are not able to afford prior to the shipment. For these reasons, importers, in contrast, do not favor this term as much as the sellers do.

Consequently, if the sellers insist on this method, chances are they will receive fewer orders or even lose their business to others who are willing to offer favorable terms to their customers flexibly.

What is T/T? How does it work?

A T/T payment is a Telegraphic Transfer or Wire Transfer of funds between banks using the SWIFT system. It is commonly requested by Vietnamese suppliers and is a standard way for importers to send money abroad.

Below is the way T/T payment commonly works:

1. You ask the supplier to develop samples until you learn that they are doing properly and exactly what you want.
2. You send a 50% deposit (by T/T) before production starts.
3. Your supplier (the seller, manufacturer, or exporter) purchases the components and/or materials and arranges the production.
4. You work with a third-party agent specializing in product quality inspection (this is optional and you can do it by yourself but it is usually a good idea).
5. You send the remaining 50% (by T/T) before shipment.
6. The supplier ships the goods and sends you the documents by freight forwarder.

2. Open Account

In contrast to Cash In Advance, Open Account transaction is a sale where the goods are shipped directly to the importers who have agreed to pay for the invoice at a specified day (30, 60, or 90 days after the shipment). It is, therefore, the most beneficial term to the importers while it is the highest risk term to exporters. 

Despite disadvantages of this term, it has upsides that the exporters could consider. In particular, since this is an advantageous term for buyers, exporters can offer this term in order to win more customers in the current intense competition, which will help maximize sales and boost business growth. 

Although the potential this method has, only offering this term to businesses that you completely trust is highly recommended. Besides, making use of protection like export credit insurance somehow can help you mitigate the risk of commercial losses (default) and political losses (war or non-convertible currency).

3. Letter of Credit

Both Cash In Advance and Open Account cannot satisfy the expectations of exporters and importers since one type that benefits the exporters will not be a favorable one for importers and vice versa. It, therefore, leads to the establishment of other payment methods that can help mitigate risks for both sides. Letter of Credit is one of them, though it’s relatively complicated.

Letters of Credit ensure that payment will be made by the buyer’s bank to the seller as soon as it receives the documents proving all of the terms and conditions expressed in LC have been qualified. This method benefits the seller when the foreign buyer with credit information being hard to obtain works with a creditworthy bank, ensuring the payment has to be made. In the meantime, an LC also protects the importers as they do not have to pay until the goods are shipped as promised. Though this paying method gives advantages to both buyers and sellers, it can be expensive, time consuming and hard to manage the whole process. 

How does this paying process work?

• Sale Contract: This process begins with a contract signed between the buyer and seller. All important information such as price, quantity, and the like has to be agreed in this contract. 
• Request for Letter of Credit: The buyer will be the one that requests a LC from his/her Issuing Bank. This document has to specify details about beneficiary’s name and address, date of shipment, transport mode and other terms.
• Send Letter of Credit: After issuing the LC according to the buyer’s demand, the Issuing Bank will send this document to the seller’s bank. The beneficiary bank will carefully check all the information to ensure that this document is perfectly correct without any mistake.
• Deliver Letter of Credit: The LC will be delivered to the seller (exporter) to make sure that this document is correct in every detail according to the contract between seller and buyer.
• Deliver Goods: The seller exports goods in compliance with terms and conditions stated in the LC.
• Present Export Documents: Export documents have to be presented fully to the exporter’s bank. The bank has the responsibility to verify whether these documents satisfy terms and conditions of the LC or not. This step must be conducted carefully before passing the documents on to the importer’s bank as the importer’s bank can refuse to pay even with a very tiny mistake.
• Forward Documents to the Issuing Bank: The importer’s bank will give these documents a final check before sending them to Buyer.
• Documents and claim for payment: Importer’s bank forwards documents, claims for payments to the buyer and makes payment to the seller’s bank. The importer then will use these documents to take possession of goods and the seller gets paid.

Depending on the time that the Issuing Bank agrees to make payment for Advising Bank, there are two main types of LC, including LC at sight and Deferred LC.

• LC at sight means that the Issuing Bank makes payment immediately after receiving all the documents and carefully verifying all terms and conditions stated on LC. Vietnamese exporters preferred this option for their trade.
• Deferred LC (after 30, 60, 90 days) means that the Issuing bank on behalf of the buyer pays the seller on a specified future date after completion of the transaction. 

4. Documentary Collections

Documentary Collection, abbreviated to D/C, is a transaction that the seller (exporter) delegates the collection of payment to the bank (remitting bank), which also has the responsibility to forward the shipping documents to the buyer’s bank, with instructions to release the documents to the buyer and claim for payment. In order to clear the goods through customs, the buyer has to present shipping documents, which can only be received when the exporter gets payment.

There are two main types of this method, encompassing Document Against Payment and Document Against Acceptance.

• Document against payment means the payment has to be made immediately when the buyer is presented the sight draft. 
• Document against acceptance, on the other hand, do not require the buyer to pay immediately but to provide a specified date for payment. This type gives the importer a short amount of time to pay the exporter after receiving goods.

Documentary collection mitigates risks of international trade for both sides. For exporters, only when payment or acceptance has been obtained, the possession of documents is handed over, which means that the exporter remains title of goods until buyers have made payment. For Importers, they have to make payment only after goods are shipped. Besides,  this term is less expensive and complicated than its alternative, Letter of Credit.

This term, however, still has a drawback which could affect the seller. In fact, the importer could change their mind and refuse to pay for the goods, leading to other serious problems for the seller. Therefore, compared with Letter of Credit, which could be used even when the foreign importer’s information is hard to obtain, this method should be applied to work with trusted partners.

How does this method work?

This method includes 4 main phases:

1. The contract of sale is signed between the exporter and importer, including all key points such as the amount to be paid, delivery date, and payment method which is documentary collection. The exporter then ships goods to the final destination with support of freight forwarder.
2. The shipping documents will be prepared and forward to the seller’s bank (remitting bank). This bank then sends these documents to the importer’s bank (collecting bank).
3. After receiving the shipping documents of goods, the collecting bank will notify the buyer that the documents have been received. The buyer is requested to make payment by the collecting bank in exchange for the documents.
4. When the bank gets paid or the buyer accepts the time draft (pay on a specified date later), the documents of shipping will be released to the buyer.

5. Popular Financial Systems Used For Paying Vietnamese Suppliers

After considering 4 must-know payment methods used in Vietnam, finding suitable services to pay Vietnamese suppliers is highly necessary. There are a number of services that foreign importers can use to make payment for Vietnamese sellers, including:

Western Union

Western Union is a very popular service for sending money around the globe. Customers can send money by phone, through Western Union website, or in person. Its fees can be attributed to a long list of elements, especially when transferring money internationally.

MoneyGram

As Western Union, MoneyGram is also a very popular service for making payments, making it the biggest rival to Western Union. While Western Union considers many factors to decide the amount of money you can transfer such as the origin and destination, your transaction history, type of payment and so on, MoneyGram sets a limit of $10,000 USD for most online transactions. For this reason, many people choose WU over MoneyGram.

Transferwise

Transferwise has bank accounts all over the world linked together by smart technology. This is how it works: When you send USD to Vietnam, just simply log on and pay your USD to the Transferwise VN account. Then this Transferwise VN account sends VN Dong to the recipient. Not only is it very easy to conduct, but it’s also up to 8 times cheaper than using banks.

PayPal

It could be said that PayPal is the best option to send a small amount of money to someone overseas. It is the most used online payment platform with instant payments. However, PayPal also has its own disadvantage. In fact, its rules are very strict, which means that your account could be suspended easily and locked by PayPal with a very slight suspicion.

These payment methods and services above are the ones that are commonly used in Vietnam as well as other Asian countries. Of these methods, T/T payment and LC irrevocable at sight are mostly chosen by Vietnamese exporters. With the useful information this article provides above, you now have a general view of payment terms and know how to choose a suitable one for your next dispatch. 

Along with payment methods, exporters/importers could run into other difficulties when trading internationally. Check out our Vietnam Sourcing blog list below to facilitate your sourcing process from Vietnam right away:

6 Decisive Steps for Sourcing Goods from Vietnam

Sourcing from Vietnam: An Ultimate Guide to International Shipping

Vietnam Sourcing: Invaluable Guide for International Sea Freight

Vietnam Sourcing: Required Shipping Documents for Export/Import Process

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

Are you going to source from Vietnam, an Asia sourcing hub with great potential? Are you faced with any problems when sourcing from Vietnam? With professional experience and presence at factory location, Viego Global thoroughly understands and has the capability to help you break through all the barriers as well as successfully do business in this country. Just leave your comment below or click HERE for further support!

In order to carry out international shipping successfully, there are many important steps which have to be conducted. Of these crucial steps, preparation for shipping documents is clearly the one that needs to be carefully considered most. In fact, it will cost you a lot if you ignore this step and just push your products to the ports. Read this article to the end and Find out what you need for a full documentation process which decides the fate of your shipments.

Before reading this post, you could take a look at 6 Decisive Steps for Sourcing Goods from Vietnam to have a general view of sourcing goods from this manufacturing hub.

Check out our main points in this article:

1. Why do we have to carefully prepare for shipping documents?

It is always said that an adequate preparation for documents is extremely important in any international shipping. But why? Why do these documents matter a lot to our export/import process? In fact, these documents have to be prepared not only fully but also correctly. If there is a mistake in documents, even with a seemingly minor detail, it definitely causes shipping delays and your shipments will be waiting at customs to be shipped.

In fact, shipping delay will lead to many problems that could severely damage your business performance as well as reputation. There are three main ways in which delays can cost your business. 

Firstly, delays in shipping can cause degradation of the products’ quality. These adverse effects are especially huge to companies that export or import perishable goods or use temperature sensitive containers for shipping.

Secondly, the reputation of businesses that have been acknowledged for its on-time delivery could be damaged if their goods are held at customs. These delays will lead to other ones, losing their precious reputation.

Last but not least, delay-related charges could become a serious problem if they are not solved as soon as possible. There are two main types of charges when it comes to the delay in international trade, including:

• Demurrage charges depend on how much time a container is stored in a port after arrival.
• Detention charges are applied for consignees holding on to the carriers’ equipment (container) beyond the allowed days.

You will run into these charges if your free time is exceeded. Free time is the number of days you are granted to pick up your container from the port, load/unload your cargo or deliver your goods to the designated port. In fact, not taking these charges into account will lead to unnecessary demurrage and detention charges, which can increase to many times its normal value. 

For these reasons, carefully preparing shipping documents can help you avoid delays as well as loss of money. Check out the following section to know what documents must be prepared in any international shipping.

2. 4 Important required documents in Export/Import process

In the process of shipping internationally, there are many types of documents that have to be presented in order to pass the customs and release goods. The required documents could differ according to which country is the destination. However, 4 shipping documents below are absolutely necessary no matter what country is your destination.

Commercial Invoice

The first important document is commercial invoice, which is used for the Customs Declarations. This document includes all the critical information about the transaction. The customs will use this invoice to determine taxes, tariffs duties and other costs for your freight. For this reason, any practice of falsifying this document is considered as a criminal offence and receiving a severe punishment is obvious.

As has mentioned before, a commercial invoice encompasses a lot of important information. Below are the minimum data generally included in a commercial invoice:

• Importer and Exporter information
• Products’ Detailed Description (Products’ name, Quality, HS Code, Quantity, Price per unit,…)
• Country of Shipment
• Delivery Term
• Payment Term

This document could be prepared in any language, a translation in English, however, is highly recommended. The suppliers/manufacturers/exporters issue this invoice and then it then will be sent to the customs via the freight forwarder. 

Packing List

A packing list is a document that provides all involved parties, including the exporter, the international freight forwarder, and the consignee, with all the information about the shipment. In particular, it could be details about how the shipment is packed, the number of cartons, units per carton, and other packaging information. 

Besides, this document must match with the commercial invoice, which means that they have to reflect the same involved parties and other transaction details. Likewise the commercial invoice, this document is prepared by exporters/manufacturers and sent to the customs before goods arrive via carriers/freight forwarders. 

Other names of Packing List:

• Bill of Parcel
• Packaging Slip
• Delivery List
• Shipping List
• Customer Receipt

Certificate of Origin

Certificate of Origin is a document that indicates in which country commodities and goods are manufactured. It is issued by manufacturers from a country of the exporter. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for drafting, submitting to authorities to issue legal documents on the origin of goods, according to Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency. It also can authorize the Vietnam Chamber of Industry and Commerce to issue the certificates of origin.

This document is considered as an important one since it provides customs with the basis to calculate the taxes, tariffs for your dispatch. Vietnam now has 13 free trade agreements with many countries throughout the world, resulting that its goods can enter these countries without trade barriers.

Bill of Lading

Bill of Lading, abbreviated as BOL or B/L, is a legal document issued by the carrier, or shipping agent, that acknowledges they have received goods for shipment. Along with Commerce Invoice, Packing list, and Certificate of Origin, not only is Bill of Lading one of 4 required shipping documents, it is also the most important one.

In fact, this document plays a huge role in the international shipping process. It serves three main functions:

• A receipt acknowledging that goods have been loaded
• Evidence of Contract of Carriage between the carrier and the the shipper
• A document of Title to the goods that determines the right to the possession of the goods

Below are the main information that must appear on a bill of lading:

• Information of Shipper, Consignee, and Carrier
• Booking Number (provided by the Freight Forwarder)
• Vessel Name
• Port of Load and Discharge
• Container Number and its Seal Number
• Information on Goods (quantity/volume/weight)
• Delivery Terms, Payment Terms
• B/L number

Other Documents that could be needed when exporting or importing 

• Proforma Invoice
• Dangerous Goods Form (for Dangerous Goods)
• Health Certificate (for Food)
• Bank Draft
• Import/Export License
• Insurance Certificates
• Sales Contract

Preparing documents for your international shipping requires a lot of effort. Not only do you have to prepare them all but you also make them right without any mistakes, even a very tiny one. 

If you’re still confused about shipping terms like Bill of Lading, Commercial Invoice or you do not have much experience in Export/Import process, it is highly recommended that you should find a sourcing company to help you with this. A sourcing agent not only helps you to identify trusted suppliers/manufacturers but they also make your shipping process as smooth as possible.

Find out more about potential of Vietnam sourcing hub at Vietnam – A Promising Land for Sourcing

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

Are you going to source from Vietnam, an Asia sourcing hub with great potential? Are you faced with any problems when sourcing from Vietnam? With professional experience and presence at factory location, Viego Global thoroughly understands and has the capability to help you break through all the barriers as well as successfully do business in this country. Just leave your comment below or click HERE for further support!

Sea freight is always compared to other shipping methods when someone has a tendency to export goods. In Vietnam, ocean shipping could be considered as the backbone of international trade and the global trade, and the same goes for the world. Why is this method chosen over the others and what do we need to know when exporting goods by ocean freight? Go through this blog post to have the answers for these questions.

Check out our main points in this post here:

1. What is ocean freight?

Ocean Freight is a method of transporting a large amount of goods by sea via standard shipping containers. Due to the fact that Vietnam has conditions facilitating ocean shipping, this method has become the most used one when shipping internationally. In fact, according to the Representative of Vietnam Maritime Administration, sea freight has carried out more than 90% of international shipping in Vietnam, making it an important shipping solution for many foreign and domestic businesses. Furthermore, Vinamarin also states that there is an estimated increase of 16% in export commodities through Vietnam seaports in the end of 2019.

2. Why choose sea freight instead of other methods?

It is absolutely necessary to consider which one is the best transport way for your freight. Sea freight seems slow compared to the other global transport like international courier services, standard air freight or express air freight. Nevertheless, this method has its own huge competitive advantages, making it more attractive than other transports. Let’s check out its upsides below.

Cost

It is apparent that cost is always an issue to be carefully considered when choosing a shipping method. Compared to the cost of shipping by air, ocean freight completely wins the battle of cost especially with larger shipments. However, shipping by sea costs you more time than air freight does, which means that you should choose air shipping if time is your first priority.

Capacity

The second advantage that ocean shipping offers exporters is its ability to ship heavy or large loads. In fact, if you are going to ship goods weighing more than 150kg or 2 CBM (Cubic Meter), air freight will be extremely expensive, and transporting by sea now is an optimal choice for you.

Environmental friendliness

Environmental issues have received increasing public attention in recent years. When it comes to environmental protection, shipping by sea will be the better option. 

According to World Shipping Council, maritime shipping is the world’s most carbon-efficient transport method. In fact, it is far more efficient than road and air freight, which releases carbon dioxide most to the environment.

Nevertheless, due to a number of factors such as speed, types of products, and so on, it leaves you no choice but choosing other methods over sea freight. For this reason, in order to choose which method is the best one for your freight, ask yourself 5 questions below:

• How much money are you willing to spend on transporting your freight?
• How quickly do your goods need to be dispatched?
• Is reaching your destination in time your first priority in shipping goods?
• Do you care much about reducing CO2 footprint and protecting the environment?

Or you could check out factors that affect your decision on methods of dispatch at Sourcing from Vietnam: An Ultimate Guide for International Shipping.

3. International sea freight services: LCL and FCL

In this method, 2 main concepts are applied when shipping Vietnam’s goods, encompassing FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than a Container Load). 

FCL (Full Container Load) refers to a container shipment which is used for only one consignee. This means that this carrying container doesn’t have to share capacity with goods from other shippers. In particular, the container in this type of shipment is sealed at origin and just opened at the destination, thus offering a high security and minimum handling for products.

LCL (Less than a Container Load), in contrast, is a container shipment in which exporters share the container capacity with other shippers. This concept allows goods to be shipped economically but less secure and chances are that you have to wait for 1-2 days until the container is fully loaded.

4. Process for Shipping by Sea

Having a shipping agent is highly recommended in this process since the import and customs processes are relatively complicated. The shipping company can help you to manage risks and ensure a smooth process.

A number of steps should be taken into account when shipping by sea with a transport agent:

• Choose a trusted shipping agent.
• This agent will collect goods from your supplier.
• Goods are transported to the port and pass through customs in the origin.
• Goods can be loaded into your own container (FCL), or a shared container (LCL), then it will be put into a cargo ship.
• Goods will be released after passing the destination’s customs and all duty and taxes are paid.
• Goods are delivered to you now.

5. Vietnam Seaport System

Thanks to the advantage of a long coastline of 3,260km, Vietnam has developed a system of international seaports throughout the country, which facilitates the process of shipping by sea from Vietnam. Vietnam has 114 sea ports in total with 14 of them are large, playing a key role in economic growth. According to the Ministry of Transport, there is a significant development in both the scale and capability in recent years.

Take a look at the three most modern seaports for each region in Vietnam:

Northern Vietnam – Hai Phong Seaport

Hai Phong Port is the most modern seaport for international container traffic in the North of Vietnam now. In fact, it is well-equipped with advanced facilities and safe infrastructure, which are suitable for multimodal and international trade. 

Chua Ve and Tan Vu Terminals are 2 of 5 Hai Phong Port branches. These two branches have a large area of container yard which is more than 700,000m2 in total. Besides, since Hai Phong Port is the seaport handling the largest traffic volume in Northern Vietnam, this port can receive 10 million tons of throughput per year.

Central Vietnam – Da Nang Port

Da Nang Port is the major port in Central Vietnam and the third largest one in Vietnam’s seaport list. This port has three berth areas, including two main terminals (Tien Sa – Son Tra and Song Han) and a freight warehouse (Tho Quang Station). Not to mention Song Han and Tho Quang, Tien Sa terminal is able to receive tankers which are more than 40,000 DWT and container ships of up to 2000 TEUs, making this port the busiest one in Central Vietnam.

Southern Vietnam – Cat Lai New Port

Recently, Cat Lai Port has achieved a grand milestone of being the largest and most modern international terminal in Vietnam. The throughput at this port accounts for more than 90% of market share in the South of Vietnam.

According to the statistics that Vietnam Seaports Association provided in 2019, Cat Lai Port handled more than 5 million TEUs of containers, making it a key terminal in Vietnam’s seaport system nowadays.

Below is the list of other international seaports in Vietnam

• Vung Tau Port
• Van Phong Port
• Quy Nhon Port
• Quang Ninh Port
• Cua Lo Port
• Dung Quat Port
• Chan May Port

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

Are you going to source commodities from Vietnam, an Asia sourcing hub with great potential? Are you faced with any problems when sourcing from Vietnam? With professional experience and presence at factory location, Viego Global thoroughly understands and has the capability to help you break through all the barriers as well as successfully do business in this country. Just leave your comment below or click HERE for further support!

 

Sourcing goods from Vietnam is not something too strange for foreign companies nowadays due to the fact that this country has emerged as an Asia potential manufacturing hub in recent years. However, this process is not without its difficulties. In fact, it requires lots of efforts and deep knowledge to be successfully completed. For this reason, this blog post aims to provide you with a general view of steps to source from Vietnam.

Go through the 6-step sourcing process below to know how to source goods from Vietnam as efficiently as possible.

Step 1: Product & Supplier analysis

When sourcing goods from Vietnam, the very first practice you have to perform is identifying products that you want to import from Vietnam. In fact, not all goods are produced in Vietnam. But if they are, good news is that your merchandise is going to be cheaper or have higher quality.

In this case, the chart of Top 8 Vietnam’s Exports in 2019 and 2002 could be a valuable source for your analysis. These products are exported to countries that have very high standards in importing goods.

In fact, according to the United States Trade Representative, Vietnam was the US’s 7th largest supplier of goods, with $66.6 billion of goods exports in 2019. The top import goods were electrical machinery, knit apparel, furniture and footwear. Besides, in the Vietnam Customs report, Vietnam exported telephones, textiles and garments, computers, agricultural products to 28 countries of the EU in the first 3 quarters of 2020.

After identifying the product you want to import, finding a supplier that offers you the best price is absolutely necessary. There are many platforms for you to fast check suppliers. Some good examples are Alibaba and Amazon, which provide you with a variety of Vietnamese suppliers. You can consider the various suppliers and their prices there.

In this step you should create a short list of 3-5 appropriate suppliers and contact them for more information. In order to find suitable suppliers for your merchandise, you can ask these suppliers 5 questions below and identify whether they are the good ones or not.

• Are you dealing with a manufacturer or a trading company?
• How long have they been in business and which countries have they exported to?
• What is the minimum order quantity they accept?
• Do they obtain any certifications for their products?
• How do they manage the logistics process?

Step 2: Quotation

Costs always have a considerable impact on choosing suppliers for your sourcing needs. After choosing a number of suitable suppliers, you should contact them to ask for a quotation. Quotation is a document that includes proposed prices for the suppliers’ goods. In detail, this quotation could include main factors below:

• Cost
• Minimum Order Quantity
• Unit Price
• Shipping terms
• Product description

In this step, you can directly negotiate with suppliers in order to achieve the best price for your sourcing. However, this step could be difficult for some companies if they do not have any staff who can handle language barriers. For this issue, it is highly recommended that you should have a Vietnamese speaker in the team to make your negotiation as detailed and effective as possible.

After considering some quotations, you now know which suppliers are suitable for your business. It’s time to book a flight to Vietnam and carry out manufacturers’ inspection.

Step 3: Pre-production Inspection 

A full inspection for manufacturer’s capability is definitely essential before producing your goods. Most of Vietnam’s industrial zones concentrated in the Northern and Southern area. In fact, it would be convenient and save your time if you chose suppliers that are located in one region to pay a visit. 

Additionally, you should keep information of other suppliers that also meet your requirements as a backup. If this supplier is not as good as you expected, you can quickly move to another one and complete this step in a suitable amount of time.

Nevertheless, even when you have inspected all manufacturers, it is still hard for you to make a decision. Due to the fact that you are doing business overseas, you cannot approach all the news and the performance of chosen suppliers in these years. And first impressions can somehow mislead you about the capability of a supplier. Therefore, it would be better if you have support from a Vietnamese expert, or someone who has long experience with this country.

Step 4: Sample Evaluation and Order

There are 2 main reasons for why this step is considered as an important one in sourcing goods. Firstly, evaluating the sample can ensure your products are going to be produced in a proper way and exactly meet your requirements. Secondly, if you are going to produce customized goods, this sample you approve could be used for comparing to the final products.

In this step, you can require suppliers to send their products’ to your business and pay for shipping costs or you can directly go to the manufacturers yourself to evaluate them. Nevertheless, the problem is that you do not have enough time to travel for each stage of the process. Furthermore, even if you order samples from your short list of ideal suppliers, it will get costly as you have to pay for each ship.

In order to avoid this cost, you can negotiate with the supplier and suggest that this payment should be taken off since the purchase order is large enough. Another solution is that you can ask your suppliers to send their samples to a third party located in the same country with your suppliers. This approach will help you save lots of money if you request samples from a list of suppliers.

After having enough information about the supplier’s capability and its product’s quality, now you can place an order with your most suitable supplier. However, in order to successfully complete this sourcing process, you still need to carefully consider the following steps.

Step 5: Inspections in Production Process and before Shipping

There are many issues that could be raised during the process of production as well as before your freight is shipped. In order to avoid these problems, a regular inspection is highly recommended. However, keeping an eye on the production process the whole time is nearly impossible when you are overseas. In this case, you could ask a third party located in Vietnam to inspect and report to you. 

Besides, Pre-shipment inspection is also of great importance. The purpose of this step is to make sure that:

• The quantity and quality are right
• There is no defect in ordered products
• The packaging meets standards and goods can be safely transported

Furthermore, this practice can help you avoid any bad situation after your freight lands on the final destination. For example, when you do not take this step into account, there is a high chance that it will cost you a lot of time and cost for renegotiating and flying to deal with the manufacturer about defects in products.

Step 6: International Shipping

If you are not familiar with export/import procedure, international shipping could be a hard challenge for your business. This shipping process requires many documents as well as procedures to complete. Besides, choosing the transport method for your merchandise is also extremely important since it directly affects your products.

In terms of Transportation, there are three transport methods which are most used in Vietnam, including Air Freight, Sea Freight and Overland (by Truck or Rail). Each one has its own upsides and downsides. Therefore, in order to choose the right method for your freight, you have to take time to consider a number of key elements which have an impact on your dispatch.

Check out some methods and guidelines for international shipping at Sourcing from Vietnam: An Ultimate Guide to International Shipping

Regarding Shipping documents, adequately preparing these documents will smooth your international process, which means that you can save your time as well as avoid any delays in the shipping process. In particular, required documents for international transport include Commercial invoice, Bill of Lading, Letter of Credit and so on. Nevertheless, since this procedure is relatively complicated, it is difficult for businesses who do not have much experience in this field to handle all the documents.

Now, you have just gone through the full process for sourcing goods from Vietnam with 6 important steps. Despite the fact that this sourcing process is not without its challenges in each step, finding a right sourcing partner could be an optimal solution for your business. Not only does a sourcing company help you overcome language barriers in negotiation, it also supports you in preparing necessary documents for your shipping, which absolutely optimize your process of sourcing goods from Vietnam.

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

Are you going to source commodities from Vietnam, an Asia sourcing hub with great potential? Are you faced with any problems when sourcing from Vietnam? With professional experience and presence at factory location, Viego Global thoroughly understands and has the capability to help you break through all the barriers as well as successfully do business in this country. Just leave your comment below or click HERE for further support!

It cannot be denied that international shipping is always a huge challenge to anyone who is going to transport goods across international borders from Vietnam. With an upward trend in Vietnam sourcing nowadays, having an in-depth knowledge of common transportation methods has become more important than ever before. For this reason, this blog post aims to provide you with useful information about popular transportation modes in Vietnam and help you make a right decision in choosing the most suitable method for your freight.

Check out our main points in this post here:

1. 3 Most Common Ways for International Shipping in Vietnam

There are 3 main methods of Transportation in Vietnam, including Sea Freight, Air Freight and Overland (by Truck or Rail).

Sea Freight

Sea Freight is a form of transporting a large amount of goods by using carrier vessels. With huge competitive advantages like large transport scope, high transport capacity, and low cost, Sea Freight has become a go-to option for many businesses in Vietnam these days.

Nevertheless, there are still a number of downsides when shipping by sea. Particularly, this mode takes more time to reach the destination compared to other methods, making it less attractive to suppliers of time-sensitive products.

In Vietnam, Sea Freight is the most used transportation mode thanks to its great advantages. According to the Representative of Vietnam Maritime Administration, ocean transport has performed more than 90% of international shipping in Vietnam, playing a pivotal role in Vietnam transport.

Furthermore, with a long coastline of 3,260 km and the well-evaluated system of international sea ports, Vietnam has successfully handled 107 million tons of export cargo and 121 million tons of import cargo in 2018, according to Vietnam Seaports Association.

Air Freight

Air Freight is a mode of shipping goods worldwide quickly by flying the plane loaded goods to another country. Despite the fact that Air Freight is the fastest shipping method, it definitely costs you a lot more than other modes do. However, it offers a variety of benefits for which the other ones cannot compete such as great speed, high level of security or reduced costs of warehousing, packaging.

Compared to sea freight, shipping by air is not really a favorable option for most people due to its too high price in Vietnam. Nevertheless, according to Mr. Do Xuan Quang, Director of Vietjet Cargo, in years to come, Vietnam air cargo exports have a lot of opportunities to develop due to the government’s tax reduction policies which will strongly promote the growth of air cargo. 

Overland (By Truck/Rail)

In the aspect of international shipping, Road freight is not used as much as sea or air freight are in Vietnam. Instead, this method is mostly used in transporting goods to ports of export. However, if the distance is less than 1,000km across borders, it would be better to take advantage of road shipping due to its competitive prices.

In the latest report of Vietnam logistics in 2019, Vietnam has 154 national highways with the total length of 24,866 km. This road system has been newly built, repaired and maintained regularly, which increases the efficiency of national transport as well as global transport.

Concerning railway network, despite the fact that this type of transport has the national route (Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh route), which is called Thong Nhat, it is not much used since it is considered relatively backward and weak.

These are 3 main ways to transport goods in Vietnam. Each one has its own upsides and downsides, but you can combine these types of transportation to have the most efficient route for the shipping, which is called multimodal transport. Based on a number of factors, you can have a right choice for your coming freight when sourcing from Vietnam. Check out the following section to make your own decision.

2. How to choose an appropriate method for your international transport from Vietnam?

There are many elements for you to evaluate which transport mode is the most suitable one for your international shipping. Nevertheless, in this section, we will go through 4 key elements which need to be carefully considered when choosing methods of dispatch:

Type of goods

It is apparent that we cannot apply one transportation mode to all kinds of products. For example, perishable goods, which are easily going to decay in a short amount of time, should be delivered by air.

Another good example is dangerous goods, such as insecticides, flammable liquids or toxic substances and so on, should be shipped by sea or surface.

Geographical Location

Depending on the distance between the origins and destinations, we can have a different choice of dispatch mode.

The chart above illustrates the relationship among the distance, the cost and the modes of transportation. In detail, while shipping by road doesn’t cost you much in short distances, its cost, however, increases significantly when it comes to long distances. In contrast, from the distance D2, ocean freight could be considered as an optimal solution.

Cost

Costs always put a heavy pressure on exporters/importers’ shoulders. Therefore, constant consideration among dispatch modes is highly necessary. For instance, if you are going to ship goods with a small or medium-sized scale, there is a chance that the cost of shipping by air is the same as the one of road transport due to its added transhipment or forwarding cost. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you should group small orders for joint shipment and ship it in one dispatch.

Safety

As has been mentioned above, security is always considered when making choices among transportation modes. There is no doubt that air freight is the most secure method and it should, therefore, be applied into fragile products. 

The main aim of shipping is to help the goods be received at the right time, right place and especially in the best condition. Consequently, despite the fact that the cost of shipping air is relatively higher than the others, you would be more relieved when receiving your goods in the safest condition.

It is apparent that the challenges of international shipping could be hit by anyone who has a tendency to import/export globally. With all the necessary information provided above, I believe that you already had your own decision on which transport way is your best option when sourcing from Vietnam. 

Have a look at Vietnam – A Promising Land for Sourcing to have an overview of Vietnam sourcing market.

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

Are you going to source commodities from Vietnam, an Asia sourcing hub with great potential? Are you faced with any problems when sourcing from Vietnam? With professional experience and presence at factory location, Viego Global thoroughly understands and has the capability to help you break through all the barriers as well as successfully do business in this country. Just leave your comment below or click HERE for further support!

 

Vietnam Robusta Coffee has long made its name on the global coffee market. Vietnam is undoubtedly the paradise for coffee buyers who seek for Robusta coffee at a cheaper rate. Before diving into this guide, remember to check out our “Vietnam coffee market” blog series to have an overview of the coffee industry in Vietnam. In this essential guide to Vietnam Robusta, we will walk you through 4 best types of Robusta to buy in Vietnam.

1. Vietnam Robusta Coffee at a glance.

The majority of Vietnam coffee beans – around 97% – are the Robusta variety, International Coffee Council data shows. Known for their bold, harsh, bitter flavor, and high caffeine content, Robusta beans are typically used to make cheap, mass-market commercial products, including instant coffee and supermarket blends. Robusta can be grown at lower altitudes, in hotter climates, and with less moisture. Main Robusta coffee growing provinces locate in the Central Highlands, including Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum. This area has many legends about coffee such as the Buon Ma Thuot brand. There are some geographic indications of the coffee regions (‘Buon Ma Thuot’, ‘Cau Dat – Da Lat’ and ‘Son La’) known for their quality, sweet aroma and strong flavor resulting from the soil characteristics. Since Robusta has fewer growing restrictions and has a generally less desirable flavor, it is usually sold for a lower price than Arabica beans.

2. Green Robusta Coffee from Vietnam

Green coffee beans are raw coffee beans that have not been roasted. In Vietnam, farmers will harvest the ripe coffee cherries and then process them under 3 main techniques. They are then dried to a moisture level of about 11% by either of three methods. Read the details of processing method on how Vietnam’s coffee beans are processed. The beans may be also wet polished to remove any silver skin remaining on the beans. As a result, the so-called green coffee beans are bagged, stored and shipped to importing countries for roasting and grinding.

Green Robusta Coffee is the key product of Vietnam, bringing Vietnam second position in the world for coffee exports and No. 1 for Robusta coffee exports. Since green coffee is cheaper than other processed coffee, buying green Robusta coffee might be a smart decision financially. What is more, when buying green coffee beans, you are in full control of the roasting process, hence easily managing the cup quality. In term of green beans, various suppliers in Vietnam provide commercial Robusta and Fine Robusta, which means high quality Robusta as well.  Overall, main types are:

– Vietnam Robusta green beans washed/unwashed/honey with wet-polished or non wet-polished: grade 1 on screen No. 18, grade 1 on screen No. 16, grade 2 on screen No. 13;

For exporting to market with strict safety standard, various Vietnamese coffee farmers have been applying advanced agricultural production technology to obtain national and international certifications, such as 4C (Common Code for the Coffee Community); VietGAP (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices); UTZ (UTZ Certified); and RFA (Rainforest Alliance). What is more, in Vietnam, green Robusta coffee beans are also verified with HALAL certification, which are highly preferred in Muslim-majority countries and in some Western countries. These quality certifications make it easy for coffee to be exported to the overseas market and meet the global customer’s requirement. Read more details of each quality certifications you need to take into consideration when buying coffee from Vietnam.

3. Roasted Robusta Coffee from Vietnam.

During the last decade, green coffee beans accounted for more than 90% of Vietnam’s exported volume. However, exports of highly processed coffee have increased in recent years. In 2016, nearly 63,000 tons of roasted and soluble coffee products were exported, customs data of Vietnam exports shows. Coffee roasting is a heating process that helps bring out the aroma and flavor of a green coffee beans. In Vietnam, while the methods vary from simple to the expensive ones, there are four main types of coffee roasts: Light roast, medium roast, medium dark roast, dark roast. Therefore, Roasted Robusta Coffee from Vietnam are categorized into four main types:

• Vietnam Robusta light roast coffee beans:

+ The beans are pale and dry-looking

+ Light roasted beans have the most caffeine and the most acidity

• Vietnam Robusta medium roast coffee beans

+ The beans are still dry, with more sweetness due to further caramelize.

+ Medium roasted beans have balanced flavor, aroma, and lower acidity, medium amount of caffeine.

• Vietnam Robusta medium dark roast coffee beans

+ The beans begin to show an oily sheen on surface

+ Medium dark roasted beans have a fuller flavor, more body, and less acidity.

• Vietnam Robusta dark roast coffee beans

+ The beans show visible oils on the surface

+ Dark roasted beans have heavy and full body flavor with spicy notes, low amount of caffeine

–> Find out how to check the quality of Vietnam coffee beans

4. Instant Robusta coffee from Vietnam

Instant coffee is also called soluble coffee or dried coffee extract. This beverage enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water to the powder and stirring. In Vietnam, a wide range of instant Robusta coffee is manufactured. There is a huge variety of instant coffee brands on Vietnam’s market, but these are the list of main categories of instant Robusta coffee:

• Robusta spray dried instant coffee powder from Vietnam;
• Robusta agglomerated Instant Coffee powder from Vietnam;
• Robusta freeze-dried instant coffee powder from Vietnam;
• Robusta decaffeinated instant coffee from Vietnam;
• Robusta 3in1 instant coffee mix from Vietnam: Robusta instant powder mixed with sugar cane and non-dairy creamer;
• Instant coffee can/bottle from Vietnam (concentrated liquid form).

5. Ground Robusta coffee from Vietnam

Ground Robusta coffee is made from whole coffee beans that went through the grinding process. Ground coffee varies in sizes, from very fine, fine, medium to coarse. For ground coffee, the brewing methods are different from instant coffee. It can range from Pour over, French press to Percolated or using Espresso machine. In Vietnam, people commonly drink coffee by using phin coffee filter with ground coffee. Other products that Vietnam coffee suppliers sell on the market is: Drip coffee bag from Vietnam or Whole ground bean from Vietnam.

Check out the grind size chart below to know which size is best suited to your brewing method.

Coffee Grind Size	Should use for
Finely Ground	Espresso
Medium – Fine	Moka Pots
Medium Ground	Drip Coffee & Vacuum Brewers
Medium – Coarse	Chemex Brewers
Coarse Ground	French Press & Percolators

Viego Global – Your trusted sourcing partner in Vietnam

In order to provide a deeper insight on Vietnam’s Coffee Market, we’ve created this series along with tips on how to select the best beans from Vietnam for your business. Jump to: 

• A start-to-finish guide to coffee beans market in Vietnam
• Best types of coffee beans to source in Vietnam
• How to find wholesale coffee suppliers in Vietnam
• Essential guide to checking the quality of Vietnam’s green coffee beans
• 4 Most common mistakes when sourcing green coffee beans from Vietnam
• Everything you need to know about Vietnam’s specialty coffee

Are you sourcing coffee beans from Vietnam? Do you need a source of high quality coffee? If you want to connect with any qualified coffee producers in Vietnam that pay strict attention to their beans, please comment below so we could help you out easily. Being presence at the factory location, Viego has the capability to professionally source, manufacture and execute order providing maximum benefit to our clients in terms of delivering a wide range of products at the best competitive pricing. Please contact us HERE for further support!