Business consulting services are in greater demand every year. According to the IPT Group’s research center, the market for consulting services has grown by 73% over the past ten years. Managers turn to external consultants when they need expert perspectives on and assessments of their business processes. Consultants can also provide specific knowledge and know-how for a company diversifying its offerings. As the parable goes, you can give people fish or you can give them fishing rods and teach them how to catch these fish.
AsstrA Foreign Economic Activity (FEA) experts support companies expanding their business beyond the borders of one state. They provide "turnkey" foreign trade management services and advisory for companies who are starting to export products. The goal is to help clients acquire their own experience and knowledge necessary to handle foreign trade independently.
A recent success story involved a Russian furniture manufacturing company that came to AsstrA with a request to deliver its products from Russia to Germany. This was the company’s first export project, and they were unfamiliar with the ins and outs of foreign trade transactions. Therefore the customer requested FEA advisory in addition to transport services.
Irina Andreeva
“In most cases, our clients have identified their knowledge gaps and ask us to help fill them or take over the appropriate export-import operations accordingly. However, in this case, the client discovered that our consultancy would be valuable during the process of organizing transportation for their goods,” says Irina Andreeva, Project Leader and an expert on foreign trade issues at AsstrA.
With AsstrA’s consultancy, the client was able to solve the following challenges:
- registration of a foreign trade participants with customs authorities;
- execution of a foreign trade contract;
- properly completing shipping documentation such as invoices and packing lists;
- properly completing customs documentation such as the technical description of goods.
AsstrA experts also consulted on how to label the goods as required to export them and recommended mutually favorable settlement terms with buyers.
Immediately before shipment, the AsstrA team checked the set of customs documents and fixed inaccuracies that might have caused downtime at customs and therefore delivery delays. As a result, all customs and clearance procedures were successfully completed in one day.
"After the consultation, it was nice to receive feedback from the client that they were able to complete their second transportation project independently without any problems. We are know working with them as their logistics partner on a regular basis," adds Irina Andreeva