Payment Terms

Beyond language and legal barriers, such as the requirement of GOST R certification, businessmen have to consider another important issue: payment terms. This is especially true given that Russia’s economy is still suffering from the financial crisis, recovering more slowly than other countries. Establishing acceptable payment terms can cause substantial delays to the progress of a deal.

There are three aspects of the payment process which tend to produce problems when setting the terms of trade between Chinese and Russian companies.

1. Russian buyers traditionally prefer to settle trades through cash.

2. The Russian banking system has yet to mature. By the end of 2008 there were approximately 1,300 banks in Russia. Over 800 of these were extremely small, with a capital base equivalent to less than USD 1 million. An extra element of disorder exists in Russia’s banking environment, in that many banks have a reputation for not honoring issued letters of credit. Furthermore, one-third of Russia’s banks may face bankruptcy as a result of the crisis; solvency is an important consideration when choosing a Russian bank’s services.

3. The level of cooperation between Chinese and Russian banks has yet to fully develop. Communication between both sides is inefficient. Chinese banks lack enough representative offices and agents in Russia, and vice versa.

Hence the situation suggests that extreme care must be taken when making payment arrangements for a Chinese supplier exporting to Russia. Some important steps to take include requiring the buyer to use a top, recognisable international bank when issuing the letter of credit, and asking for a risk-adjusted down payment when establishing the terms of trade. Additionally, the supplier may consider using the services of a company such as Sinosure which insures letters of credit against business and political risks. This type of service incurs extra charges but may be worth the cost for large traded values.

Just like any other prospective new market, Russia presents its own unique challenges. By overcoming the language barrier, by obtaining certifications to reduce the perception of poor quality and by taking extra precautions regarding the terms of payment, Chinese suppliers can prosper from increasing bilateral cooperation with Russia.

As all sourcing professionals will admit, finding the right supplier is the most important step for successful China production. But how can buyers evaluate the probability that a given factory will deliver acceptable products without delay? They should perform factory audits to approve each manufacturing facility.

Buying teams, or the quality assurance firms that represent them, can perform two kinds of factory audits:

• Audit to quality standards: overview of the factory (organisation, processes, capacity…) and study of its quality system
• Social audit: study of the factory’s labour policy and/or any other issue relevant to the client (i.e. the environment…).

This article focuses on the evaluation of the quality system. Auditors generally follow a standard checklist inspired by the requirements of the ISO 9000 series. The vast majority of Chinese factories—including many of the so-called 'ISO 9000 certified' ones—will fall short on at least a few checkpoints. Buyers who need acceptable products shipped on time will easily weed out the most unreliable manufacturers, which will fail on most points.

The checklist below is only a suggestion, and each buyer is encouraged to customise it to their needs. Take the time to apply it in several factories and you will have a clear picture of who you want to work with.

Part 1 of the checklist: What you should check as a priority

Understanding the buyer's requirements
Does the factory have a clear list of all desired characteristics of a product, before production starts?
Is it clearly specified how each characteristic should be measured?
Are conform samples available to workers in production and QC areas?

Suppliers of inputs
How does the factory evaluate and select material suppliers?
Do they communicate the requirements accurately to material suppliers?
Do they check whether a purchased product is up to specifications? How?
Do they send samples for lab tests? How often and for what tests?
Are materials properly stored?

In-house production
Does the factory give clear procedures to each worker and for each job (including the QC staff)?
How do they validate that each production process achieves the desired results?
Do they do in-process QC? On what proportion of products? What do they do with the data collected this way (corrective/preventive actions)? What happens to pieces found to be defective?
How do they ensure that measuring instruments are available and correctly used?
Do the operators control their own work?
Is there regular training?

Subcontracted production
Are materials delivered directly to subcontractors? How are they checked?
How does the factory control the work of the subcontractor(s)?
What do they check about the subcontractors' operations?

Final QC
What proportion of products is checked? How are they checked? Does it include packing?
Is there one last inspection based on AQL statistics? Based on what level of AQL?
What happens when non-conformities are detected?

Part 2 of the checklist: What you can check if you have some extra time

Accepting an order
How does the factory decide whether it can make a product and meet all the customer’s requirements?
And how do they validate a change in the product or the packaging asked by the customer?
Can they explain the process and the decision makers?
Can they give an example of a product they have recently refused to make?

Sampling
When the factory prepares some prototypes/samples, how does it make sure that the resulting product can meet all the customer’s requirements in bulk production?
Do they also make a prototype for the packaging at an early stage?
How are approved samples stored? Are they protected?

Instruments and machines
How does the factory determine what monitoring and measurements should be undertaken?
How do they ensure that measurement devices are calibrated and verified at specified intervals?
How often are production machines maintained and calibrated?

Prevention
Does the factory determine the root causes of non-conformities, and what actions do they take so that they don’t occur again?
Do they determine potential non-conformities and take preventive actions?

Note about supporting evidence:
For every checkpoint, the factory should present corresponding documents. You should be able to form an opinion by yourself, for example by counting the QC staff or observing some workers. Don’t just ask questions in a meeting room—go and check! Chinese factories are often tempted to say “yes we always do this, but we cannot show you records today because [reason XYZ]”. In 95% of cases, this is a lie and the records either don’t exist or are not kept properly.

The inability to present supporting elements in a timely manner, in itself, is not acceptable—make sure you mention it to them before the audit.

Note about the role of factory audits:
Being shown a nice workshop is not enough. Subcontracting is very, very common in China. Many suppliers are not transparent about this issue. Therefore importers are strongly advised to check where their orders are produced. They can send an employee or a third-party inspector to check the goods during production. Another advantage of this is that quality issues are noticed and corrective actions can be taken early.


Renaud Anjoran is the founder of Sofeast Quality Control, a third-party QC firm specializing in garments and textiles in China. He also writes on the Quality Inspection blog. You can contact him at info@sofeast.com. 

*This posting is a guideline for Chinese suppliers to conduct efficient and professional price negotiations with foreign clients.

由于业务原因，我们经常陪同客户考察工厂并参与谈判，在谈到产品报价时，经常遇到工厂和外方围绕价格的争论，其中有些感触如下

 

总的来说，在中国寻找供应商的外国客户，一般都是此行业的专家，并已经对行情作了一定研究，所以在谈判中比较自信和内行。而且作为外方谈判的风格，也常常在杀价时幅度比较大，比较直接。有时甚至一上来，就把价钱杀一半。有些工厂的业务当时就蒙了，或者有些生气，觉得这个客人是无理取闹，丢下一句“sorry, the price is impossible”，搞得客人和我们十分尴尬。其实，在谈判时最忌讳的就是“I can't, impossible”之类的不给自己留余地的话，无论是在什么时候，一定不能把话说死。那么，厂家应该如何应对呢

 

我们知道，在客户杀价一半的时候，无非有两种情况：

         A，杀一半的价钱对工厂来说仍然是有利的；      B，根本没办法接受。  

 A情况虽然很少出现，但是我仍然想说说。有的业务非常直率，也不还价，立刻接受，殊不知，这样的话，客人会觉得自己被欺骗了，他会先下个小订单，跟你做熟了之后，再慢慢要求降价，或小幅度的砍，或要求同一价格不变，条款由 FOB改成CFR。这是对于厂家来说，因为是老客户，为了维护关系，一般没办法多会答应降价。一来二往，客户会慢慢把你的价格杀个落花流水。所以，在遇到这样的事时，我奉劝供应方不如先把自己的高兴和得意藏起来，一板一眼的和外方还价，到差不多时再慢慢接受。

 
 B情况是最常见的，不同的人自然处理方法不同，我讲一个我认为非常成功的例子：有次我和客户一起见一个做小家电的工厂销售员。外方在听完报价后，如我所料的先砍一半，工厂销售却从容的拿出计算器，开始从板材到压缩机，从液晶屏到开关的价格，一点一点的计算成本给客人知道，让客户明白他提出的价钱是不可能做到的。而客户不但没有因为厂方驳回了他的价格生气，反而对这个销售人员很满意，认为这家工厂很专业，很有诚意。虽然当场没有成交，但是后来我听这个销售人员说客人给他下了30万美金的单子。

由这个例子我们可以看出，其实只要把握好客人的心里，摆事实，讲道理是，客户是可以理解厂家的报价的。最重要的一点：任何人，做任何事，接受任何价格，都是有理由的，符合逻辑的，这是谈判的不二法则。所以，在谈判桌上，做任何承诺，都要是有客观事实做基础，不要被客户的还价吓倒或者生气，更不要空口说大话，谈下订单却又无法履行。这才是在无数竞争者中脱颖而出，合理，良性的和外国客户发展双赢关系的基础。

* This posting is the third part of a series of guidelines for Chinese suppliers to conduct efficient and professional meetings with foreign clients.

3． 工厂参观

 

(1). 安全问题。

虽然安全生产是所有工厂的口号，而笔者去得大部分工厂都是取得了ISO认证等一系列认证的合法合格企业，其中不乏企业是我国的行业领头。但是在很多车间，由于不注意细节和监管体系，不安全因素普遍存在。曾经有一次，笔者和国外的客户在一个总装车间参观，带领我们参观的是公司的电器总工程师。就在车间入口处的电闸控制箱，锁已经坏了，映入眼帘的是电线杂乱的互相缠绕在一起。客户玩笑似的问了一句，“以电器工程师的角度来看，这种情况允许发生吗？”电器总工程师很不好意思的摇了摇头。类似的情况举不胜举，有的工厂经理在进入车间时候给客户备了安全帽，自己却不戴。安全面前是没有特权的。

 

绝大部分工厂的车间是严格禁烟的，笔者却在为数不少的车间见到地板角落的烟头。国外工厂里工作时间是绝对禁止饮酒的，所以无论工厂的午餐准备的多么丰盛，都不要非劝客户喝酒了，向客户展示中国的酒文化可以安排到晚餐。

 

笔者遭遇的最严重一次，客户在验厂时受了轻伤，幸好只是蹭破皮，但是客户对工厂的印象可想而知。起因就是工厂没有在危险的地方做安全标示，不熟悉环境的人如果没有留意是非常容易受伤的。

(2). 车间管理。

与安全生产最紧密相关的一个方面，就是车间的管理。首先，在岗位上的工人表现直接反映出工厂的管理机制是否健全，培训是否有效。客户深知自己的产品将来就是要从这双手下产生，所以对生产线工人的技术，表现非常重视。

 

另外，成品，半成品散落一地，工作区和仓库区混在一起的车间，很难说服客户你可以有条不紊的安排生产装配，并且按时发货。繁忙拥挤的车间不一定非要是杂乱无序的。

 

(3). 工人工作环境。

随着时代的发展，越来越多的工厂开始努力与世界接轨，给工人创造更加舒适安全的工作环境。 笔者去的很多工厂都是重工业企业，车间一线工人的工作环境是非常艰苦的，但是最起码的职业病防护装备企业还是需要尽量配备好的。笔者曾经和一个客户参观了一个产品80%出口的企业，车间里光线昏暗，有害的粉尘到处都是，但是工人连一个防尘面罩都没有，看的客户直摇头。虽然价格便宜，产品出色，但是如果一旦有相似竞争力的公司可选，客户是不会与这样的工厂长期合作的。

* This posting is the first part of a series of guidelines for Chinese suppliers to conduct efficient and professional meetings with foreign clients.

做为一个采购顾问，笔者与国外的客户曾经到过全国各地上百家不同行业的公司和工厂参观访问，洽谈业务，大到员工几万人的行业领头的大型国企，小到私营的几十人的生产企业。在招待客人，使商务洽谈会议气氛融洽自然这些方面，相信礼仪之邦的中国公司都会做的非常到位。然而，在会议洽谈和工厂参观的过程中，有一些共性的因素经常影响到会议的质量和客户对工厂的印象。

 

以下是笔者个人在亲身的经历体验中总结的一些心得，也许能够对有意开拓国外市场，发展外贸业务的企业有所启发：

 

1．  前期准备

 

(1). 提前了解好客户的意图。客户到达前，了解好来访时间，人员人数，职务，会议要探讨的内容，客户是否有翻译，是否有其他特别要求，是否后勤方面的要求，如接送，酒店安排等。

 

(2). 访问安排。在充分了解以上信息后，应尽早着手落实，包括接待客户的人员，来访的步骤，如会谈大约多少时间，参观工厂大约多少时间，到机场或酒店需要多少时间，安排午餐晚餐需要多少时间等等。安排好后，可与客户进行交流，以便对方确认或修改。

 

虽然都是细节，但是这些准备工作做好，可以使会议更加高效，减少时间的浪费，同时，给客户的印象会非常专业，可信赖。笔者曾经遇到过一个工厂，项目经理竟然忘记了客户拜访的时间，客户到的时候他正好休假，并且在休假前没有向其他同事交接工作。由此可以想象客户对工厂的印象会如何，不论报价多低，客户也不会再靠考虑与这样的工厂合作了。

 

下次我们会就如何开展会议进行讨论。

* This posting is the third of three parts setting out how to quote efficiently and professionally.

有时候提供了一份从格式到内容都堪称完美的报价给客户，但是仍然不足以吸引客户下定单，那么我们需要总结原因，已免重蹈覆辙。以下是我根据实际工作总结出来的一些情况，不足之处，大家探讨。

 

三、报价不吸引客户的原因

 

1. 产品差异

 

有时候我们没有与客户要求一致的产品，而我们所推荐的产品客又无法接受，这个与报价的质量无关，我们不讨论。

 

2.价格太高或太低

 

这时可以尝试争取重新报价的机会。

 

3. 付款方式不合适

 

有时候我们在报价的时候会留些空间----比如付款方式可以接受L/C，但我们先报一个T/T试探一下客户。那么如果得知客户付不了T/T或非常为难的时候，为了争取机会，就该告诉客户我们可以在这一点有所让步。有的客户不会返回来问我们是否可以在付款方式上让步，而是直接就从大名单上把我们删掉了。所以这个策略要慎重。

 

4. 沟通不充分

想象一下，当客户手里拿着十份不同供应的报价，如果除了名字不一样，就只有价格差异了，那他筛选的标准只有一个：价格。客户通常都挑较便宜的。所以要使客户有更多可对比的信息，避免其对比只限于价格差异。所以在发送报价的邮件或传真上用3句话简要突出自己公司的超强卖点往往事半功倍。这是与客户还甚不熟悉时一种非常有效的沟通技巧。

 

报价是一个完整的外贸的第一个环节，希望大家都能有一个好的开始。

• Specifications

Buyers should always provide detailed specifications, including drawings, chemical analysis, material grade and sometimes samples. Text descriptions should all accord with international standards, and if the drawings or documents are in a language other than English, a bilingual version should also be provided. This is not only for the sellers to save time with translation, but also for the buyers to reduce the risk of misunderstanding.

• Quality requirements

There are many ways to describe requirements on quality. Usually the buyer will combine several ways, depending on the product:

1.  Brands. To use parts or raw materials with well-known brands is the easiest way to ensure that the parts or raw materials will be correct. For example, when we source gensets, if we request Cummins engines and Stamford generators, we can basically be assured we are getting the right genset. Sellers and buyers can also save time on looking for suppliers and on inspecting some parts of the products. However, for most products, to use parts or raw materials with brands will cost more.
2. Equal/Similar products. If buyers allow the seller to recommend other parts or raw materials with equal or similar functions and specifications, this should be noted clearly in the enquiry.
   
3. Standards. The buyer usually requires the product to adhere to certain standards. My clients in South Africa, Australia and Russia usually request the products to meet SABS, AS and GOST specifications. Chinese suppliers, however, are commonly familiar with the Chinese standard GB, Japanese standard JIS, and some US and European standards. It is sometimes not even helpful to include standard requirements in the enquiry, because some sellers will refuse to quote because they are unwilling to study other countries' standards.
   
4. Samples. This is the most obvious way, but it will take some time for samples to arrive and to be analyzed.

In the next part we will focus on the commercial part of the enquiry.  

*This posting is the second of three parts setting out about how to quote efficiently and professionally.

 

 

二、报价前中后的几个关键点

 

1．收到询单到报价的时间

 

这个时间我们可以理解为响应速度。当然，不同的产品，准备报价所需要的时间长短也不一样。不过，尽量在同行中做到响应迅速而且准确。如果需要较长时间准备，不妨先让客户知道我们大约会在什么时间发报价 –- 并且尽量在这个时间内答复客户（这一点对于建立诚信的形象很重要，若无极其特殊的原因不要拖延）。

 

2. 报价的高低

 

价格是贸易能否成交的关键点，也是很不好把握的一点。不过如能做到知己、知彼、知他人，报出合适的价格就不难。

 

首先要对自己的产品、价位及市场定位，和同行的情况有很清楚的了解；然后在跟客户报价之前尽可能从多方面先了解客户情况，这样更有助于做到有的放矢。

 

比如，如果某客户向我询价，我就要尽可能通过多渠道了解这个客户是哪个国家哪个城市的，是否属于我们产品的目标市场？这个客户属于贸易商，经销商还是最终用户？客户的购买能力及诚意如何？客户对产品的熟悉程度如何？客户所在地区是否有特殊的习惯等。在了解到这些信息之后，我就能比较有针对性地报价，即做到“个性报价”。针对不同的客户要有不同的方法，不同的地域要有不同的政策、不同的价格。如果是大客户，客户的购买力较强，可适当将价格高一点，反之偏低；如果客户对此产品和价格非常熟悉，建议采用“对比法”，客观地突出自己产品的优点，同行的缺点。这样报出来的价格基本接近低价，从一开始就能抓住客人；如果知道客户性格直爽，不喜欢兜圈子讨价还价，最好还是在一开始就亮出自己的底牌，以免出高价吓跑客户。

 

3．报价后及时跟踪

 

若客户在收到报价后很长时间都没有反馈，可能的原因有很多。我们不妨通过电话、邮件或传真及时跟进。1）有时客户根本就没有看到报价（比如邮件发送不成功、被服务器判定为垃圾邮件、传真未被转交给正确的人、客户漏看了等）。这种情况下好办，再发一次并确保客户看到了即可；2）大多数时候是客户已收到报价，但认为我们的价格没有优势。这时候我们可以适当论证（类似于辩论，但不建议用太偏激的言论攻击竞争者）或搞清楚客户的目标价是多少，争取一个再报价的机会。 3）对于客户尚处在调研阶段而未有实单的情况下，我们不妨与之保持一定频率的联系，在价格有变化、产业有调整或进出口政策有变动时及时通知客户。我知道有一个供应商每个月会将最新的报价发给客户，收到了很好的强化作用。客户表示一旦有实际需求，第一个考虑的对象就是经常与之保持联系的那家公司。

 

<未完待续>

As a request for a quotation, an enquiry is an unavoidable stage in the sourcing work flow. A good enquiry should provide sufficient information for buyers to quote efficiently and accurately. It can also build up initial understanding between buyers and sellers so as to give impetus to the succeeding procedures like quotations, further contact and transactions. What would then make a good enquiry? The following are some items of information I suggest buyers should include in their enquiries:

• Brief introduction of the buyer and background of the enquiry:

A brief introduction of the buyer will give the seller an idea of who they will be quoting to. Chinese suppliers usually receive enquiries by fax or email with an individual's name and a company name, but no company information. Such enquiries can easily be ignored because the sellers are uncertain whether the enquiry is from a competitor or from a fake company. Providing more background information on the buyer and the enquiry will help the seller understand where the products in question will be used and judge if their products are suitable.

• Product names

All buyers know that they must include product names in their enquiries, but sometimes they just put the abbreviation or just a 'byname', which are all difficult to understand for sellers who speak a different language. One should never underestimate the language barrier, and the most standard product names should always be used. Or, if unsure, all the possible names should be included.

• Quantity

Sellers need quantity information of potential orders to know if their manufacturing capacity can meet the demand and to determine what price they will be able to offer. Quantity information should be combined with order frequency.

Common questions can include the following:
Is it a once-off or a long-term order?
How many orders will the buyer place per year?
How big will the average volume of each order be?

Many buyers often enlarge the order quantity in their original enquiry in order to get better prices. I personally disagree with this practice because once the seller realizes that the order quantity is not as big as promised, the relationship will usually be damaged and the seller could try to reduce after service or increase prices by adding extra charges.

Since shortly after the conclusion of the Olympics, numerous steel suppliers have been contacting me regularly with new enquiries and to update me with new prices. Some of these are large steel traders in Anshan and Tangshan, and some are steel mills of pipes and hot-rolled coils, to mention a few. This is definitely abnormal when compared to a year ago, when Chinese steel mills were in full capacity and shipping out 62 million tons to destinations all over the world. At that time, those export managers were so busy signing contracts that it took weeks to reach them to get quotations.

In early October after the Chinese National Holiday, Baosteel announced a cut in steel production for the succeeding three months. The other steel makers, Shougang Group, Hebei Iron & Steel Group, Anyang Iron & Steel and Shandong Iron & Steel had all also agreed to cut production by up to 20%. In addition, many other steel mills reduced output under the guise of annual maintenance. Taisteel, the largest stainless steel mill, cut its production by as much as 50% and plan to make further cuts in November. Yet due to weak demand and the strong Renminbi, international buyers are still unable to digest China's output. At present, according to MySteel, salaries for workers at Angang iron-making plants have been cut by 35% and for affiliated plants by 50%. At Baosteel, the total amount for salaries paid has been reduced by 10%, and Shougang have halved the bonuses paid to their employees.

We recently got offers from iron ore suppliers in South America and chrome ore mines in South Africa, yet these once best-selling products are now stacked in China's ports. When we approached the Chinese mills, we found their demand and price expectations had dropped significantly. Traders are simply not willing to sell at such a low price, and ominously, they don't expect to see a price rebound anytime soon.

* This posting is the first of three parts setting out guidelines for Chinese suppliers to quote efficiently and professionally.

笔者在一个咨询公司任采购顾问，工作中接触到大量的询单和报价。对于报价有一些真切而丰富的体会，愿与大家分享。一份报价表除了体现基本的价格信息外，还能体现一个公司的业务水平与专业水准。报价的专业性往往是采购商评估供应商的重要指标之一。

 

一、什么样的报价看起来更专业

 

1．要素完整

 

完整的报价应包括6大基本要素：产品详情、单价、价格术语、付款方式，交货周期，报价有效期。

 

产品详情，主要说明产品的名称，规格（材料、形状、大小、重量、尺寸、颜色等），包装，认证等。必要时附上检测证书（尤其是化工产品）和图纸（机械设备或钢结构等居多）。在我们提供给客户的产品与客户的要求有些微差别时，详细的产品描述尤其重要。

 

单价，勿需多言，主要是搞清楚产品的计量单位和计价币种。尽量选择坚挺的币种，若客户特别强调用某一种货币，为了避免风险，我们可以注明当汇率超过多少幅度时，该单价需要相应调整。关于单价的计算参照下一条“价格术语”。

 

价格术语，最常用的有EXW，FOB，CFR，CIF，CIP等，也有很多俄罗斯客户喜欢DAF或DDU报价。只要在计算价格时将所需要涉及到的除了产品本身成本外的各项费用（报关费、陆、海、空运费，保险费，港杂费，装卸费等）都包括在内就好。其中运费不妨多询几家，最终采用对航线熟悉而且价格相对较低的船公司或货代的报价。除了个别情况需要联运时会有些复杂外，通常情况下单纯的海运还是比较简单的。另外应向客户说明装运方式：散装，拼箱，集装箱运输，集装代或麻袋等。

 

付款方式，T/T和L/C是最多被采用的，有时也有定金T/T和余款L/C结合的方式。用什么样的付款方式对价格来说确实存在影响，虽然往往这种影响相对于整个定单金额来说是微不足道的，但付款方式是必须首先要明确的。很多时候付款方式是买卖双方讨价还价的重要筹码。目前非洲个别国家的金融信誉较差，中国供应商会要求T/T预付全款。通过我所接触过的几个俄罗斯项目发现，目前中国和俄罗斯及其周边几个国家之间银行的相互认可度还比较低，若做L/C，最好先咨询中国本地银行可以接受的开证行。

 

交货周期，交货周期是很重要的一个因素。通常情况下交货期越短越受欢迎。

 

报价有效期，这条很多的时候被忽略了。但产品的成本会受产品原材料，技术，职员工资，汇率，海运费，保险费，国际局势变动，国内政策变化等很多因素的影响。所以一个报价很难做到长期有效。因此报价时最好标明有效期。一般情况下客户都会将收集来的报价存档，很可能半年、一年以后，或者更长时间，客户拿出当初的价格来商谈，这时如果没有当初价格的有效期为约束的话，很容易使我们陷入被动地位。另外若能指出报价的当时时间则更完善。

 

2．格式友好

 

有的供应商注重传达有效或核心信息，而不注重传达的形式。其实在如今激烈的竞争环境中，报价的形式也越来越显得重要了。一张格式清新，用语干练专业，信息清晰完全的报价会给客户留下很好的第一印象。一个优秀的业务员总是能以一纸友好的报价表第一时间抓住客户，启动下一轮的互动过程。

 

<未完待续>

English summary: This posting investigates the visa problems Chinese suppliers may encounter when visiting buyers overseas. In particular, this posting focuses on the procedures and assistance provided for Chinese suppliers to obtain Russian visas.    

签证 —— 中国供应商出国考察买家的第一道关卡

 

采购项目进行到某一阶段时，中国的供应商常常需要出国拜访买家，一来表达合作的诚意，二来对买家的实际情况有实地的了解，三来增进双方的感情。可是签证却常常成为中国供应商出国考察买家的第一道关卡。TBA作为专业的采购咨询公司，在辅助买卖双方的同时，遇到卖家需要出国考察时，也积极地帮助了一些国内的公司拿到了签证。以下仅以我们最近帮助中国客户申请的俄罗斯签证为例说明哪些细节规定是我们中国人经常忽略而对申请签证是非常重要的。

 

从邀请函说起，俄罗斯的入境签证是由俄罗斯内务部签发的，外表看来是一页黄色的纸。一般情况下，邀请函比较容易拿到。拿到邀请函原件后，就是去签证处办理签证了。

 

要注意的是，俄罗斯驻华大使馆设在北京，北京周边地区包括新疆的中国公民均可在北京申请签证；沈阳、上海、香港、广州分别设有俄罗斯驻华使馆的总领事馆。因此，签证之前一定要注意，自己的护照是在那儿办理的。举例来说吧，如果护照是哈尔滨的，那么就应该签证时就应去沈阳总领事馆，如果护照是杭州签发的，则需要在上海总领事馆签证。

 

按照我的经验，如果计划一个月之后出国，最好提前一两周准备好两张2寸白底彩色照片，单位的介绍信或工作证。另外，如果你在北京工作，而护照是哈尔滨或杭州签发的，则需要提供在北京的暂住证。暂住证办理起来很容易，在你所在小区的派出所即可办理。这样，准备好了照片、护照、单位的介绍信或工作证（及暂住证），再到俄罗斯驻华使馆的网页上下载一份最新版本的签证申请表并填好，收到邀请函原件后就可直接送签，避免浪费或耽误时间。

 

此外，申请俄罗斯签证时，申请人必须本人送取签证。如果自己没空的话，必须得提供公证过的委托书。办理委托书也需要申请人本人到场的，所以，如果申请人如果由于各种原因不能本人送取签证的话，必须做好其他准备，如果委托书也无法办理的话，那就只能求助于中介了。一般情况下，长期在围绕在大使馆签证处的中介们，除了签证费，一般收取500元左右的佣金。至于签证的快慢，则取决于申请人自己的时间，最快可一天出签。如果觉得个人送签太麻烦，也可找正规中介公司办理，费用相对要高一两倍。

 

绝大多数时候，我们不需要特殊渠道。只要是尊重各使馆的工作习惯，提前进行计划，提高申请文件的准确度，就能大大地降低申请签证的不确定性。