international air freight export procedure in agility logistics ltd , vietnam third submission

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY
HO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS

GRADUATION INTERNSHIP REPORT
Major: International Business Management
INTERNATIONAL AIR FREIGHT EXPORT
PROCEDURE IN AGILITY LOGISTICS LTD.,
VIETNAM

Intern: HO HOANG GIA BAO
Student ID: 0952015007
Class: K48CLC
Supervisor: Ms. Pham Thi Chau Quyen

Ho Chi Minh City, March 2013



SUPERVISOR’S REMARKS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page

Internship Organization’s Remarks
Supervisor’s Remarks
List of Abbreviations
List of Tables and Figures
Preface...............................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Introduction of Agility Ltd., Vietnam...........................................3
1.1. Brief History............................................................................................3
1.2. General Information.................................................................................3
1.3. Organizational Structure..........................................................................4
1.3.1. Organizational Chart..................................................................4
1.3.2. Functions of Main Departments.................................................6
1.4. Business Outcomes..................................................................................7
1.5. Roles of the Air Freight Export in the company .....................................10
Chapter 2: The International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Logistics
Ltd., Vietnam.....................................................................................................11
2.1. International Air Freight Export Procedure........................................11
2.1.1. Receive a booking from customer..............................................13
2.1.2. Book space with airline and confirm to customer......................16
2.1.3. Prepare shipping documents and cargo labels............................18
2.1.4. Pick up, receive cargo and complete documents........................18
2.1.5. Check if cargo uplifted and submit documents to airline...........20
2.1.6. Send a pre-alert to overseas Agility station................................21
2.1.7. Trace daily and update on system for every shipment
departed................................................................................................21
2.1.8. File and store documents............................................................21


2.2. Summary of Strengths and Weaknesses of the Air Freight Export
Procedure in Agility Ltd., Vietnam .................................................................22
2.2.1. Strengths................................................................................22

2.2.2. Weaknesses............................................................................23
Chapter 3: Outlook, Oriented Development and Recommendation for
Improvement of the International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Ltd.,
Vietnam.............................................................................................................. 26
3.1. Outlook of the Air Freight Export..................................................26
3.1.1. Opportunities.........................................................................26
3.1.2. Threats...................................................................................28
3.2. The oriented development of Air Freight Export Procedure.......29
3.3. Recommendations for Improving the Air Freight Export
Procedure................................................................................................30
Conclusion.........................................................................................................34
References .........................................................................................................36
Annexes.............................................................................................................. 37
Annex 1............................................................................................................... 37
Annex 2............................................................................................................... 38
Annex 3............................................................................................................... 39
Annex 4............................................................................................................... 40
Annex 5............................................................................................................... 41
Annex 6............................................................................................................... 42


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviation

Full Word

HAWB

House Air Waybill

MAWB

Master Air Waybill

CBT

Customer, Brokerage and Transportation

ROA

Return on Asset

ICC

International Chamber of Commerce

DG

Dangerous Goods

TCS

Tan Son Nhat Cargo Service Company

SCSC

Saigon Cargo Service Corporation

ETD

Estimated Time of Departure

ETA

Estimated Time of Arrival

CEO

Chief Executive Manager

CFO

Chief Financial Manager

COO

Chief Operation Manager

IT

Information Technology

IATA

International Air Transport Association

FIATA

International Federation of Freight
Forwarders Associations

ISO

International Organization for
Standardization

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Name

Content

Page

Illustration 1.1

Hierarchy Chart of Agility Vietnam

5

Table 1.1

Financial data of Agility Vietnam between 2009 and

7


2011
Illustration 2.1

8 Steps of Air Freight Export Procedure

11

Table 2.1

Export Procedure divided by teams

12


0

PREFACE
Vietnam has been a potential market for logistics activities since 2007, when it
became the World Trade Organization’s official member. The growth of export and
import as well as retailing industry was remarkable, which fostered the rapid
development of logistics sector in general and freight forwarding business in
particular. Despite the negative effects of the worldwide economic and financial
crisis in 2008, Vietnam’s freight forwarding field has grew strongly with the
average rate of 20 percent annually. In 2010, it was ranked at the 53 rd out of 155
busiest logistics markets globally, and the prospect is forecasted to be very
promising. Although air freight is just the third common method for shipment of


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goods imported and exported, following behind sea and land transport, it has
contributed more and more to the development of Vietnam’s freight forwarding
business. With the existing 26 airports including 8 big ones having 3000-meter

runways for large aircrafts, and the planned building of new bigger international
airports and terminals, the infrastructure provided by Vietnam is considered very
sufficient and capable of enhancing its air cargo forwarding. In addition, more and
more airlines and freight forwarders will operate in Vietnam, which makes the air
freight gain a more important role in the whole forwarding industry.
In 2007, there were about 700 logistics companies in Vietnam, and that
amount went up to 1,000 in 2011, which indicates a very large number of freight
forwarding firms. However, most of them just offered separated air or sea transport
services, and worked as agents for foreign airlines or logistics companies. There are
a few firms can provide global integrated methods for moving goods from Vietnam
to any country in the world and vice versa. Agility Logistics Limited Vietnam is a
typical company of that kind. It has the expertise in serving emerging markets, and
in fact, it has spent 19 years in researching and offering optimal services for
Vietnamese shippers varying from freight forwarding by air/sea/land to
warehousing management. Among these services, perhaps air freight is the most
modern and complicated operation of Agility Vietnam that could bring great values
to its customers. The air freight procedure of this company is very detailed and
efficient and it is linked to the international network of Agility to constitute a global
integrated system. Due to that reason, and due to the importance of air cargo
forwarding in Vietnam nowadays, I decide to choose the topic for my graduation
report as International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility Logistics Ltd.,
Vietnam to fully learn the effectiveness of a typical modern air freight procedure.
The report will be divided into 3 chapters as follows:
-

Chapter 1: Introduction of Agility Ltd., Vietnam

-

Chapter 2: The International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility

Logistics Ltd., Vietnam


2

-

Chapter 3: Outlook, Oriented Development and Recommendation for
Improvement of the International Air Freight Export Procedure in Agility
Ltd., Vietnam
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all Agility Logistics Limited

Vietnam’s members who supported me during my internship, especially Mr.Vu
Trong Anh Quan – COO of Agility Vietnam, Ms. Hoang Thi Ngoc Nguyen – Air
Freight Manager and Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hien – Air Freight Supervisor. I am
sincerely grateful to Foreign Trade University and all my respected teachers who
aided me a lot during my time at school. I would like to show my best gratitude for
my teacher and supervisor – Ms. Phạm Thị Châu Quyên, who advised and corrected
my errors when writing the report. I would like to thank all my friends for their
assistance. Finally, I would like to show my thankfulness to my family who
supported and encouraged me all the time. Without them, I could not complete the
report.
In spite of my utilization of all efforts, there may be unavoidable mistakes and
errors in the report. I honestly hope to receive feedbacks and contributions to make
it more precise.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OF AGILITY LTD., VIETNAM
1.1. Brief History
Agility, one of the leading global logistics companies, was founded in Kuwait
in 1979. Agility grew strongly since its establishment, and in 2004, it became the

largest logistics provider in the Middle East. Today, Agility presents in more than
100 countries with over 22,000 employees working in 550 offices. Agility provides


3

a wide range of logistics services, freight forwarding, and specialized solutions,
which can serve the demand of various parties from government to corporation.
Agility Logistics Ltd., Vietnam was established on November 15 th, 2004 under
the Investment License 731/GP-HCM provided by Ho Chi Minh People’s
Committee. The license was later amended to the Investment Certificate
41102200033 in 2008. The company is an important component in the international
network of Agility Global that monitors the business in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
and part of South East Asia region. Agility Vietnam has the headquarters in Ho Chi
Minh City and other facilities in Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Vung Tau with over 160
staff.
1.2. General Information
- Legal Name:

Agility Logistics Limited Vietnam

- Name for short:

Agility Ltd. Vietnam or Agility Vietnam

- Headquarters:

Room 8.2-8.3, Etown 1 Building
364 Cong Hoa Street, Ward 13, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi
Minh City

- Telephone:

+84.8.39308.010

- Fax:

+84.8.39308.019

- Email:



- Website:



- Slogan:

Global Integrated Logistics – A new logistics leader

- Milestone:

2004: Foundation of the company
2007: Opening of Ha Noi branch
2010: Green and Corporate Social Responsibility Award
2011: Certification of ISO 9001:2000 and EMS 14000

1.3. Organizational Structure
1.3.1. Organizational Hierarchy Chart

Agility Vietnam’s departments are organized in a simple but scientific and
effective way, which contributes to its achievement of goals and efficiency of daily
operations. Illustration 1.1 describes it in more detail. The company’s structure is
classified as functional structure in which “similar or related occupational


4

specialties” are grouped together (Stephen P.Robbins and Mary Coulter, 2009, page
209). In other words, jobs are arranged “according to function” which ensures the
“efficiencies” and “coordination within each functional area” (Stephen P.Robbins
and Mary Coulter, 2009, page 202). This organizational design is highly appropriate
for a small business providing specialized services like Agility Vietnam. The Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) is the top manager who is responsible for the overall
activities of the company. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is in charge for the
accounting and financial functions. Main duties of the Chief Operation Officer
(COO) are keeping all work procedure conducted rightly and productively. The
Secretary is responsible for other functions such as human resources and IT.
Personnel of the company are very young and most of them are between 25
and 35 years old. However, they are very skillful with the average experience of 5
to 7 working years. The female/male ratio of staff is somewhat high, approximately
1.5/1, but it does not affect the working environment as well as the outcome of the
company. All over 160 employees have certificates and education needed for their
jobs and most of them graduated from big universities and colleges in Vietnam such
as Foreign Trade University, University of Economics, Maritime University,
National University and College of Foreign Economic Relation. Agility Vietnam
always focuses on the quality of its staff because they are the main force to
contribute to its success. Thanks to that policy, a large number of its workers are
given the opportunities in learning deeper in logistics and forwarding fields. In fact,
a high portion of the company’s personnel have got the career certificates and

frequent training from prestigious organizations such as International Federation of
Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and International Air Transport
Association (IATA).
Illustration 1.1: Hierarchy Chart of Agility Vietnam


5

Source: Agility Vietnam’s internal information
1.3.2. Functions of Main Departments
- Air Freight: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, carriers and customers to
handle goods shipped by air into and out of Vietnam and some regional countries.
This department is divided into smaller teams such as Customer Service,
Documentation and Tracing.


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- Ocean Freight: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, carriers and customers to
handle goods shipped by sea into and out of Vietnam and some regional countries.
- Fair & Event: cooperate with Agility’s network, agents, and carriers to handle
goods especially used for fairs and events into and out of Vietnam and some
regional countries. This department has to liaise with the Air Freight or Ocean
Freight for the carriage of goods.
- Sales: cooperate with Agility’s global network and agents to find customers for Air
Freight, Ocean Freight, and Fair & Event departments.
- Project, Logistics and Customs Service: conduct customs clearance, land
transportation by using refrigerated trucks or subcontracting vehicles and
warehousing management. These departments contain 2 important teams. Customer,
Brokerage and Transportation (CBT) team belong to Customs Service Department,

and Terminal Operation team belongs to Logistics Department.
- Finance & Accounting: conduct all accounting functions and liaise with other
departments in making invoices and paying or receiving money. This department is
headed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who then reports to the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO). The chief accountant is in charge of accounting activities
which are tracked and monitored by the accounting system supervisor.
- Other departments: include Secretary or Receptionist, Personnel, Information
Technology and QESH (Quality, Environment, Safety and Health) departments,
which are run by respective managers. These departments conduct the main tasks
the same as their names suggest. Information Technology (IT) department, for
instance, is responsible for the installation and maintenance of all electric devices as
well as their related software. QESH department takes care of the safety and health
at workplace for all personnel as well as the quality of working environment to meet
and surpass all standard requirements, consisting of ISO 9001:2000 and EMS
14000.
1.4. Business Outcomes
The table below indicates some main information regarding the company’s
assets, revenue, cost and profit in the period 2009-2011.


7

Table 1.1: Financial data of Agility Vietnam
between 2009 and 2011 (million VND)
Criteria
Assets
Revenue
Total Cost
+ Cost of Goods Sold
+ Administrative Cost

+ Other Costs
Operating Profit
Other Profit
Total Profit
Tax (10%)
Net Profit
Profit Margin (%)
ROA (%)

Year 2009
35,967
38,484
33,909
25,941
5,036
2,932
4,575
170
4,745

Year 2010
37,860
32,070
30,072
21,618
5,856
2,598
1,998
168
2,166

475
4,270
11.10
11.87

Year 2011
40,255
29,062
26,771
17,749
6,534
2,488
2,291
17
2,308

217
1,949
6.08
5.15

231
2,077
7.15
5.16

From 2009 to 2011, Agility Vietnam’s revenue continuously fell over 9,422
million dongs (or 24.48 percent) from 38,484 to 29,062. The year 2010 witnessed
the hardest time for the company when total revenue decreased sharply around

16.67 percent with the absolute value of over 6.4 billion dongs compared to the
previous year. This reduction was due to the sluggish time in the international
market for logistics and freight forwarding because the world economy was
negatively affected by the globally financial and economic crisis in 2008. This
impact was so intensive that in 2010 all shipping companies, airlines, and freight
forwarding firms suffered huge losses. Shipping companies lowered their vessels’
speed to cut fuel cost when there was always unused space because of a very small
volume of goods exported and imported. Airlines likewise faced the same situation
with the total loss of over 19 billion USD resulted from the downturn demand in
travelling and cargo transportation. And so did freight forwarder firms, including
Agility. Consequences of the crisis continued to influence profitability of Agility
Vietnam when its revenue in 2011 kept
declining
from
32,070 financial
to 29,062statements
million
Source:
Agility
Vietnam’s
dongs, approximately 9.38 percent. Nevertheless, the falling rate was much lower
than that of 2010 (9.38% compared to 16.67%) which indicated a slight recovery in


8

the company’s business activities. This recovery, however, was extremely unstable
because the negative effects of the crisis still remained and the international market
was highly unpredictable.
In spite of diminished revenue, operating profit of Agility Vietnam was very

optimistic thanks to the enhanced efficiency of all work operations. From 2009 to
2010, total cost fell more slowly than total revenue (11.32% compared to 16.67%).
As a result, operating income in 2010 crashed dramatically over 2 times from 4,575
to 1,998 million dongs. However, in the years 2010 and 2011, total cost dwindled at
higher rate than that of revenue (10.98% compared to 9.38%), which contributed to
the increase in operating profit from 1,998 to 2,291 million dongs. In the cost
structure, cost of goods sold played a key role when it shrank remarkably about
17.90%, much larger than the ratio 10.98% of the total cost. It implied that the job
operation and all procedure of Agility Vietnam were so proficient where best efforts
were made to cut the cost of goods sold. For a forwarding firm like Agility Vietnam,
cost of goods sold is mainly comprised of freight and expense paid to carriers. To
minimize them, the firm had close relationships and long-term contracts with some
critical shipping companies, airlines and forwarding agents for large space
allotment. The more regular shipments and the more cargo carried, the lower the
freight those carriers offered to Agility Vietnam. In the meantime, Agility Vietnam
focused on its traditional and large customers such as Nike, Nokia, Rieker, Sam
Sung and Siemens who continually had a great amount of goods to be transported
even during the difficult time of the world economy. Agility Vietnam encouraged its
customers to ship large quantities of cargo on some scheduled time in the week so
that the freight and expense it charged were much lower. By implementing this
method, every party would be beneficial. For the customers, they enjoyed the best
freight paid to Agility Vietnam. For Agility Vietnam, it could reduce its total cost of
goods sold and be more flexible in organizing work processes. For carriers, they
would achieve more stable demand and managed their fleets more efficiently.
As Agility Vietnam focused on its main operation where it had the most
competitive capacity (i.e. air freight and ocean freight), the profit from other
activities such as warehousing was strongly scaled down nearly 90 percent from


9

168 million dongs in 2010 to just only 17 million dongs in 2011. Appropriate
attempts were made to recover from the year 2010 when the total profit hit the
bottom. In facts, the company’s efforts were productive as total profit slightly went
up from 2,166 million dongs in 2010 to 2,308 million dongs in 2011. The net profit
also changed in the same upward direction, and so did the profit margin and ROA
(Return on Asset). Profit margin measures how many dongs of net income that one
dong of revenue can generate, while ROA measures how many dongs of net income
that one dong of asset can generate. During 2010 and 2011, profit margin grew
almost 17.60% from 6.08 to 7.15 percent. Despite a very hard time in doing
business, Agility Vietnam planned to gradually expand its assets to proactively cope
with the sluggishness as well as prepare for strong future development when the
international situation becomes more promising. That initiative gained some
positive results in 2011 when the ROA slightly rose from 5.15% to 5.16%.
In conclusion, the period 2009-2011 was extremely challenging for Agility
Vietnam in particular and for the entire forwarding and logistics industry in general.
Year 2010 witnessed the significantly fall of profitability when all indicators
including net profit, profit margin and ROA declined roughly 2 times. In the
following year, they showed a small growth, but the resumption was too early to be
confirmed. During the three years, total cost, notably cost of goods sold,
consecutively slumped due to the developed proficiency in all task procedure and
became a vital force for the effectiveness of the company. Agility Vietnam had
initiative to deal with the difficult situation actively, and the outcome in 2012 and
2013 is expected to be around the 2011’s result or even able to face losses because
the global economy conditions are still impacted by the crisis in 2008. The
international market is still fluctuating and unpredictable. Only until 2015 will the
situation be stable, and that will be the opportunity for Agility Vietnam and other
logistics firms to fully recover and expand their business.
1.5. Roles of Air Freight Export in the company
Air freight, along with ocean freight, is Agility Vietnam’s backbone and main

source of income and competitive capacity. Air Freight Department is the one which
has the largest number of personnel and the most sophisticated procedure in the


10

company. The control system run by this department is state of the art in the market
where only a few ones from big international forwarders could compare. Thanks to
that system, the cost relating to each shipment is minimized, which increases the
productivity of the whole firm. It also helps other departments, especially Ocean
Freight and Fair & Event, to ship goods and serve clients’ demand. Multimodal
transportation is more and more crucial nowadays, and air freight is of the essence
in this process. In recent years, air freight has contributed a larger amount of total
income (nearly 54%), which nurtures the whole company’s business result. The
exporting component plays a crucial role in the Agility Vietnam’s Air Freight. It has
liaised strongly with other departments and with Agility’s branches in other
countries to make the transportation of goods more integrated globally – a
competitive advantage of Agility over its rivals. Agility Vietnam offers a wide
selection of air freight export services so as to deliver best customer satisfaction,
create prestige as well as enlarge the company’s market share. These services are
Air First, Air Plus, Air Value, combined transport Sea/Air, Land/Air, and Air/Sea,
Step 1: Receive a
2: Book
which could satisfy all types of Step
customer
fromspace
organization toStep
individual
in moving
3: Prepare

booking from
with airline
and
their cargo abroad. Not only serving
Vietnamese
customersshipping
but air freight
export
documents
customer
confirm
to companies in Laos, Cambodia and some
selections have also been in business
with
and cargo labels
customer
other countries in the region.

Step 6: Send a pre-

Step 5: Check if
cargo uplifted and

Step 4: Pick up,

alert to overseas
receive cargo and
submit documentsAIR FREIGHT EXPORT
CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNATIONAL
Agility station

complete
to airline LOGISTICS LTD., VIETNAM
PROCEDURE IN AGILITY
documents
2.1. International Air Freight Export Procedure
The Air Freight Export Procedure takes place at Agility Origin – usually the
country of the shipper. In this report, Agility Origin is understood as Agility
Vietnam.
procedure
Step 7: The
Trace
daily consists of 8 steps as displayed in the following diagram.
8 Steps
Air Freight Export Procedure
and update on Illustration 2.1:
Step
8: Fileofand
system for every
shipment departed

store documents


11

Source: Agility’s Air Freight Export Handling
There are normally 4 main parties who take part in the process to make sure
all cargo are successfully exported and delivered to the final destination. They are
the shipper – who would like to send goods abroad, Agility Vietnam – the air freight
forwarder or the contracting carrier, the airline – the actual carrier, and the overseas

Agility Station – Agility’s branch or agent in the foreign country. Among these
parties, Agility Vietnam plays a role of connecting and liaising with the others to
make sure the work is done as scheduled. In order to achieve that, cooperation
among teams in the company is very vital. Recall in Chapter 1, part 1.3.2 that the
Air Freight Department is divided into smaller teams including Customer Service,
Documentation and Tracing teams. In addition, the procedure requires the support


12

of other teams such as CBT (Customer, Brokerage and Transportation) and Terminal
Operation to function properly. The following table shows how individual step of
the procedure is shared and conducted among mentioned teams.
Table 2.1: Export Procedure divided by teams
Step
Step 1: Receive a booking from

Team in charge
Customer Service

customer
Step 2: Book space with airline and

Customer Service

confirm to customer
Step 3: Prepare shipping documents and
cargo labels
Step 4: Pick up, receive cargo and
complete documents

Step 5: Check if cargo uplifted and
submit documents to airline
Step 6: Send a pre-alert to overseas
Agility station
Step 7: Trace daily and update on system
for every shipment departed
Step 8: File and store documents

Documentation, Terminal Operation
CBT, Terminal Operation,
Documentation
Customer Service, Documentation
Documentation
Customer Service, Tracing
Documentation

Source: Agility’s Air Freight Export Handling

2.1.1. Receive a booking from customer
The procedure begins when there is a booking to Agility Vietnam to ship cargo
for a customer. Customer of the company can be a shipper (i.e. Vietnamese exporter
in a sale contract with an importer in a foreign country), or a consignee (i.e. the
importer in that contract). Who will use air freight export service of Agility Vietnam
is subject to the trade term stipulated in the sale contract between the seller and the
buyer. Under ICC Incoterms® 2010 such as CPT, CIP, DAT, DAP and DDP, the
exporter has obligation to settle carriage of goods, and he/she will request the air
freight export service of Agility Vietnam to move cargo abroad. On the contrary,


13

under ICC Incoterms® 2010 such as EXW and FCA, the importer has obligation to
settle carriage of goods, and he/she will go to an office of Agility’s global network
in his/her country to order air freight service. This office will then pass the booking
information to Agility Vietnam to ask for air export procedure to ship cargo from
Vietnam to the importer’s nation.
Once received booking from the shipper or from the overseas office via email,
fax or telephone, Customer Service team in Air Freight Department of Agility
Vietnam has to make sure that the following information is obtained:
- Shipper’s and Consignee’s details: name and address of the shipper and the
consignee as well as the notify party. For shipment to the US, it is required to
collect the consignee’s telephone number.
- Final destination: the city or the airport of final destination. If the cargo is to be
transshipped via some airports, their names will be included. Customer Service
team should notice that shipments to countries where the use of wood packing
materials is strictly regulated must have the correct Certificate of Fumigations.
Documents such as Certificate of Origins and original invoices must be also
attached if required by the destination country.
- Number of Pieces: the number of pallets or containers or pieces that contains
goods. Also, data regarding number of packages per pallet and quantity of goods in
each package need to be provided by the shipper.
- Gross weight (estimated): the estimated gross weight gauged by the shipper at
his/her factory. The gross weight is usually expressed in kilogram. This information
is very crucial for further activities such as House Air Waybill (HAWB) issuance or
freight calculation by Agility Vietnam.
- Dimension (estimated): the measurement of cargo in terms of length, width and
height given by the shipper. Dimension of cargo is usually indicated in centimeter.
It is very important because it is used for calculating the air freight, along with the
gross weight. The formula to convert from dimension (measured in cubic
centimeter) into weight (measured in kilogram) is . Gross weight or converted

weight, whichever is higher, will become the chargeable weight to work out the
freight charges.


14

- Commodity and Nature of Shipment (especially cargo to the US and EU): name
of commodity, type of goods and their characteristics. They are used for
determining whether there is any special handling or packaging required for the
shipment. Fail to collect these data may lead to the disapproval of cargo to be
exported or denial of airlines for carrying such cargo. There are two special cases
that need to be taken into consideration, including dangerous goods and perishable
goods.
+ For dangerous goods (DG): If the shipper claims that the items are not
DG, Customer Service team will have to request for a Letter of Certification from
the shipper to make sure it is accurate. However, if the shipper is not sure whether
the goods are DG or not, Customer Service team must advise the trained personnel
in the company to properly handle the DG shipment and obtain a valid DG
certificate. According to the regulations of International Air Transport Association
(IATA), each air forwarding company must have at least two employees who are
fully trained in dealing with DG shipments. In Agility Vietnam, those people belong
to Customer Service and CBT team. These staff will check the list of dangerous
goods provided by IATA or by respective airline as well as check the DG manual to
see rules and guidance for DG cargo operation. They will also inform the shipper,
the consignee and CBT team to pack cargo based on the DG rules. Coordination
with the airline or airport cargo terminal service such as Tan Son Nhat Cargo
Service Company (TCS) or Saigon Cargo Service Corporation (SCSC) will effect
only if, after all the best efforts were made, the DG trained personnel cannot judge
whether the shipment is DG or not.
+For perishable goods (such as fruits or live animals): Customer Service

team checks with the airline for special requirements and ensures to achieve the
approved Cargo Clearance Permit for the shipment.
- Airline preference: the preference of shipper or foreign agent of Agility in
selecting airline conducting the carriage of goods. If the shipper prefers a specific
airline, the Customer Service team will attempt to book space with that airline for
the shipment to deliver best customer satisfaction. In case the effort is unsuccessful,


15

another suitable airline with lowest cost will be offered to the shipper or foreign
agent so that they can make optimal decision.
- Terms of payment for freight charges: “freight prepaid” or “freight collect”. If
the place of payment is Vietnam, the freight is called prepaid. If it is settled in the
destination country, it is considered as freight collect. Under CPT, CIP, DAT, DAP
and DDP terms, the shipper is liable for carriage cost and has to make payment to
Agility Vietnam for air forwarding service. Under EXW and FCA terms, the
carriage cost is for the consignee’s account and it is paid at Agility’s branch in the
consignee’s country.
- Pick-up point: the place where goods are delivered by the shipper under the
discretion of Agility Vietnam. In other words, it is the point in which the shipper
fulfills his/her obligation in delivering cargo and passes risks to the consignee. The
pick-up point may vary depending on which trade term is stipulated in the sale
contract between the shipper and the consignee. It might be the shipper’s premises
when the term is EXW or other places if the term is FCA. It is usually the airport
cargo terminal such as TCS and SCSC when other terms are used. If the shipper
requests Agility to pick the cargo up at a different point, the exact location and time
must be given.
- Other special instructions or requirements:
+ Declaration by Agility Vietnam or self-declaration: used when the cargo are DG.

+ Any special equipment needed at the point of collection: tools and vehicles with
tailgate, crane, pallet jack, etc.
Let take an example of a real shipment executed by Agility Vietnam. On
February 18th, 2013, the shipper Greystones Data Systems Vietnam contacted the
company to request air freight export service with the intended departure and arrival
days as February 20th and February 22nd respectively by sending email containing
the necessary data. All data was recorded in a new file by Customer Service team
and transferred to the Documentation team as follows:
- Shipper’s and Consignee’s details: (as shown in the HAWB original 3 in Annex
1)
- Final destination: Bangalore, India


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- Number of Pieces: 1 pallet including 12 boxes per pallet and 20 pieces per box
- Gross weight (estimated by the shipper): 72.0 kilograms
- Dimension (estimated by the shipper): 110 x 56 x 75 cubic centimeters
- Commodity and Nature of Shipment:
+ Name of commodity: Refurbished HDD (hard disk drive)
+ Description: under Invoice No. GDSVN 190213C
+ Nature of shipment: Normal cargo, non-DG
- Airline preference: None
- Terms of payment for freight charges: Freight Prepaid, CPT term
- Pick-up point: None. Shipper delivers goods at airport terminal SCSC
- Other special instructions or requirements: None
2.1.2. Book space with airline and confirm to customer
Customer Service team is in charge of booking space with airline subject to
the request of the shipper or consignee. If the client prefers an airline to the others,
Customer Service team must check if the nominated airline has any available flight

to comply with the date and time of departure and arrival requested by the client.
Next, if the flight is ready to book, Customer Service team must work out whether
the rate offered by airline is within the air freight charged by Agility Vietnam to the
customer to ensure profit for the shipment. If the rate is too high, a new rate for
client’s preferred airline is established and advised to the customer as well as
Agility’s agent to wait for further decision. Meanwhile, Customer Service team
communicates with the customer to suggest new airlines serving the same route
with better prices. The choice will be at the customer’s discretion. In case there is
no customer’s preference for any airline, Customer Service team will search for the
optimal airline with the best price.
After deciding which airline is chosen, Customer Service team proceeds to
check space available for the cargo. Agility has a wide relationship with almost all
major airlines operating routes to the US, Europe, and Asia and frequently has space
allotment with those airlines. Space allotment can be defined as a long-term
agreement between a forwarder and an airline to reserve a specified amount of
space on future flights. If the allotment is adequate for the shipment, Customer


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Service team will finalize the booking with the mentioned airline. If the allotment is
insufficient, additional space is required. Regarding the airlines to which Agility
Vietnam has no allotment, Customer Service team checks the company’s airline
priority list to find which one can be selected for the destination and reports to the
Air Freight Manager to confirm the booking and provide a new rate.
When space for the cargo is reserved, if the shipper or consignee cancels the
booking, Customer Service team will delete all data and file created and inform
other teams. The customer needs to reimburse Agility Vietnam for any cost incurred
during the booking process. If the customer continues, Customer Service team will
check the Master Air Waybill (MAWB) number and send the instruction to the

shipper via email.
In our example, Greystones Data Systems Vietnam would like its goods to
depart Ho Chi Minh City on February 20 th and arrive at Bangalore, India on
February 22nd, 2013. The shipper had no special preference for any specific airline.
Agility Vietnam, therefore, was only required by the shipper to carry the cargo on
time with the best price. Hence, Customer Service team searched and booked space
with the most suitable airline, Tiger Airways, with the route SGN-SIN-BLR
(Saigon-Singapore-Bangalore). ETD is February 20th, but the ETA is February 21st –
one day ahead of schedule. However, the shipper was informed and agreed with the
new date. The Customer Service booked space with Tiger Airways on February 19 th
via email and obtained MAWB number as 388-9054-0601 from the Booking
Confirmation of that airline, which is shown in the Annex 2.
2.1.3. Prepare shipping documents and cargo labels
Documentation team bases on the data passed by Customer Service team
including packing list, commercial invoice, and other information provided by the
shipper to issue a draft House Air Waybill (HAWB). Then, the draft HAWB is sent
to the shipper via email to be verified.
Terminal Operation team utilizes the information on HAWB, packing list, and
MAWB number from the airline to prepare cargo labels by using the bar code
printer for consolidated goods. Then, this team will wait for the goods to arrive at