ICC joins hands with Shippers’ Academy

Training Sri Lankan users on new Incoterms 2010 rules

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in its efforts to educate the global trading community has taken upon a task to teach hundreds of thousands of practitioners around the world on how to use the new and revised Incoterms 2010 trading terms which took effect from 1 January 2011.

ICC National Committees (NCs) in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas have scheduled training sessions throughout the year, following the broad range of master classes and seminars held by NCs and ICC’s Paris headquarters in 2010. The classes have already produced enthusiastic reactions, reflecting the intense interest in the new Incoterms rules and the broad range of activities offered by ICC to explain them.

Incoterms 2010 rules are the standard trade terms used in domestic and international contracts for the sale of goods all over the world. The rules define the responsibilities of buyers and sellers for the delivery of goods and determine how costs and risks are allocated, according to the trade terms used.

Some examples of the well-known trade terms include Free on Board and Ex Works and CFR. In the 2010 edition, new terms have been introduce to give a clearer picture and definitions have been broaden to explain the complexities in modern trading methods.

Most traders feel that a general idea of the terms are sufficient to sail through the trading environment, This is a big mistake, as sometimes parties enter in to contract without understanding the logistics of transportation and the way goods are passed across borders within countries and internationally. One may think they are straight forward, but some times the cost can be hidden and the risks can be even greater.

Personnel handling sales and marketing often think that the terms are for logistics department or the bank but in practical terms should they should equally have a good idea of the terms other than the logistics and the banking community. Use of the wrong term in the sales contract and the supply chain could dearly cost the traders big money and some time run the risk of not receiving the payments.

ICC Sri Lanka has joined forces with the Shippers’ Academy (SA) Colombo which was inaugurated recently as a joint venture training academy with Singapore Shippers’ Academy to organise the first industry awareness workshop for 2011 which will be presented by Emily O’Connor, Senior Policy Manger of ICC Paris. The full day work shop is scheduled for 24 February at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo.

The Shippers’ Academy will also award participatory certificates to attendees and award continuous development credits that would be valid for level 1 certification programmes that the academy would conduct in the coming months.

ICC which develops and maintains the Incoterms rules, is in a unique position to offer the best knowledge on the subject. Participants have said the expert trainers and credibility of ICC-organised workshops are unsurpassed.

Following on the success of the worldwide launch in 2010, another event is scheduled in Kuala Lumpur and many other ICC NCs, including those in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, are also holding Incoterms rules events.

ICC’s NC in the United States, the US Council for International Business, is continuing an impressive series of Incoterms seminars across the country, also in the Middle East, Iran, Saudi Arabia have had many forums along with ICC South Africa , India, Japan.

For further details contact ICC Sri Lanka or the CEO of Shippers Academy Colombo Rohan Masakorala.