Assignment 1: Import Plan
Proposed structure (approx. 4,000 words) (You can modify & add more)
Executive Summary
• Not counted into the final word count
• Write at a short & high-level perspective, what this Import Plan is all about.
Introduction
• Write the Purpose/Objective of this Import Plan ~ Trading Business (buying FG-Selling in retails)
• Identify yourself as the Buyer/Consignee/Receiving party
• Describe the overall view of the product (nature & physical characteristics), its Supply Chain using
containerised seafreight & land transport, contents of your Import plan, E.g. decisions to be made,
justifications of these decision, cost & sustainability aspects (add process flow chart, pictures &
other illustrations)
[1] Procurement Plan
• 1.1 Market Research on the demand for your product
• 1.2 Sourcing – Selection of the supplier of your product (Decision & Justification; sustainability)
o Identify 2 or 3 countries that produces this product
o Make a decision & justify which country you want to buy this product from.
o Ethical Sourcing (sustainability, Cost $$$)
• 1.3 Negotiation with your Supplier ~ Product Price, Sea-freight shipment Incoterms, delivery
frequency of orders & expected quantity of the orders & quality of product (Decision & Justification)
• 1.4 Forging a Purchasing Contract with that chosen Supplier.
• 1.5 How the Purchase Orders (PO) are to be sent to your Supplier – frequency and quantity.
• 1.6 Cost involved in this Procurement Plan (Cost $$$)
[2] Acknowledgement of your PO from the Supplier
• Describe how the supplier is expected to acknowledge your PO.
• Supplier should send you an Advanced Ship Notice (ASN), Vessel & Route details and schedule of the
expected ETA of the cargo, depending on the frequency of your orders.
[3] Import Freight (International cargo) Shipment Plan
• Add a process flow chart or route map (from Supplier’s premises to your warehouse in Singapore).
• Packing and Packaging methods of your Product (Decision, Justification, sustainability, e.g. materials
used in the packing & packaging)
o Packing – describe how the final product is packed E.g. plastic bags, vacuum sealed, etc.
(Decision, Justification, Sustainability and Costs $$$)
o Packaging – describe how your product is packed in wooden crates, Styrofoam boxes, skids, small
boxes, small cartons, how many cartons in an outer carton, how many outer cartons in one pallet,
how many pallets in one Container. (Decision, Justification, Sustainability materials & Costs $$$)
• Use Multimodal Transport as a movement method (Decision, justification)
o Select an international Freight Forwarder (Decision, justification)
• Selected Incoterms (Decision, Justification & Costs $$$)
o [Hint: Please research & understand these Incoterms for this segment. www.searates.com ]
o Please choose either CIF, CFR or FOB. Do not choose EXW (Ex-Works), DDP (Delivered-Duty-
Paid) or the rest of the Incoterms.
o FOB: Free-on-Board (the ship). Cargo is owned by the Seller up to the point when the cargo is
lifted onto the Ocean Liner at the Export Seaport. Thereafter, the Buyer takes over ownership
of the cargo once it comes on board the Ship.
o CIF: Cost, Insurance and Freight. Cargo & the Marine Insurance is owned by the Seller until it
reaches the Import Seaport.
o CFR: Cost and Freight. Cargo is owned by the Seller until it reaches the Import Seaport. The
Marine Insurance is usually negotiated & not 100% covered by the Seller. Can be shared cost
or covered entirely by the Buyer.
Assignment 1: Import Plan
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• Containerisation process at the Export factory/warehouse
• Describe the Route from the chosen supplier’s premises to the Singapore Seaport.
[4] Import (Containerised) Port operations
• Containerised Import Process and Docking Procedures (add a process flow)
• Stevedoring (Lifting of cargo on/off the vessel) handling activities (Cost $$$)
• Import Port handling charges – drayage, shunting, storage (Cost $$$)
• Import Customs Clearance procedures, & requirements (insert a process flow)
• Import Customs Documentation needed
o Shipping documentation ~ describe the (Ocean) Bill of lading
o Import Customs documentation ~ Country of Origin certification, Safety & health
certification, fumigation certification, strategic goods certification, product manufacturing
certification, etc.
o Transport Documentation ~ Delivery Order (Point to Point, E.g. SG Port to your Warehouse)
[5] Local Transportation Plan
• Arrangement for local container trucking – from Seaport to your Distribution Centre
• How is the transportation process being carried out (Decision, Justification & sustainability)?
o Sustainability ~ can be addressed on issues like E.g. pollution, CO2 emission, Noise pollution,
congestion @ seaport and road, dangerous driving, electric trucks, proper scheduling, etc.)
[6] Local Transportation Costs Details ($$$)
• Selecting the local trucking company to do this for you (decision, justification)
• Trucking Costs; Manpower Cost; Insurance, risks cost (Cost $$$)
[7] Local (Singapore) Distribution Centre’s Operations
• You the student, are the Buyer here. This is a Trading Business (buy the Finished Product, Store it &
then distribute it to your Retailers).
• Receiving activities including unstuffing of the container when they arrive (Cost $$$)
• Breakbulk process after receiving the products in the containers (Cost $$$)
• How you are going to store the inventory (Decision & Justification, sustainability, Storage Cost $$$)
• Any value-added activities, e.g. repacking, labelling, etc. (Decision, justification, Cost $$$)
• Write on the handling of the materials including manual work, semi-automation (Cost $$$)
• Local Distribution (short) plan
o Write on your plan on how you intend to distribute the products to the various Retail shops
(Decision & Justification)
[8] Conclusion (concussion)
• Summary of the Key findings – might be a good idea to include a summary of the total Costs ($$$)
identified in the above sections
• Statement to declare that you have met the Import Plan Purpose/Objective
References (minimum 15)
Appendix (if any)