6z

6z
6z
pLAc t NG A N o R D E R
Opening
Payment
o
r.t
6z Discou
nts o-
6z
6z
Delivery
Methodsof delivery o
63 Packing
63 Closing tn
-
fi Ac KNowlE D G T N c A N o R D E R
63 ADVTc EoF D E s P A T c H
64
65
66
67
68
69
7o
71 DEL AYS tN D E LTV E R Y

71 REF UST NC A N OR D E R

71 Out of stock
j 2 B a dre p u tati on
7 2 U n fa v o u rablterms
e
7 2 S i z eo f o rder
73
14
75 Pointsto remember
o P L AC IN GAN OR D E R
T'
o Ordersareusually written on a company's
official order form >seepage65 for an example
which has a date and a referencenumber that
shouldbe quotedin any correspondence
referringto the order.If the orderis
telephoned,it should be confirmed in writing,
and an order form should always be
accompaniedbyeitheracoMpLlMENrs sLrp
oracovxRlNcLErrER.Acoveringletteris
preferable as it allows you the opportunity to
make any necessarypoints and confirm the
termsthat havebeenagreed.
The guide below is for an outline of a
covering letter. You may not want to make all
the points listed,but look throughthe guideto
seewhat couldbe mentioned.
Operr i ng
Make it clearthat there is an order
accompanying the letter.
- Pleasefindenclosedour OrderNo.a45ztfor z5
'Clearsound'transistor receivers.
- Theenclosedorder (No.nt54) isJor 5o packets
of e4 copierpaper.
- Thankyouforyour reply of 4 May regarding
our email about the mobilephones.Enclosed
you willfind our oficial order(No.a 56t)for ...
- I would like to place a trial orderfor the
'Letherine'materialwedtscussed at the trade
showlastmonth.Please find enclosed.. .
p.ry rrrr.. t
ConfirmtherxRMSoF pAyMENr.
- As agreedyouwill draw on us at 3o days,D/A,
with the documentsbeingsentto our bank,
TheNational MercantileBank ...
- Wewould liketo confirm that payment is to
be made by irrevocableletteroJcredit,which
wehavealreadyappliedtothe bankfor.
- Oncewe have receivedyour advice,we wiII
senda bank draft to . . .
- ... and we agreedthatpaymentswould be
madeagainstquarterlystatements...
6z
D i scorrrrts
Confirmthe agreeddiscounts.
- Wewould like to thank youfor the 3o%
tradediscountand to% quantity discount
you allowedus.
- Finally,wewould liketo confi.rmthat the
z5%trade discount is quite satisfactory.
- .. . and we wiII certainly take advantageof
thecashdiscountsyouofreredforprompt
settlement.
- Although we anticipated a higher trade
discountthan ry%,we wiIIplacean initial
orderandhopethatthediscountcanbe
reviewedin the nearfuture.
Deliver v
Confirm the delivery dates.
- Itis essentialthatthe goodsaredelivered
beforethe beginningof November,in timefor
the Christmassalesperiod.
- Delivery beforez8 Februaryis afirm
conditionof thisorder,and we reservethe
right to refusegoodsdeliveredafter that time.
- Pleaseconf.rm that you can completethe
work beforethe end of March, as the opentng
of the store isplannedfor earlyApril.
Mpthorlr of d e I ivt,r v
Many companiesuseronwARDrNG AcENTS
Dseepager99who are specialistsin packing
and handling the documentation to sn r p
goods.Nevertheless, to ensureprompt and safe
delivery it is a goodideato advisethe company
onhowyouwantthegoodspackedandsent.
This meansthat if the consignmentarrives
Iate,or in a damagedstate,your letter is
evidenceof the instructionsyou gave.
- ... and pleaserememberthat only airfreight
wiII ensureprompt delivery.
- PleasesendthegoodsbyexpressJreightaswe
needthem urgently.
- Weadvisedelivery by road to avoid constant
handling of thisfragile consignment.
- Couldyou pleaseship by scheduledfreighter
to avoid any unnecessarydelays?
P acking
Advise your supplier how you want the goods
packed.Note,in the first example,that crates
are often marked with a sign - a diamond, a
target,asquare,alion, etc.-that canbe
recognizedbythesupplierand customer.
- Eachpieceof crockeryis to be individually
wrapped in thickpaper,packedin straw,and
shippedinwoodencratesmarkedOand
numberedt to 6.
- Thecarpetsshould be wrapped,and the
packagingreinforced atbothendstoavoid
wear.
- Themachinesmust be weIIgreasedwithall
movableparts securedbeforebeingloaded
into crates,whichshouldbeclearlymarked
with your castlelogofor easyidentification.
Cfosing
- Wehopethat this wiII be thefirst of many
ordersweplacewithyou.
- WewiIIplacefurtherordersif this one is
completedtoour satisfadion.
- If our salestargetsare met,we shall be
placingfurther ordersin the nearfuture.
- I lookJorwardtoreceivingyour advice/
shipment/ acknowledgement / confirmation.
A c K N o w L ED G IN G A N o R DE R
As soonas a supplierreceivesan order,it
shouldbe acknowledged.This canbe doneby
Ietter,or by email for speed' seepage66.The
following examplescan be usedin both emails
and letters.
- Thankyouforyour order No.g8e whichwe
receivedtoday.We are now dealingwithit
and you may expect deliverywithin the next
threeweeks.
- Yourorder No.67tz/t is now beingprocessed
and shouldbe readyfor despatchby the end
of this week.
- Wearepleasedto inform you that we have
already madeup your order,N o.99 ot / t / 5,for
5oo bed-Iinenpackets,and are now making
arrangementsfor shipment to Rotterdam,
A Dv rc Eo F DE s P A T c H 3
q
5
When the supplier has made up the order and
arrangedshipment,the customeris informed
by means of an advicenote. This may be a form
pageTo,letter,fax,oremail.
'see
Although an advicenote canbe sentbyfax
or email, the customer may need to present
original documents (e.g.rwvorc n, bill of
lading,rmsunANcEcERrrFrcarr)tocollect
the consignment.Of coursethesecannot be
faxed or sent by email.
- Yourorder,No.o/t54/r,is alreadyonboard
5
the SSMitsu Maru, sailingfrom Kobeon t6
May and arriving Tilbury,London, on n June.
Theshippingdocumentshavebeen
forwarded to your bank in Londonfor
colledion.
- Wearepleasedto adviseyou that the watches
youordered-No.88t5t/24-willbeonflight
s,a,t65leavingZurichat n.oo,9 August,
arrivingManchesterry.oo.Please find
enclosedair waybill oc t5t6t/j and copiesof
invoice,an3fi,whichyouwillneedfor
collection.
- Yourorder,No.vt /t5t/c, is beingsentexpress
rail-freightand can be collectedafter o9.oo
tomorrow.Enclosedis consignmentnote No.
n6V5j,which shouldbepresentedon
collection.Youshouldcontactus immediatelv
i fanyprobl emsari se' Thankyouforyou r
order,and we hopewe can be offurther
serviceinthefuture.
6t
I

o
Placingan order:
Head Ofhcc
E cwering lcttcr
o , F. Lynch & Eo. Ltd N essonH ouse
F.Lynch& Co.have N ew el l S treet
decided to placean B ;.mi nghan!
orderwith Satex5.p.A. 8J 3E L
>seeprevious
corespondence on Tel ephone,+44 @)z t 216 657t
pages45and58andare Fax:+44 (o)21236 8592
sendinga coveringletter Lm,rrl p<rane@l yn c hc o,uk
with the orderform. r./'.vwlynch Conl

Your ref D/7439

Ourref: OrderDR4316

9 March 20-
o SatexS.p.A
g Via di Pietra Papa
o
q 00146Roma
E
!!
ITAIY
x
ul
Attn. Sig.D. Causio

DearSig.Causio

Pleasefind enclosedour official order,No.DR4316.

Forthis order,we acceptthe 15%trade discount you offered,and the terms

of payment (sight draft, CAD),but hope you are willing to reviewthese
terms if we decideto order again.

Would you pleasesendthe shipping documents and your sight draft to

Northminster Bank (City Branch),Deal Street,Birmingham 83 1SQ.

If you do not have any of the items we have ordered currently in stock,
pleasedo not send alternatives.

We would appreciatedeliverywithinthe next sixweeks, andlook forward

to your acknowledgement.

Yourssincerely

Peter Cranp
PeterCrane
ChiefBuyer

Enc.OrderNo.DR4316

E1 Onwhosetermsare lf anyof the sweaters Howsoondo they

g F.Lynch& Co.paying? theyhaveorderedare wantthe sweaters?
I3 out of stock,would
c/ theyaccept
alternatives?

64
 OrdcrfiCIfilN o
CL
HeadOffice o
F, Lynch & Eo. Ltd NessonHouse Thisis F.Lynch& Co.l
orderform.
NewellStreet
Birmingham
833Er

Telephone:+44 @lzt 46 657l

Fax:+44 (o)zr2368592
Email:pcrane@lynch.co.uk
www lynch com

Orderno. DR4315
SatexS.p.A
Via di Pietra Papa
00146Roma m
ITATY Aut'horized x0,
3
T'
?eter (ta*tp o
ID

o.
o

Quantlty Itemdexrlption Cat.No. Prkc(ClFtondon) e

3
50 V-neck:30 red + 20 blue R432 f30.80 each

30 Roll neck 15black + 15blue Nr54 f20.40 each

30 Crewneck:15green+ 15beige N157 f23.00 each

40 Crew neck:pattern R541 f,25.60each

Note: Subjectto 5%quantity

discount

comm€nts L5%TradeDisc.allowed. Pytnt. C/D Del.6weeks

Dete 9 March 20-

I In th e e m ail
on Whichreference Bywhen shouldthe rO
g
page45,MrCrane the
identifies order be delivered? o
suggestedthat he sweaters? lf F.Lynch& Co.have o
might placeordersfor =
Whatsortof fu rthercorrespondence
over5oosweaters, havebeen
discounts with Satexon this
butthis orderisfor agreed? order,what reference
onlyr5o.Whydoyou would they use?
think it is relatively
sma l l ? 6S
 Adnowlcdging
en ordcr
Satexwill now prepare
tlrCrane'sorder,but in
the meantimethey
enrailhimto let him
lnow that the orderhas
beenreceived.

DearMr Crane
=
a
E Thankyoufortheaboveordelwhichwe arenowmakingup.Wehavealltheitemsin stock
a andwilladviseyouaboutshipment
in thenextfewdays.
!
B
E
a DanieleCausio
E. SalesDirector
SatexS.p.A.
Viadi PietraPapa,00146Roma
Telefono:+3906 769910
Telefax:+3906 6815473
Email:causiod@satex.co.
it

6
 Adviceof despatch o
e
o
Thisemailmessage I

confirmsthat Satexhave
senttheorder.When Mr
Cranereceives theemail,
the Northminster Bank
w i l li ssueaorsrr
aurH onrrv, w hi ch
allowsthemto debit
F.Lynch& Co.'s account.
Theshi ppi ng docume nt s
YourOrderDR4316 willthenbesentto
F.Lynch& Co.,sothat the
goodscanbecollected, 5
Dear Mr Crane Remember,this wasa
crr transaction where tn
xl,
't{e are pleasedto tell you that the aboveorder has been shippedon the SS Marconissa and
the supplier paidcost,
sfrouldreachyou in the next 10 days. insurance, andfreight,
3
Eo
andon a documents o
ilrleanwhile,
our bank has forwardedthe relevantdocumentsand sightdraftfor t3,092.80,
againstpaymentbasis. 3
uhich includesthe agreedtradeand quantitydiscounts,to the NorthminsterBank (City E.
Branch)Birmingham.

\4/eare sureyou will be very satisfiedwith the consignmentand lookfonrvardto your next
order.

Bestwishes I
DanieleCausio
SalesDirector
SatexS.p.A.
Via di PietraPapa,00'146Roma
Telefono: +39 06 769910
Telefax:+39 06 6815473
Email:causiod@satex.co.it

6t
 6

o
Placingan order
T'
o Th i sem ailandt hene x t
onefollowon from
previous correspondence
>seepates44 and56.
Therearethreeoarties
involved: the
manufacturers, Glaston John Merton
Potteries;the buying
agents,Sanders & Lowe;
andtheirprincipals in
Canada, MacKenzie Bros.
Here,Ms Loweiswriting
5 on behalfofher
p ri nc ipals
and
forwardingtheir order.
G
E Noticethe instructions
o 1432
o shegivesandnoticethat
E shehasalready phoned
E
G GlastonPotteries to DearMr Merton
x
lll agreetermsof payment,
whichwerenot Pleasefind attachedan order (R1432)from our principals,MacKenzieBros Ltd,
mentionedin theirletter 1-5 WhaleDrive,Dawson,Ontario,Canada.
on page56.
They haveaskedus to instructyou that the 60 sets of crockeryorderedshouldbe packed
in 6 crates,10 sets per crate,with each pieceindividuallywrapped,and the cratesmarked
clearlywith their name,the words 'fragile'and 'crock ', and numbered1-6.

They haveagreedto pay by letterof credit,which we discussedon the phonelastweek,and

they would likedeliverybeforethe end of this month,which shouldbe no problemas thereare
regularsailingsfrom Liverpool.

lf the coloursthey havechosenare not in stock,they will acceptan alternativeprovidedthe

designsare those stipulatedon the order.

Pleasesend any furthercorrespondencerelatingto shipmentor paymentdirectto MacKenzie

Bros,and let us havea copyof the commercialinvoicewhen it is made up.

Manythanks
LindaLowe

Whatinstructions 3 Whyshouldthere 5 Sanders&Lowehave 6 Wh i c h w o r d s i n t h e easilydamaged

o havebeengiven beno problemfor completed theirjob, e m a i l h a v ea s i m i l a r or broken
Cl aboutpacking? GlastonPotteriesto whichwastofinda m e a n i n gt o t h e d stated
=
orz Whatmethodof deliverwithinfour supplier.
Sowho must following? e completed
paymenthasbeen weeks? GlastonPotteries a cupS,saucers,
arranged? 4 Willsubstitutes be writetonow? plates,etc.
b large,wooden
acceptable if Glaston
boxes
Potteriesareout of
68 stockof anyitems?
 Adviceof despatch o
e
o
GlastonPotteries have 5

madeuptheMacK en zie
orderandnowadvise
themofdespatch.
MacKenzie Broswill
already haveopeneda
letterof credit>see
pager55at theirbank,
TheC anadi an U ni on
TrustBank,in favourof
GlastonPotteries.The
C anadi an bankw i lno
l w
wait untiltheyhave
Dear Mr MacKenzie confirmation of
shipment fromtheir tn
-he aboveorder has now been completedand sent to LiverpoolDocks,where it is awaiting xq,
agentsin England,
@ding on to the SS Manitoba,whichsailsfor Dawson,Canadaon 16 Julyarriving30 July. Burnley CityBank, and
3
It
,$lhenwe havethe necessarydocumentswe will transferthem to BurnleyCity Bank,your willthentransfer the o
o
mnk's agentshere,and they will forwardthem to the CanadianUnionTrustBank. moneysothat Glaston 3
t
Potteries canbepaid.
'rrfehavetaken particularcareto see that the goods havebeen packedas per your
the six crateshavebeen markedwith your name,and numbered1-6. Each crate
nnstructions:
measures6ft x 4ft x 3ft and weighs5 cwt.
lrllbmanagedto get all itemsfrom stockwith the exceptionof Cat. No. G'l 6, which is only
arrailablein red, but we includedit in the consignmentas it was of the designyou askedfor.

llfyou need any further information,pleasecontactus. Thankyou very much for your order.

We lookforwardto hearingfrom you again soon.

John Merton
SalesManager
Gl otteriesLtd
Cl B ur nleyB B 101 R Q
rer +44 (0)128246125
Fax'.+44 (0)128263182
Email: j. merton@glaston.co.uk

Ho w willt he 3 Whatwill happento 4 WhatdidGlaston 5 Whichwords in the rO

tr
consignment besent? thedocuments once Potteriesdo about e m a i l h a v ea s i m i l a r o
6

GlastonPotteries the itemtheycould meaningto the f.

Whenisit dueto o
receive
them? notsupply? following? =
arrivein Canada?
a essential
b forwarded
c in accordance with
d apart from
69

D EL A YSIN D E T IVE R Y
If goodsareheld up either beforeor after
they are sent,you must keepyour customer
informed.Statewhat has happened,how it
happened,and what you are doing to put
things right In thesecasesthe speedof email
is very useful.If email is not available,then fax
or cableshouldbe usedasthe sooneryour
customeris informed,the soonerthey cantake
action.It is a goodideato keepcopiesof any
messagesyou sendabout delays.
- I wassurprised and sorryto hearthat your
consignment (OrderNo.n45) had not
reached you.On enquiryIfound that it had
beendelayedby a localdisputeon the cargo
vesselSSHamburg on which it had been
Ioaded.Iam now trying to get thegoods
transferredto the SSSamoa,which is
scheduledto sailfor Yokohamabeforethe end
of next week.I shall keepyou informed.
- I amwriting totellyouthat unfortunately
therewill be a three-weekdelayin delivery.
Thisis due to afire at our Greenfordworks
which destroyedmostoJthe machinery.Your
orderhasbeentransferredto our Slough
factory and wiII beprocessed thereassoonas
possible.I apologize for this delay,which is
due to circumstances beyondour control.
- Weregretto inform you that there will be a
delayin gettingyour consignmentto you
Thisis due to the cut in suppliesfrom Gara,
where,asyou may be aware,civil war broke
out last week.Wehavecontacteda possible
supplierin Lagosand he wiII let us know if he
can help us.If you wish to cancelyour order,
pleaselet us know as soonaspossible.
However,I think y ou willf nd most
manufacturersareexperiencingthe same
dtficulties at present.
R EF U SIN GAN O R D E R
Thereare a number of reasonsfor a company
to refusean order,and someof the most
common are given below.Whateveryour
reason,you must be polite:the words reject
andrefusehave a very negative tone, therefore
it is better to usedeclineor turn down instead.
o
CL
o
Youmay be out of stockofthe productordered,
or you may no longer make it. Note that, in
either case,youhavean opportunityto sell an
alternative product seepage48,but
remembernot to criticizethe productyou can
no longer supply.
- Wearesorryto saythat we arecompletelyout
of stockof thisitem and itwillbe sixweeks
beforeweget our next delivery,but please
contactusthen.
- Weno longermanufacturethisproduct as
demandoverthepastfewyearshasdeclined.
5
- Thankyoufor your orderfor heavy-duty
industrialoveralls.Unfortunatelywe have
run out ofthe strengtheneddenim styleyou
askedfor.Asyou particularlyspecifedthis
material,wewill not offera substitute,but
will inform you immediatelywe receive
deliveryoJa newconsignment.This willbe
within the next two months.
- Wereceivedyour orderfor ACNdynamos
today,but regretthat due to a strikeat the
ACNfactory we are unabletofulfl it at
present.Weareawarethat other modelswill
not suityour requirements, but hopethat the
disputewiII besettledsoonand that wewill
beableto supplyyou. Wewill keepyou
informedof developments.
71
5

o 8 a d re p u ta ti o n
!t
o The customer may have a bad reputation
for settling their accountsor,in the caseof a
retailerof, say,electricalor mechanical
products,may have offered a poor after-sales
servicewhich could in turn affect a
manufacturer's or supplier'sreputation. In
thesecases,it is betterto indicateterms on
which you would be prepared to acceptthe
order,or, as in the last two examplesbelow,
find a diplomatic way of saying'no'.
- Wewould only beprepared to supply on a
5 cashbasis.
- Weonly supplyon payment againstpro
forma invoice.
- As thereis heavydemandat present,wehave
veryfew of theseproducts in stockand are
servingon a rota basis.Itis extremelyunlikely
that we wiII be ableto deliverwithin the next
fourmonths.
- As our plant is closingfor the summer
vacationwe would not beableto processyour
orderfor the dateyou havegiven.Therefore,
regretfully,wehaveto declineit.
- I am sorryto saythat we must turn down
your orderas we haveJullorderbooksat
presentand cannotgive a definitedateJor
delivery.
or payment:
- Weonly acceptpayment by letter of credit.
- Weneverofferquarterlytermson initial
orders,evento customerswho canprovide
references. However,wemight considerthis
sort oJcreditoncewe haveestablisheda
trading relationship.
- Our companyrelieson quicksales,lowprofi.ts,
and afast turnover,and thereforewecannot
offer Iong-term creditfacilities.
S i re of order
The quantity requiredmight be too large:
- Wearea small companyand couldnot
possiblyhandlean orderfor zo,ooo units.
- Unfortunately,ourfactory doesnot have
facilities to turn out 3o,ooo units a week.
The quantity requiredmight be too small:
- Weonly supplyordersforballpointpensby
the gross,and thereforesuggestyou try a
wholesalerrather than a manufadurer.
- The shirtswe manufacture are sold by the
dozenin one colour.I regretthat we neverseII
individualgarments.
- Ourfactoryonly sellsmaterial in 3o-metre
rollswhich cannotbecut uo.

U n fa v o u ra b l e te rn rs

The suppliermay not like the terms the

customerhas askedfor, either for delivery:
- Deliverycannotpossiblybeguaranteed
wtthinthe time given in your letter.
- Two months must be allowedfor deliveryas
we are dependenton our suppliersforraw
materials.
or discount:
- Itwould be uneconomicalforusto ofrerour
produds at the discountsyou suggestas we
workon afast turnoverand lowprofit margins.
- Theusualtradediscountist5o/o in this
country which is5%Iowerthan thefigure
mentionedin your letter.
- Thediscountyou askedJorisfar more than
we ofer any of our customers.

72
 Delayin delivery o
CL
o
P a n t o n M an u fa ctu r in g L td
P a n t o nW or ks I Ho u n slo w M id cie se x ] r w6 za o*
FENTt r N
r E L EP Ho N r + 4 4 @ ) zo 8 3 5 3cr z5
F A cs I M I r E + 4 4 @ ) zo 8 3 5 36 7 8 3
et " r a r r d p an to n @ p a n m a n co .u k

8 October20-
MrH.Majid
Majid Enterprises 5
Grant Road
Bombay m
x!,
INDIA
3
g
o
o
DearMrMajid o
I am writing to you concerning your order,No. CU1154/d,which you placed
four weeks ago.At that time we had expectedto be ableto complete the
order well within the delivery date which we gaveyou of 18June,but since
then we have heard that our main supplier of chrome has gone bankrupt.

trtwill be necessaryto flnd an alternative supplier who can fulf.I all the
outstanding contractswe have to complete.As you will appreciatethis will
take some time. but we are confi.dentthat we should be able to deliver
consignments to our customersby the middle of next month.

The units themselveshavebeen assembledand only needcompleting.

We regret this unfortunate situation over which we had no control, and
apologizefor the inconvenience caused.We will understand if you wish to
cancelthe order,but stressthat we are confident that we will be able to
complete delivery by the middle of next month.

Pleaselet us know your decisionas soonas possible.Thankyou for your

consideration.

Yourssincerely

D. Pantow
D.Panton
Managing Director

R eg,s 'i rei :' 'l o Er g and

266.c

Why havePanton Whendotheynow Whatisthe'decision' with reference

to
Manufacturingnot expectthe orderto be referred
to in the last unableto payone's
completedthe order? completed? paragraph? debts
5
How do they intend CanMajidEnterprises Whichwordsin the certain
to overcomethe the orderif
cancel letterhavea similar put together
problem? e trouble
theywantto? m e a ni ng
to the t
following? understanding

73
 5
Refuringan order
!
!,
:]ETJ-XJ
o !-l se nlog g l X h G t ur0 F I
ttu
lflootions. fl
A ri a t - i 10 - o B r u E==- ==

ro...
_I I Ericvan Gellen

OrderHU14449

Attn: Eric Van Gellen

'-
E
o
Thank you for your order,No. HU 14449,which we receivedtoday.Unfortunately, we cannot
g offerthe 35% tradediscountyou askedfor.25o/ois our maximumdiscount,evenon large
r
E orders,as our pricesare extremelycompetitive.Therefore,in this instance,I regretthat we
G
t!
x haveto turn down your order.

DenisYork
SP Wholesalersplc
King'sLynn,Norfolk
PE3O4SW
Tel; +44 (0)1553 60841
Fax:+44 (0)I 553 60923
Email:d.york@spw.co.uk

c WhydoesMrYork I Howdoes he I What isthe

refusethe order? generalizehis implicationof in this
refusal? instancein the last
sentence?

74