Profit from Experience

To be effective, procedures must be action oriented, grammatically correct, and written in a consistent style and format to ensure usability. These guidelines, along with industry "best practices" that are documented in auditable criteria, can be used to improve your procedures:

1.Context. Actions must properly describe activity to be performed. 2.Consistency. All references and terms are used same way every time, and procedure must ensure consistent results. 3.Completeness. There must be no information, logic, or design gaps. 4.Control. The document and its described actions demonstrate feedback and control. 5.Compliance. All actions are sufficient for their intended compliance. 6.Correctness. The document must be grammatically correct without spelling errors. 7.Clarity. Documents must be easy to read and understandable.

Quickly Improve Your Policies and Procedures without Hassle

You can quickly resolve these usability problems and improve performance, and also upgrade your documentation to "best practice" standards without hassles or commitments. By beginning to improve your documents, you will be able to identify areas for improvement. And you can start today with 7 Cs of “best practices”.

Please give me prices for a Sample Order of 10 each of following items. Thank You for your help.

Very Truly Yours, Robert Nelson, Vice President

This is all it takes to get ball rolling. But, a computer is a must. No company worth a dime does not communicate at least partially with email. Especially when companies you will be dealing with are overseas. It takes too long for letters to go back and forth. When you learn about a new product, time is of essence.

These people you will be dealing with are very honorable. They appreciate your showing respect, and they will respond in a kind way. Even if they do not want to ship small quantities, they very often will do so if you suggest that you understand and are willing to pay a little extra for each item. Your costs will still be a fraction of what you are paying now.

Let’s talk about shipping. You can ship very heavy stuff, like Monitors, via Steamship. This is a pain in ass because you have to use a Freight Forwarder, who will get it through Customs. It usually takes up to 90 days. We found it more cost effective to buy Monitors in this country. We did buy small 5" B&W Monitors from Taiwan and had them shipped Air Freight because they are small and light enough to make it cost effective.

Normally, you will request shipping via DHL, FedEx, UPS or EMS. EMS is usually cheapest, and is an extension of US Postal Service. All of these methods are Air Freight, and will deliver right to your door! No Customs hassles! It is easy to go online and open an account with all of them.

Remember, a Sample Order can be one or 100 or any amount. It is a Sample Order because you are calling it a Sample Order. Don’t be afraid to wire funds up front. Remember, these countries are not Democracies, plus they rely strongly on foreign trade. If you were to report one of these companies to their government for ripping you off, they could be jailed for life, or worse! Everything they do is scrutinized by their government agencies. We have wired as much as fifteen thousand dollars at a time.

The first time you attempt to Import some stuff. Make it a small sample order just to get your feet wet.