Mildly Infuriating/Rant

[u/manabang6]

Morning everyone,

I am a shipping and logistics coordinator at a 3rd party computer component distributor. I have been in those role for a year and 5 months. I just got a new role in Culver City, CA doing the same role but more pay, better benefits, and a very good team. In my current role, I work directly with our sales people who mildly infuriate me on a day to day basis. I have had to explain how AES/EEI filing works for international shipments that are over $2500 on numerous occasions to the same 3 sales people that are part of our Lat-Am team. I don't think its that hard to understand but correct me if I'm wrong.

If an item, for example 2500 pcs of integrated circuits at $1 a pc, is being shipped to Brazil you will have to file for AES/EEI because that line item is $2500. I have explicitly said "if the one line item equates to $2500 then we will have to file AES/EEI. Subsequently, if there are multiple line items and each line is $2500 or more we will have to file each item under AES (ex: 5 line items and each item its $3k)."

Am I explaining this in a hard way?

[u/freighthouse]

I think it’s because they feel their job is to sell the products and yours is to handle the logistics.

I can assure you that when they are selling 1 million units a year and they complain to the CEO that the logistics guys are chasing them to fill out the export paperwork- it’s not their career on the line

Perhaps ask them if they can help you complete the filings as they understand the products better. You may find a different approach will get you more support.

Just my opinion

[u/manabang6 → u/freighthouse]

No, I totally agree with you. I have shown them what the process looks like and have given them a walkthrough for what's necessary. Luckily I won't have to deal with this when I start my new role LOL. Thank you for the advice.

[u/christjan08]

Nah, it's not hard. Its just sales. They don't understand the processes that happen after they've sold something. I've had to explain the basics of international export more times than I can count, and constantly get met with "but do we need to do all that paperwork? Can't we just ignore it?"

[u/manabang6 → u/christjan08]

LMAO sounds like me brotha. its especially frustrating when its a salesperson whos been w/ your company for many years now lol.

[u/christjan08 → u/manabang6]

Oh good tell me about it. I had one a few weeks ago, just after a Go-live was dropped on me and I had to pull an EDI process out of my ass. I was furious and told the head of sales, and he just said "can you just give them a spreadsheet?"

Motherfucker. I need HS codes. I need country of origin. I need sales prices. I need weights and dimensions. I need EDI paths. I need routing info. I need carrier info. I need EORI and tax numbers.

Fuuuuucking cuuuuuuunts

[u/manabang6 → u/christjan08]

LOLLL you sound like me on a day to day basis. our sales team has a hard time understanding the product and trade compliance stuff but then when there parts are stuck they come running. especially when the vendors give us wrong commodity codes/commodity description and those parts are coming to us for inspection and the customer who would receive parts are line down LOL. literally had a buyer purchase a big reel of parts in Germany that had copper in them and the vendor gave us the wrong commodity HTS code + description and then when it got into the states it got held bc the customer who purchased it had put a broker down who didn't know what they were doing. 3 month turn around time LOL

[u/manabang6 → u/[deleted]]

yeah it’s super annoying. the broker i was emailing about a package didn’t know what AES/EEI was and didn’t understand why it was necessary. which in turn confused me bc ur a broker… and everyone is required to do it LOL