物流英文信函.doc

Unit 1 Introduction of Logistics LetterPart 1. Principles of Logistics Letters1. You-attitudeYou-attitude means looking at a business matter not only from the writers own standpoint but also from that of his readers needs and expressing the writers readiness to satisfy them. To be truly considerate, the write needs also to apply integrity, high moral standards, personal humor, truthfulness, and sincerity to his messages.2. 5Cs5Cs refer to the following principles: (1) Clearness: The writer must try to express himself clearly. To achieve this, he should keep in mind the purpose of his letter and use appropriate words in correct sentence structure and fully convey his meaning.(2) Conciseness: Many business executives believe that conciseness is the most important principle, because a wordy message requires more and more time to type and to read. Conciseness is saying that you have to say in the fewer possible words without sacrificing completeness and courtesy. To achieve conciseness, try to observe the following suggestions:(A) Omit common expressions.(B) Avoid unnecessary repletion and wordy statements. (C) Include only relevant facts with wordy courtesy.(D) Organize effectively.(3) Courtesy: Courteous messages help strengthen present business friendships as well as make new friends. Courtesy stems from the sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of “please”, ”thank you ”, “your kind inquire ” and “your valued customer” etc. To be courteous the considerate communicator should take the following advice: (A) Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative. (B) Omit expressions that irritate, hurt, or belittle. (C) Apologize good-naturally, inject a courteous tone. (4) Correctness: Correctness not only reefers to correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling, but also emphasize the accurate facts, and figures nonsexist expressions. Avoid using following phrases with vague ideas : a great deal of time, bad, good, large , small, majority, less, most.(5) Completeness: A logistics letter should include all the necessary information. It is essential to check the message carefully before it is sent out.Part 2. Steps for Writing Logistics LettersA good letter is a letter which is well organized. Therefore, writers of logistics letters should take careful steps to get the letters well structured before writing. When you are prepared to writing a logistics letter, you should take the following steps into consideration.(1) Give the letter a heading to help the reader to understand what the letter is about. (2) Write down the aim. Why this letter is written? To whom the letter will be sent? (3) Assemble the points in order of importance.(4) Write a first draft, leaving room for adding, changing and revising. (5) Revise the first draft in terms of information and styles to see whether it covers all the essential points.(6) Decide in what person the letter should be written before starting to write a letter. Logistics letters are normally written in : The first person singular. The first person plural. The impersonal passive. When the singular first person is used, the person should be senior employee in the company who has the right to express his ideas of the firm as a whole. A junior employee had better associate himself by using the first plural form. The main advantage of both these styles is that the letters are of personal and less friendly than either of the other two styles. (6) Polish the letter to get the final version.Part 3. Form of Logistics LettersThere are various ways in which the component parts of a logistics letter can be laid out on the page-you may be expected to adhere to your companys preferred format or you could be able to pick your own. The tow formats are as follows: (1) The Blocked StyleThe feature of the blocked style is commencement of all typing lines, including those for the date, the inside address, salutation, and complimentary close, at the left-hand margin. The following is a sample of the blocked form of a logistics letter. LETTERHEADJune 14,2008ABC Co.Ltd.442 West Third streetGloversvile, NY 12078ATTENTION: MS MARIA CHENLadies and Gentlemen, Subject: Upright pianosSincerely yours, Richard Wood,Sales manager,AWB: t1CC: William John(2) The Indented StyleLETTERHEADOur Ref: SZ 11207Your Ref: WBK 156 October 10, 2008Thomas & Co.Ltd.77 Lewis St.Springvale Vic. AUSTRALIA 3173 Truly yours,Blake WhitePurchasingDirectorWH/bmEncl.a/sCCMr. Henry WoodP.S. Our special discount is 3% for 100 sets. Part 4. Language of Logistics LettersIn the rush of business, nobody is willing to read a letter twice, so a business letter should be clear and correct. The words chosen must convey the writers meaning best. The choice of words should follow these rules:1. Use simple and short words instead of complicated words.LongShortaccomplishdocommencebegincurrentlyNowimminentnearpurchasebuyrequireaskutilizeuse2. Use words instead phrases.PhrasesWordsa present timenowthe lower income groupspoorat this momentnowin the near futuresooncome to a decisiondecideFor the reason thatbecausehave a preference forprefer3. Use everyday words instead of academic words.AcademicEverydayabbreviate shortenfluctuaterise and fallextinguishput outinitiatebeginprocuregetAscertainfind outPart 5. Style of LettersThe style of a logistics letter not only reflects the writers ability, but also expresses the competency of all employees of the company, the impression of a logistics letter on the recipient will have a far-reaching influence upon the future achievement of the company. The following is the general rules for the language and style of a logistics letter. 1. FormalWhen writing about logistics and services activities, the writer has to decide whether his writing should be formal or informal. Generally, business reports, research paper should be in formal style, while business notes, memos, and business letters should be in informal style of language. 2. Sincere Sincerity in letters shows that the writer is dealing with his correspondent in an open straightforward manner, Sincerity arises from a just appreciation of the subject matter, the purpose, the reader and the writer. It is based on truth, reasonableness and modesty. It inspires confidence in the reader. Insincerity, on the other hand, repels the reader, creating distrust and cynicism.3. NaturalLetters need some degree of formality, but always remember that they are an alternative to talking to people. They should be as close to speech as is reasonably possible. To be natural, the author should make the writing brief, succinct, relevant and precise, and at the same time, avoid using clich.4. ConciseThe use of too many words represents a waste of time of both the writer and the reader. It is a common business saying that “time is money” .By writing concisely, we can achieve an economical effort in business correspondence. We can omit the following phrases or words. Part 6. Structure of Logistics Letter1. The structure of logistics letterA logistics letter usually has six parts: the heading, the inside address, the salutation, the body, the complementary close, and the signature. (1) The heading The heading gives the full address of the writer and the date of the letter. It is usually written or typed in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. It may be either blocked or indented. It may or may not have punctuation. A printed letterhead usually contains all the necessary information about the companys name, address, postcode, telephone number and fax number, etc. If letterhead stationery is used, the date is often centered two or three spaces below the printed matter, though it maybe written flush with either margin. The British may put a comma after each line in the heading and end the address with a period, but the Americans do not:BritishAmerican Mr. Jennifer Stone,20 Fairview Drive,Eastbourne, BN18 2BU,England.Mr. Jennifer Stone20 Fairview DriveEastbourne, BN18 2BUEngland(2) The inside addressThe inside address, which is often omitted in personal letters, gives the name and full address of the addressee. The name and address of the receiver is typed at the left-hand margin at least two lines below the date. It gives above the salutation. It is important to include the postcode (zipcode in U.S.A.) in order to facilitate mechanical mail-sorting. Courtesy tittles are used in correspondence. Write “Mr.” for a man and “Mrs.” or “Ms.” for a woman . As in the heading, the use or nonuse of punctuation depends on the preference of the writer. (3) The salutation The salutation is the polite greeting with which a letter begins. Its form depends upon the writers relationship with the receiver. The customary formal greeting in a business letter is “Dear Sir (Madam )” or “Dear Sirs” (BrE) or “gentlemen” (AmE). The British tends to use a comma after the salutation and the Americans, a colon, especially in a business letter.(4) The bodyThis contains the actual message of the letter. The letter should be carefully planned and paragraphed, with the first paragraph referring to any previous correspondence and the last paragraph to future actions or plans.If one page is not enough and more pages are needed, please write down the receivers name, number of the page and the date as follows:Page 4May 10,2008Ms. Nancy Winter(5) The complimentary closeThe closing of a logistics letter consists of three parts: complimentary close, signature, and the typed name. In the complimentary close, only the first word is capitalized. The close is followed by a comma. The complimentary closes usually are “ Yours truly,” ”Sincerely,” “ Cordially yours” or “Yours cordially”.(6) The signatureA logistics letter should be signed by hand and in ink. Because many hand-written signatures are illegible, the name of the signer is usually typed below the signature and followed by his job title or position.R. HopkinsGeneral ManagerLayout of Logistics Letter Letterhead DateReference numberInside address Attention lineSalutation Subject line Opening sentence Body of the letter Closing sentence Complimentary close SignatureEnclosureCarbon copy notation2. Addressing the envelopsBusiness stationery ordinary has the return address printed in the upper left corner of the envelope. Name and address of the receiver should be typed about half way down the envelope, leaving enough space for the postmark or stamps. Post notions such as “Registered”, “Certified” or “Confidential” should be placed in the bottom of the left-hand corner.Richard SmithCarbonite Corp. stamp1332 Second AvenueMilford, Connecticut 06460U.S.A. Ms. Yvette Carlson Buying Manager 26 Princes Hwy Narooma, NSW 2435 Australia ConfidentialUnite 2 Obtaining Business RelationshipPart 1. Rules for Establishing Business RelationsIn international trade, the importer is usually in one country and the exporter in another. They are separated sometimes by thousands of miles. And it is fairly true to say no customer, no business. To obtain business relations with prospective dealers is one of the most important steps in a transaction in foreign trade. This unit deals mainly with the establishment of business relations.Obtaining business relationship means setting up business connections between two companies who have had no dealing before. Since business is largely depending on relations, new opportunities always mean the possibilities of getting new relations with other companies or forms. Opportunities for starting business in international trade can be found in the information from the following channels:1. Internet 2. Banks3. Newspaper advertisement 4. Commercial counselors office5. Market investigations6. Chambers of commerce in foreign countries7. Introduction from business connections8. Trade directory9. Self-introduction by merchants themselves10. Enquires from the merchants abroad11. Other resources After acquiring the name and the address of the firm you want to establish business relations with, you may try to collect any possible information about the firm, including1. Capital2. Capacity3. Honest integrityIn such cases, a letter aiming at establishing business relations always consists of the following:1. The source of information2. Your intention3. The business scope of your firm, experience, and products Part 2. Comprehensive Case StudiesSample 1 March 9,2008Messrs. William & Co.56 Nsukka Road, Accra, Ghana Dear Sirs,We have learnt from the Commercial Counselors Office of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana that you are in the market for Chinese leather products and now avail ourselves of this opportunity to approach you for entering into direct business relations with you.As one of the leading exporters, we have been handling various kinds of Chinese leather products for nearly ten years. Our products are very popular for their good quality and fine workmanship. To give you a general idea, we have sent you under separate cover several copies of illustrated catalogues and same sample cuttings.Should any of items be of interest to you, please let us know. We shall be glad to try our best to satisfy you at all times.We are looking forward to your early reply.Yours faithfullyChina National Light Industrial Products Import and Export Corp.Analysis:It is quite difficult to write such a letter because you are trying to sell your products and services to a perspective customer who even has not heard of you. In the opening and second paragraph, you may introduce your firm and products in a very broad way so as to attract the interest of your perspective client. Do not be too specific, or your possible client may stop reading for they might conclude that this is not for them. So it is quite important that you make them read on, encourage them to for more information that actually interests them, and therefore increase the chance to sell.Sample 2: May 5, 2008 Name of a firmAdd Dear Sirs, Your name has been recommended to us by the Bank of China, as a large importer of ball bearing in the U.S.A. We are writing to you with a keen desire to open an account with you.We have been established here for over twenty years as general exporters and importers. As we have close connections with first-class makers in China, we enjoy an especially advantageous position in ball bearings.As to terms, we will draw on you that 30d/s under an Irrevocable Letter of Credit. For any information as to our credit standing, please refer to the Bank of China in Shenzhen.We look forward to your early and favorable reply. Yours truly,Name of a firmAnalysis:Provide succinct and general information about your company. You do not want to be too specific. If so the recipients may stop reading. Youd better keep their interest and try to help them to find out the information that is useful for them.In the ending paragraph, you may refer to your firms credit standing enclosed with the letter. At last, you can express your expectation for cooperation and an early reply.Part 3. Style and StructureWriting letters to new customers for the establishment of relations is a common practice in business communications. To establish business relations with prospective dealers is one of the vitally important measures either for a newly established firm or an old one that wishes to enlarge its business scope and turnover.Writing StyleA. Language Your language should march the knowledge and understanding of the reader, whom you will consider carefully when you start planning the letter. Use simple words when writing to a member of the public, for they may feel confused or alienated by technical terms, etc. Similarly, you may employ trade expressions to experienced recipients, as they may feel patronized for simplified language. Please do note that you should always avoid using slang or local expressions, for these may not be understood by those who reside elsewhere.B. ToneYour tone in the letter is also of importance, and it should reflect your personality. Try to use your own language and write carefully and naturally. Sound sincere and be aware of the seriousness of the situation.Structure In the opening paragraph, you may introduce the source of your information. Next, you may generally introduce your firm and products to your perspective client. Provide succinct, general information about your company. In the ending paragraph, you may refer to your firms credit standing