外贸行业洋骗术解密

    过去几年中，全球经济增速放缓削弱了中国出口市场中的需求，这不是什么秘密。国内产能过剩以及来自其他国家出口商的直接竞争是中国出口商最担心的问题，这也不是什么秘密。中国制造企业面临着竞争的升级以及出口销售额和利润下降的情况。

    中国出口商不经常公开探讨，但私下里会认真交流的另一个重大问题是他们的海外应收账款急剧增长，而且只升不降。实际情况是，中国出口商的坏账对销售额比例至少为5%。在成本上升、利润下降的情况下，不断地消化5%的损失并不是长久之计。

    要提高竞争力，中国出口商就必须对业务管理进行升级，以便在市场中立足。单靠以市场最低价出售产品就能获得高额利润的日子已经成为过去。新出现的众多财务压力集合在一起就会压低出口商的利润率，甚至让它们惨遭淘汰。

    中国出口商在业务管理方面应该实施的一项根本性升级是它们出口货物时的风险管理策略。中国出口商在赊销方面的经验以及对这种贸易方式的理解严重不足。他们并不熟悉海外那些采用赊销方式的公司，因此在收回海外欠款时面临着巨大的风险和挑战。

    这些欠款中，很大一部分都源于目前处于吃紧的现金流状况，出现这种局面的原因则是信贷紧张和海外市场需求下降。还有一部分欠款是打算空手套白狼的海外客户故意为之。无论本意如何，一系列可识别的行为都能表明债务人想拖欠款项、甚至干脆不付款。

    本月，我将和大家分享一些“债务人的致命把戏”。这些把戏平淡无奇，每天客户都会向我们反映这样的问题。而且，和之前跟大家分享的“神话与现实”一样，这些都是现实世界中的实际情况。那么，让我们看看债务人的这些致命把戏中较为普通的几个：

    债务人把戏之一：部分付款，不签署购销合同

    部分付款而不签署购销合同是债务人的惯用伎俩。买方只支付一部分货款，然后就会表现得像付了全款一样，全然不顾原先商定的价格。他们认为中国出口商会忍气吞声，接受他们支付的货款。

    狡猾的海外买家也会用这种方法来重新压价，此时他们早已下了订单，货物也早已运达。中国出口商的处境很糟糕，因为买方已经拿到了货，而出口商在大多数情况下可能都没有签合同——这份合同可以在买方所在市场履行，因而不会让他们陷入这种境地。在这种情况下，出口商陷于被动境地，通常只能任由买方宰割。

    债务人把戏之二：失去主要客户/等待客户付款

    为了不付款或者晚付款，买方经常使用的另一个伎俩是宣称自己失去了一位主要客户，因此无钱可付。套用同样的办法，债务人还可以说在他们的客户付款前自己没有支付能力。

    It is no secret that over the past few years, the global economy has undergone a slowdown causing a shrinking demand for China exports. It is also no secret that overcapacity problems in China and exporters from other countries competing directly with China exporters are top-line concerns for China exporters. China manufacturers have seen their competition increase while export sales and profits shrink.

    Another top-line problem that is not frequently discussed openly, but is discussed in quiet, concerned whispers among China exporters is the value of the exporter’s uncollected overseas receivables has grown dramatically, and is only increasing. The reality is that exporters are facing a minimum 5% bad-debt-to-sales ratio. When faced with increased costs and shrinking profits, continuously absorbing a loss of 5% is unsustainable.

    To improve their competitive edge, China exporters must upgrade business management practices to remain viable in the marketplace. The old days of exporters making big profits by simply selling at the lowest price are gone. Too many new financial pressures are combining causing profit margins for the exporters to shrink or forcing them to go out of business.

    One fundamental upgrade to business management practices that exporters should apply is their risk management strategies when selling into overseas markets. Sales by using OA terms is an area where China exporters are deeply lacking expertise and understanding. Business conducted in overseas markets using OA terms is not a business discipline that exporters are familiar with. As a result exporters are exposed to huge risks and face challenges with collection of their overseas debts.

    Much of that debt is the offspring of the current cash flow crunch born of tight credit and reduced demand in the overseas markets. Some is the result of deliberate attempts by overseas customers to fraudulently obtain products without paying. Regardless of their intent, there are a number of recognizable debtor actions that indicate an overseas customer is seeking to delay or avoid payment.

    This month I’ll share with you some of the Deadly Games that Debtors Play. These games are commonplace occurrences that we hear every day from our clients and, like the previous Myths and Realities shared with you, are real-world situations. So let’s look at some of the more commonplace “Deadly Games Debtors Play”:

    Debtor Game #1: Partial Payment Without Seller Agreement

    Partial payment without seller agreement is a typical technique debtors often attempt. The buyer simply will make a partial payment and then behave as if that is all they are going to pay in spite of the original agreed price. They assume the China exporter will give up and simply accept this as the debtor’s payment for the merchandise.

    This is also a technique that is used by a crafty overseas buyer to re-negotiate for a lower price long after the order was placed and the shipment has arrived. The China exporter is in a bad situation because the buyer has the goods and the exporter - most likely - does not have a contract to protect themselves from this situation that is enforceable in the buyer’s market. So the exporter is now stuck in a bad situation and usually is at the mercy of the buyer.

    Debtor Game #2: Lost Major Customer / Awaiting Customer Payment

    Another frequently used technique to avoid or postpone payment is where the buyer claims that they lost a major customer and thus cannot afford to pay. A common variant on this same technique is for the debtor to claim inability to pay until their customer pays for the merchandise.