1. What knowledge and skills are required to be successful as an export coordinator?
2. What do you think is the best part of Mikkel’s job? The worst part?
3. If you were in Mikkel’s position, what would your next career move be?

Mikkel Jakobsen works as an export coordinator with Shipco Transport, a subsidiary of Scan-Group, a major European transportation company. Shipco Transport has offices all over the world, including 12 branches in North America. Shipco has an extensive network of independent agents in most areas of the world. Shipco’s core business is Less than a Container Load (LCL) ocean freight, but it also offers Full Container Load (FCL) ocean freight services, as well as airfreight. Mikkel and four other coworkers constitute the company’s FCL Chicago branch export team.

As a Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC), Shipco Transport operates similarly to shipping companies such as Maersk Sealand, Mediterranean Shipping Company, and others, with one key difference: Shipco has no vessels of its own. Instead, Shipco relies on favorable contracts with more than 40 carriers, enabling Shipco to offer competitive rates on routings to destinations around the world. Most of Shipco’s customers are freight forwarders, but the company also deals directly with exporting companies and, on occasion, private individuals. Because of its Midwest location, a significant number of containers come through Chicago on a daily basis and are railed to ports around the country.
In 2006, Mikkel earned a BA degree in international management and economics from a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. He is a citizen of Denmark, and currently works in the United States on a J-1 work visa sponsored by Shipco Transport. How did he get his first job after graduating? Mikkel explains, “In the spring of 2006, I contacted 15 different companies operating in the United States that had a connection to Denmark. I was offered a position in Shipco Transport’s Chicago branch.”

Mikkel’s day begins at 8:30 a.m., and usually ends at 5:30 p.m., depending on the workload. Most customers are located in the Midwest, but overnight, he receives e-mails from overseas that he processes in the morning hours. Mikkel says: In general, my job consists of quoting out shipping costs to customers, placing bookings with steamship lines, preparing export documentation, and dealing with problems that arise during the container’s journey from shipper to consignee.

A customer contacts me with a rate request on a certain routing. He may wish to ship one 20-foot container with auto parts from Indianola, to the port of Ningbo, China. Based on our carrier contracts, I work up a quote including drayage from Indianola, Iowa, to the appropriate rail hub, rail transportation from hub to port, and ocean freight from U.S port to port of discharge Ningbo. Several things must be considered including what carrier is cheapest on the routing, differences in transit times, if the commodity is covered in the contract, and what profit level is appropriate. If the customer accepts the quote, the booking is placed with the steamship line, and a dispatch is sent to the chosen trucking company. Certain situations need additional attention. If the commodity is hazardous, the hazardous declaration must be approved by the steamship line. Also, certain goods, such as automobiles, must be cleared by customs before leaving the United States to avoid U.S. customs demanding the return of the container for inspection, at the expense of the party at fault.

Although quoting and setting up bookings takes up a lot of my work day, the majority is spent addressing various problems and issues that arise. Problems such as carriers running out of equipment at their depots, loadings taking longer than expected, or rail delays are common and dealt with regularly. More serious issues are derailments, problems securing payment, and container abandonment. As an example, disposing of scrap materials in the United States can be expensive, and in the past, some have overcome the problem by loading it in a container and sending it to places like India as a collect shipment with a nonexistent consignee. This can become an extremely costly situation as demurrage [storage charges], unloading, and disposal charges may apply.