Merchant in wholesale and foreign trade

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Wholesale and foreign trade merchant or wholesale merchant (Austria) is a state-recognized training occupation in Germany and Austria. In this occupation in the trade division , all commercial activities are carried out, from obtaining offers to storage and sales.

In 2011, 16,147 new training contracts were concluded in Germany. On the ranking list of apprenticeships after new degrees in Germany, he is 6th.

Job description and tasks

Wholesale merchants work in the offices of wholesalers, in the field or in warehouses and sales rooms. Tasks are the buying and selling of goods for industrial companies, intermediaries and retailers . Wholesale merchants ensure that the goods are delivered to the customer on time. They give customers comprehensive advice on the properties of the goods and have an overview of the manufacturers and the market . They also offer advice on financing, service and marketing. In Germany they specialize in foreign trade or wholesale, depending on the number of contacts abroad or in Germany.

education

Germany

A basic distinction is made here between the fields of wholesale and foreign trade . This results in a different weighting of the training content. In most cases, the intermediate qualification is a prerequisite for training . Most training companies nowadays, however, require the school-based part of the technical college entrance qualification, since a lot of knowledge is already available for this degree due to the subjects of business administration and accounting. The training usually lasts three years (shortenings are possible) and ends with the final examination at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry .

Choice of focus of training

The choice of subject is determined by the training company and its business focus, which is either more domestic or mainly international. In-company and school-based training conveys a range of common skills and knowledge, for example the organization of the training company, human resource management , merchandise management , sales management or accounting . In the case of the special knowledge of the wholesale trade, the focus is on the content of goods and warehouse management , while the foreign trade specialty focuses on foreign markets and the processing of foreign trade transactions as well as the use of foreign languages .

Austria

In contrast to Germany, the official designation in Austria under the Vocational Training Act (BAG) is a wholesale merchant. There are no subject areas to choose from, and the focus is more on the wholesale sector, with the associated training content being largely identical to that in Germany. Wholesale traders in Austria also complete a three-year apprenticeship in the form of dual training and at the end take the final apprenticeship examination. This examination is also the qualification for the office clerk apprenticeship . Related apprenticeships, such as forwarding clerk or industrial clerk and many other commercial trades, can be completed with a shortened apprenticeship period.

Training opportunities

Germany

Trained wholesale and foreign trade merchants have the opportunity to acquire a higher commercial qualification by attending secondary technical schools . B. to acquire a specialist , specialist or business economist .

Foreign trade specialist

Synonymous job title for foreign trade specialist, export merchant, specialist - export economy or specialist - import / export. Foreign trade specialists take on qualified specialist or managerial tasks in foreign trade.

Your job includes the following tasks:

  • Observation of foreign markets
  • Initiation of export business: warehouse business, drop shipping and unloading business
  • Calculation of export prices according to Incoterms
  • Agreement on foreign trade-specific purchase contract points such as marking, designation of origin, quality and quantity determination, delivery dates, shipping dates and reservation of self-supply
  • Investigation of export programs and export routes
  • Foreign language correspondence
  • Goods and transport-related processing of foreign business: container transport with agreed distribution of tasks and costs
  • Interface to freight forwarders, ship brokers and shipping agents
  • Agreement of sea freight transport insurance
  • Customs clearance of goods
  • Issuing of transport documents: bill of lading ( English Bill of Lading ), international railway consignment note , bill of lading for road transport, air waybill , sea waybill , other accompanying documents , as well as freight forwarder shipping documents: FCR, FCT and FBL
  • Processing of goods delivery documents: partial bill of lading, shipping company delivery note, quay partial receipt, delivery order, delivery and warehouse receipt
  • Processing of import documents: import invoice, certificate of origin and single document
  • Control of freight and customs documents
  • Cost accounting processes and their processing
  • Payment-related document processing on a D / P or D / A basis
  • Payment-related document processing: cash against documents
  • Payment-related document processing: documents against acceptance
  • Step-by-step transactions in documentary credit processing
  • Finance-related processing via export factoring
  • Keeping of foreign trade statistics Intrastat

Business economist for international business

This training is possible as a merchant in wholesale and foreign trade with at least 5 years of professional experience or after studying for further qualification. The individual tasks are heavily dependent on previous education and personal inclinations. Business economists f. int. economy develop solutions for complex business and foreign trade-specific problems and handle tasks independently or as a team leader. You will observe foreign markets, analyze business and corporate policy situations when initiating export business, calculate export prices, design export programs, portfolios and export routes and conduct correspondence in foreign languages.

Main activities are also in the area of ​​sales or marketing: You identify potential business partners, obtain offers for products and services abroad and initiate contacts with important companies and institutions at trade fairs. The proper handling of international business, the issuing and use of foreign language documents, the control of freight and customs papers, the handling of cost accounting processes and the handling of complaints are part of her area of ​​responsibility.

Trade intermediary in foreign trade

In foreign trade there are a number of specific commercial agent professions

  • Export agent
  • Foreign representative
  • CIF agent
  • Commercial broker
  • Commission agent

Austria

In addition to many subject-specific advanced training courses, there are also academic training opportunities. Passing the final apprenticeship examination also enables access to the vocational matura (vocational matriculation examination) and, as a result, to higher qualifications at colleges, technical colleges and universities. There are numerous training courses in business administration or sales management for the wholesale sector, and university export courses for the foreign trade sector. The more complex the requirements in foreign trade become, the more likely applicants will be required to graduate.

literature

  • Edith Ullmer-Schulz, Claus-Uwe Böttger: Traffic theory of foreign trade . 3rd edition Feldhaus Verlag, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-88264-201-7 .
  • Gerhard Kühn, Helmut Schlick: Special economics in wholesale and foreign trade . Publishing house Dr. Max Gehlen, Bad Homburg 1996, ISBN 3-441-07045-3 (2 volumes).

Web links

Germany:

Austria:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ranking list of the training occupations of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)
  2. ↑ Training ordinance for wholesale traders  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 193 kB) of the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs, valid since 2004@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bmwfj.gv.at  
  3. ↑ Current examination regulations ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 71 kB) of the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs, valid since 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmwfj.gv.at