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About Melike Cimen

Melike is originally from Turkey, where she earned a BA from Istanbul University. She has extensive experience in sales, both in the US and internationally, and eventually established her own business which she managed for 2 years. Finally she moved back to Los Angeles, and has been with MTS since August 2011.

3PL – Third Party Logistics

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Third party logistics companies provide logistics services for their client for part, or all of their supply chain management functions. Most of the providers have combined operation like warehousing and transportation services which can be customized according to their customers’ needs.

Customers’ need and market conditions often set the specialty of the provider. If you think about the entire supply chain operation, starting from manufacturing, to packaging, labeling, transportation, warehousing and distribution, there are a lot of steps, requirements and demands involved. Companies may choose to outsource any of these steps of the supply chain to a third-party logistics provider. Outsourcing services to providers may help cut transportation costs, reduce inventory, improve business processes, technology strategy and integration, manage supply level and improve customer service.

We even see today some experienced import and export companies providing some of their services to other companies because of their well established infrastructure and technology.

There are 4 types of 3PL providers and each of them specializes in different services: [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Regulations, Shipping Trends, Supply Chain Planning

Canton Fair

December 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chinese Export Commodities Fair also known as Canton Fair is held twice a year in Guangzhou during spring and autumn, with a history of 55 years since 1957 and co-organized by the China Foreign Trade Centre and the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province. Canton Fair is the biggest fair in China and now in the world with the assortment of products, number of attendance and the number of deals made. Canton Fair has become a microcosm of China’s growth in international trade. Because of its long history, the fair is becoming increasingly sophisticated in its execution and comprehensive in its scope as the government-sponsored organization is committed to continuously adapting its functions to take advantage of the status of China in international trade as well as to promote and further its development. 

As a bridge to commerce in China, the Canton Fair attracts diverse participants from across the world to see wide range of products in a comprehensive exhibition. The Canton fair has 50 specialized exhibition zones in fifteen major categories with an almost endless variety of products at the one exhibition.

Competition at the Fair has also increased among exhibitors and buyers, from little in the early days, with the increase in the number of suppliers and resulting wider range of competitors. The increase in competition has made it a significant business exercise for foreign companies to find the best deals and expand their purchasing from China.

Despite the general downturn in the global economy, the Canton Fair, with its 55-year history, remains a highly profitable and prestigious event in 2012. Generating an unrivalled volume of business transactions and boasting a vast exhibition area of more than 1 million square meters, it is widely regarded as the best gateway into the Chinese market. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business, Global Trade, Supply Chain Planning

Endeavour’s Last Flight

October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The story began on August 1987 when Congress granted to build Endeavour as a replacement for the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger.  A national competition which involved students in elementary and secondary school  to decide the name of an orbiter for the first time and the winning name was announced by President George Bush in May 1989. Endeavuor was inspired by the British explorer James Cook’s ship which he took on his first voyage of discovery (1768-1771).

Endeavour arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility on May 7, 1991 as the 5th Space Shuttle. Its first flight for the STS-49 mission occurred on May 7, 1992 with a flawless liftoff. After completing 24 successful flights during its carrier, Endeavour took its 25th and final flight for mission STS-134 on May 16, 2011. After serving 19 years, it was time for its retirement. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business

What You Should Know When Requesting an Ocean Freight Quote

August 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

Ocean freight is one of the biggest costs for importers today, and it’s not exactly getting any cheaper. Ocean freight cost has been and is steadily increasing, which makes it hold a bigger and bigger piece of importers’ overall expenses. For this reason, it is critical to know how to calculate the shipping cost. It is so important to provide the most complete information to your transportation partner when requesting a quote, in order to get the most accurate ocean freight cost.

Origin/Destination:

The most basic required information is to know where the cargo needs to be picked up and where it needs to be delivered. Pay attention to your agreement with your supplier, and find out what exactly your supplier is responsible for. Are they only loading the container, and it needs to be picked up from the factory/warehouse or are they delivering the container to the closest port? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Global Trade, Supply Chain Planning

Success In Sales

June 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Have you heard the saying “a good salesperson can sell anything no matter the product or the service.” Is this really true? This saying probably comes from the time of door to door sales,  when there was no TV and practically zero competition. Today there are different steps involved in sales, or in other words other qualifications required to be a successful sales person. You have to be a good marketer, you need to be knowledgeable about your competitor, your market, your product, also you have to be well organized and structured. Here are some examples:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: General Business

B2B Cold Calls

April 9, 2012 By 2 Comments

Telemarketing, or in fashionable words cold calling, is one of the most important tools of marketing in today’s world. Some says it’s a waste of time, while some says it’s essential in some industries. If you know the rules of cold calling, you could get terrific results.

What exactly is the definition of cold calling?
It is contacting your target audience directly. Instead of them calling or coming to you, you go to them first.

Other marketing techniques aim to get the target audience to contact to the company willingly. That’s why cold calling is tougher than other marketing tools. You are basically disturbing someone, and trying to make them listen to what you are selling, often against their will. I have made countless cold calls and here are the things I have learned. Before you pick up that phone, here are a few things to consider:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized