Free course · End-to-end export + SAP
Export Process
Export order, pricing and Incoterms, licences, packing and marking, shipping bill, booking freight, documents for payment and export incentives.
What you must take away
- Flow: enquiry → quote with Incoterm → export order → production/packing → booking → customs → shipment → documents → payment.
- Export packing must survive the journey: right cartons, pallets, marks and labels.
- Documents must match exactly: invoice, packing list, B/L, certificate of origin, insurance.
- Check exporter registration, licences and incentive schemes before quoting.
In the SAP process
- Create the export sales order with Incoterms (VA01).
- Create the outbound delivery and pick/pack (VL01N).
- Create the shipment and post goods issue.
- Create the export billing document (VF01) and print export documents.
Case study
Getting paid on time under an LC
Setting. A small exporter of engineering goods selling to the Middle East under letters of credit.
Problem. Banks rejected documents several times, delaying payment by weeks.
How it was investigated
- Invoice descriptions did not match the LC wording.
- B/L dates were after the LC's latest shipment date.
- Packing list weights differed from the B/L.
What was changed
- Built a document checklist copied word-for-word from each LC.
- Booked vessels with a margin before the latest shipment date.
- One person checked every set before submission.
Outcome. Discrepancies dropped to almost zero and payment arrived within days of shipment.
Lesson: In exports, the paperwork is the product the bank buys.
Illustrative composite of common shop-floor situations — no client names or confidential figures.
Practical template
Export shipment tracker
Follow each export order from booking to payment.
| Order | Customer | Incoterm | Booking no. | Shipping bill | ETD | Docs sent | Payment received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXP-2026-018 | Gulf Tools LLC | CIF Jebel Ali | BKG77812 | SB-445901 | 22-Oct | Y | Pending |
How to use it
- Add a row when the order is confirmed.
- Update booking, customs and ETD as they happen.
- Chase documents and payment until closed.
Quick quiz — check your understanding
The quiz questions stay hidden until you have spent at least one minute reading this lesson — answer from what you learned, not from clues in the options.