Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in export and import business begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In export and import business: Pick one product and one destination; study buyer standards, tariffs and shipping time.
- Write the customer in one sentence: an overseas buyer or a local importer. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many shipments could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs goods moved across a border.' Strong: 'Our first customer is an overseas buyer or a local importer within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 44.000 per shipment and complains about delay. We target 2 shipments a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for export and import business. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the shipment price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In export and import business: Classify goods with the common customs code, check licences, and use a licensed customs broker where required.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for export and import business: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new export and import business trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 200.000 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For goods moved across a border, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In export and import business: Quote with clear delivery terms, packing, insurance and payment security.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (goods moved across a border), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'Goods moved across a border, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 40.000 per shipment. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 40.000 to R$ 36.000 per shipment. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 6.000 to R$ 2.000 per shipment; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Pick one product line and one market where you already have a reliable supplier, and define a standard shipment, for example one container. Build the landed cost from goods, freight, insurance, port and customs broker charges, and haulage to the buyer. Quote the buyer a delivered price with clear delivery terms and a payment date. Ask the broker which documents and permits the product needs and confirm the product's customs classification before you accept an order. Ask two brokers for a written quote on the same shipment, and compare what is included: storage days, inspection, document handling and delivery. Hidden extras are the usual reason a margin disappears.
Extra worked example. One shipment is sold for R$ 40.000. Variable cost is R$ 26.000 for goods, R$ 4.500 for freight and insurance, R$ 2.200 for port charges and R$ 1.300 for haulage, so R$ 26.000 + R$ 4.500 + R$ 2.200 + R$ 1.300 = R$ 34.000. Margin is R$ 40.000 - R$ 34.000 = R$ 6.000, or 15 percent. Fixed cost is R$ 12.000 a month, so break-even is 12.000 / 6.000 = 2 shipments. These cost lines are made up for practice, not market data. Three containers leave R$ 6.000 after the broker retainer.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For export and import business, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In export and import business: Order flow: quote, contract, production, inspection, booking, customs, delivery, payment.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the shipment, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a verified paper set. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 2 shipments last week; cause: missing check on a verified paper set; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 3 shipments last month, 1 had a defect traced to a verified paper set. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 33 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is wrong classification or customs delay. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In export and import business: Risks: misclassification, delay, damage and payment default; use inspection, insurance and secured payment.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: wrong classification or customs delay. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each shipment, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: wrong classification or customs delay nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In export and import business: Train staff on documents and deadlines; one error can hold a container.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Give one clerk the document file for each shipment and teach a fixed order: purchase order, invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate and broker instructions. Check each page against the order before it leaves the desk. Practise a call with the broker and the carrier so you know who to phone when a container is held. Write down cut-off dates for each port and agree who covers when the clerk is away. Keep a contact sheet for the broker, carrier, bank, buyer and supplier, with office hours and time zones. A clerk who knows who to call within five minutes saves more than any software ever will.
Extra worked example. A document error on one shipment held the container 2 days at R$ 1.500 per day, which is R$ 3.000. Before training this happened every month. After a one-day course and a checklist it happened every second month. Expected saving is R$ 3.000 - R$ 1.500 = R$ 1.500 a month. The rework counts and wage rate are made up for practice, not market data. The course cost R$ 220 of the clerk's time, so the net gain in month one is R$ 1.500 - R$ 220 = R$ 1.280.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In export and import business: Price in two currencies and add freight, duties and exchange-rate buffer.
- Contribution per shipment = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 40.000, variable cost R$ 34.000, contribution R$ 6.000 per shipment. Fixed cost R$ 12.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 12.000 / R$ 6.000 = 2 shipments a month. At 3 shipments a month, profit = R$ 6.000 x 3 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 6.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 2 shipments a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 6.000 x 2 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 0; compare with break-even of 2 shipments and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In export and import business: Grow with repeat orders and consolidated shipments.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every shipment. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 2 shipments a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 4.000 to R$ 44.000. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Track each shipment in a sheet with order date, departure, arrival, clearance days, payment date and final margin. Compare suppliers on delay and defects, and buyers on payment time. Note which routes and delivery terms cost more than quoted. Ask your best buyer for a forecast of the next two quarters so you can book space early. Review prices when freight or exchange rates move more than you expected. Keep the original documents and the payment proof for each shipment in a folder named by order number, so a customs query or a buyer dispute months later takes minutes to answer.
Extra worked example. In a quarter you handle 9 shipments at R$ 40.000. Margin per shipment is R$ 6.000, so contribution is 9 x R$ 6.000 = R$ 54.000. Fixed cost for 3 months is R$ 36.000, so profit is R$ 18.000. Adding a fourth shipment each month gives 4 x R$ 6.000 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 12.000 a month, up from R$ 6.000. The what-if change is a worked-example assumption, not a forecast. The extra order also ties up R$ 40.000 until the buyer pays.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.
