Women entrepreneurs skilled on Logistics, Supply Chain Management and Advocacy on Cross-border e-Commerce

07.03.2023
A training course in support of the Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA) in preparation for a Public Private Dialogue on Logistics and Supply Chain Management for E-commerce, with a focus on logistics issues for Women Owned Exporting SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) was co-organized by the Improving Small Package E-Trade for SMEs (SeT4SME), EuroCham Cambodia, and CWEA. The public private dialogue will be organized in May.

The 3-day event commenced on 28th February 2023 with an aim to enhance the capacity of CWEA’s advocacy team to effectively write a policy white paper that will be recommended to the Royal Government of Cambodia on the issues of logistics and supply chain for women-owned exporting SMEs in the digital age.

The training included sessions on supply chain and logistics issues, procurement methods, modes of transport, customs issues, incoterms, and other shipping and trade terms. This dialogue included a two day interactive training course by Dr. Thomas E. Fernandez, a lecturer at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) and an INCO Terms 2020 accredited trainer in Thailand by the International Chamber of Commerce. This was followed by a half day training on advocacy and white paper writing by Eurocham’s Advocacy team.

"This training is very beneficial to me and my company. This course was an advanced training course that enabled me to understand the supply chain management, business flow, and money flow. As a business owner, we need to understand the process and how it works to manage the daily operation and to deal with problems."
Mrs. Chau Lon Molika, CEO & Founder of Cambodian Standard Development and Supply Co.,Ltd (CSDS)

The 1st day of the event focused on the fundamentals of supply chain and modes of transport, customs, and ethical sourcing. CWEA members were presented on the Key Performance Indicators in Supply Chain, and supply chain strategies, followed by procedures for small companies to export from Cambodia. They were also told of the Free Trade Agreements, EBA (Everything but Arms) agreements and other shipment requirements and of ways to find reliable suppliers.

"I was honored to be invited by Improving Small Package E-Trade for SMEs (SeT4SME) project to provide training in Logistics and Supply Chain Management to the Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA). The participants were highly motivated and contributed with their experiences and were clearly appreciative of the course content. It was a pleasure to work with them. I would like to thank the Alliance for this initiative, which helps the members of CWEA and Cambodia as a whole."
Dr. Thomas Fernandez, Lecturer and Researcher, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce

The 2nd day focused on transport in e-commerce and e-commerce platforms. A session on logistics services including airfreight, sea freight, trucking and parcel services was done, followed by a session on Incoterms 2020 and how pricing is affected. This was followed by a session on using various software and e-commerce inventory management. Day 2 concluded with discussion on the issues in the logistics sector.

The 3rd day focused on Advocacy and white paper writing. The sessions were led by the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, with demonstrations from Mr. Massimiliano Tropeano, EuroCham Garment & Sustainability Expert, followed by a keynote on Lobbying Skills for Successful Advocacy by Mr. Darcy Nicolle, CEO of Political Solutions SRL.

Cambodia
Trade
Improving Small Package E-Trade for SMEs
Improving Small Package E-Trade for SMEs (SeT4SME) is a two-year project (2021-2023) for the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation. This project aims to support Cambodia in improving its trade performance and driving inclusive growth in the country by enhancing trade facilitation implementation with improved transparency in trade practices and reduced time and cost of cross-border e-trade.