Agent
From Supply Chain Management Encyclopedia
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- | * An indirect agent is a person who, though being an agent, treats with the third party in his own name. The commissioner is an indirect agent.|| | + | * An indirect agent is a person who, though being an agent, treats with the third party in his own name. The commissioner is an indirect agent. |
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* ''In civil law countries'' | * ''In civil law countries'' | ||
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Revision as of 09:48, 12 July 2012
Russian: Агент
Contents |
Introduction
Agent is a person or business authorized to act on another's behalf. To understand better the dissimilarities between Agent and Principal (while these dissimilarities are considered as negligible in USA) one could use the following check-list [1] (Table 1). An agent is usually a small firm or an individual located in the importing country who acts as a manufacturer's (seller's) representative for the exporter. Therefore an agent does not take title to the goods it sells but earns a commission on the sales it makes. In its relationship with an agent, the exporter is known as the Principal. An agent often has several principals and generally sells a group of complementary products rather than products that compete directly with one another. The agent will handle all of the sales functions for the exporter, from the initial prospecting for customers to the close.
The agent is usually given varying support by the exporter: Some exporters provide only the bare minimum of a sales brochure and a price list, while the more experienced exporters provide training on the product's characteristics, analysis on the competitors' products, information on the sales and service philosophy of the company, sales support in the form of samples, catalogs (translated or adapted), trade advertising, and financial support to attend trade shows, technical visits by corporate engineers, participation in sales incentive programs, and so on [2].
Types of Agents
There are three kinds of agent which are classified by the law, the first is the universal agent. A universal agent can do most things for the principal in the principle agent relationship. The universal agent may be appointed by power of attorney. The power of attorney is the deed signed by the principal and witnessed by the principal. The donor of the power gives the the agent or the attorney the power or the authority to act on behalf of the principal. For example, the principal may be traveling or living overseas or maybe in hospital or have limited mobility. The power of attorney may be general or it may be limited to a particular area, a particular purpose such as the sale of a particular property or a period of time such as one year or until someone returns from overseas. The power of attorney can be stopped like any other agency appointment[3].
The other types of an agency type relationship include the general agent which has less power than universal agent. The general agent can make contracts and do things for the principal, this one may do things which are normal in the ordinary business of the principal. For example, the agent may be employed to manage all the principal's shops or may be employed as a traveling representative or may be employed to do an act which is within the normal scope of the agencies own business. The final type of agent is a special agent which is limited and has even more narrowly defined powers than universal and the general agent. The special agent is appointed for a specific purpose or to do something which is not within the course of the agents than usual business. For example, a real estate agent may be appointed a special agent not to sell a house but to sell furniture in the house, because selling furniture is outside the ordinary business of real estate agent. Many occupations including accountants and travel agents fit in this model[4]. Some other types of agents are presented in the Table 2 below.
Table 1. Who am I, Distributor or Agent? - Check-List
Comparative Factors | I am Supplyer’s Distributor if….. | I am Principal’s Agent if….. |
Risk |
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|
Attitude to Customers |
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|
Compensation |
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|
Sales Amount Information |
|
|
Pricing Policy |
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|
Sales Policy |
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|
Authority |
|
|
Customer's Perception |
|
|
Contacts wits Customers |
|
|
Non-Payment |
|
|
Ad and Promo Costs |
|
|
Warehousing |
|
|
Table 2. Main Types of Agents
Type of agent | DEFINITION | COMMENTS, CASES, RESOURCES, AND OTHER RELEVANT MISCELLANEOUS | |
General agent |
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| |
Agent of necessity |
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| |
Del Credere agent[7] |
|
| |
Factor |
|
| |
Special Agent |
|
| |
Broker |
|
| |
Commission agent *)[11] |
|
| |
Direct agent |
|
| |
Indirect agent |
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| |
Agent carrying stock (Mercantile agent)[13] |
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| |
Confirming house (Export house)[14] |
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| |
Freight forwarder[15] |
|
| |
LEGEND: | CIL = Civil Law; COL = Common Law; *) Commission agent (COL) has not the same meaning as self-employed commercial agents (CIL). |
References
- ↑ Auerbach, R. Am I an agent or a distributor? - www.marketnewzealand.com/auerbach -accessed 01/27/2007
- ↑ David, P., Stewart, R. International Logistics: The Management of International Trade Operations - Thomson: Mason, Ohio. 2007. – Sec.4-3a.
- ↑ Coleman, D.A. What Are the Different Types of Agents in Business? - http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-the-Different-Types-of-Agents-in-Business?&id=5943706 - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ ibid
- ↑ http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/courses/LA313_Commercial_Law/Cases/Swiss_Air_v_Palmer.html - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ - http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/courses/LA313_Commercial_Law/Cases/China_Pacific_v_Food_Corporation.html - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ Schmitthoff’s Export Trade: The Law and Practice of International Trade by Murray, C., Holloway, D., Timson-Hunt, D., Sweet Maxwell, Thomson Reuter, London, 2009. - pp.708-9.
- ↑ http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/courses/LA313_Commercial_Law/Cases/Churchill_v_Goddard.html - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ http://business.yourdictionary.com/special-agent - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ Spiro, R.L., Stanton, W.J., Rich, G.A.. Management of a sales force . 12th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003
- ↑ Schmitthoff’s... Op.cit. - pp.709-710.
- ↑ The Civil Code of the Russian Federation - Russian Civil Law – Ch.49, Arts. 971-979; Ch.51, Arts.990-1004 - accessed 15/07/2011
- ↑ Schmitthoff’s... Op.cit. - pp.709-710.
- ↑ ibid - pp.710-715.
- ↑ ibid - pp.715-720.
- ↑ http://dictionary.infoplease.com/freight-forwarder - accessed 05/10/2012
- ↑ Freight Forwarder Guidance - Bureau of Industry and Security U.S. Department of Commerce - http://www.bis.doc.gov/complianceandenforcement/freightforwarderguidance.htm - accessed 05/05/2012