Turnkey import from Indonesia to Russia for small businesses

An online trading platform and a one-stop-shop system for sending goods from Indonesia to Russia was discussed in Jakarta at the Ministry of Trade at the initiative of an Indonesian entrepreneur.

The Indonesian Ministry of Trade has the Center of Export Competencies & Practices.

This institution, located separately from the head office of the Ministry of Trade, is a fusion of a competence center, campus, exhibition center and meeting and forum spaces. Here, current challenges are investigated, tasks are identified, solutions are developed, and then participants who have to implement a common cause are brought together on one platform.

Personally, I think it makes sesnse. Thanks to my age, I still remember such practices in the USSR, starting from the school level. Unfortunately, in our time, this approach is used, it seems, nowhere from the state structures of Russia. This creates a gap between physical reality and multiple fantasies about plans at different levels. /OlgaBv/

In the joint working session of the Export Center and the HOI cooperation platform, we considered the task of establishing infrastructure in the form of a “one window” (in Indonesia they say “one door”, for me it sounds more welcoming) for small Russian and Indonesian enterprises.

The bacchanalia that is taking place today in this area hinders the development of any entrepreneurial initiative. The most frequently used service is “$ 20 per kg - your product, your money, let's play”. At best, these are postal items.

The dominant simplistic models of understanding the world cloud the minds of aspiring entrepreneurs. Seems nothing difficult here - buy cheaper, sell more expensive? The difficulty is that you need to know the rules of the game that are established by jurisdictions of Indonesia, Russia and international trade and logistics regulations. You will also need to seriously delve into the financial and legal side of the processes.

Of course, for the sake of hundred bottles of cocnut oil, few people think of bothering with something like that. There are special companies for this. They take the trouble to organize legal goods for clients in the Russian Federation with all documents and settlements with counterparties. In general, this is the outsourcing of the work of a department of Foreign Economic Activity (FEA).

In this sense, it is more difficult with Bali, since there are no formed partnerships between foreign trade companies in Russia and Indonesia. Therefore, you can use such services in Russia, but you will have to organize the Indonesian part on your own, often the consequences of unprofessionalism are depressing. For example, plus a few thousand dollars to expenses for resolving the issue of low readiness of goods for a meeting with Russian customs.

Therefore, the Export Center and HOI conceived an infrastructure consisting of:

• two operational offices, "one window" in the RF and "one door" in the RI, to which are connected or included in commodity research forces, warehouses, logisticians, brokers, certification bodies on both sides;
• a trading 🇷🇺🇮🇩 online platform where verified manufacturers can enter into transactions with buyers from Russia with the possibility of online settlements;
• banking cooperation in servicing Russian-Indonesian transactions, here it is even possible to dream of direct ruble-rupee payments, bypassing dollars.

While HOI with the Indonesian company intended to invest in the creation of online platform, will hold preliminary discussions at the organizational and practical level, Center of Export practices will pay attention to the issue of interbank cooperation. The companies on both sides that will provide the functions of the operational offices have not yet been determined.

This Russian-Indonesian project became possible for implementation with the participation of the Center of Export Practices, since three months ago it was headed by Heryono Hadi Prasetyo, Trade Attaché of Indonesia in Russia 2015-2018, ideological inspirer of HOI.

In the countries where Mr. Prasetio served as a representative of the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia - successively in Nigeria, Dubai, Russia - his activities were aimed at practical assistance in face-to-face meetings between business and business. He talked about it a lot in public, in interviews and in work processes. That the direct interaction of commercial companies brings results greater than the relationship of official structures.

Now all the possibilities of the Export Center will facilitate the organization of international meetings of entrepreneurs with entrepreneurs, sellers with buyers, manufacturers with consumers, which will certainly serve to increase Indonesia's exports to all countries of the world, including Russia.