Letters of Order

An order is a business letter in which a customer requests for goods and services. When ordering goods, a customer will generally include the following in his letter:

(a) A reference to a visit by the supplier’s representative, or to an advertisement or catalogue, or to a sample, or to previous correspondence. This applies particularly to a first order. In subsequent orders the buyer may begin his letter with:

(b) Details of the goods required: quantity, quality, catalogue, number, packing, etc.

(c) Conditions and qualifications.

(d) Alternatives which are acceptable if the goods ordered are not available.

(e) A closing sentence, perhaps encouraging the supplier to execute the order promptly and with care.

Exercise 18 Read and translate the order.

FOURNIER ET CIE Importers of Fashion Goods Avenue Ravigny 14 PARIS Paris XV The Western Shoe Co. Ltd. 30 October 2010 Yeovil, Somerset S19 3AF England Dear Sirs Thank you for your letter of 15 October. As you will already know, your Mr J.Needham called on us a few days ago and left a range of samples. We think articles of this quality will find a ready market here, and we are prepared to order the following as a stock trial order: 20 ‘Angela’ evening bangs, catalogue no. 5 50 ‘Veronica’ beauty boxes, catalogue no. 17 50 ‘Daphne’ handbags, catalogue no. 27a 50 ‘Gloria’ handbags, catalogue no. 28 If nos. 27a and 28 are not available for immediate delivery, as Mr Needham suggested might be the case, please send nos. 27 and 28a instead. Since we must have the goods on display in time for the Christmas season, our order is placed on condition that they are dispatched by 10 November at the latest. As soon as we receive your confirmation and pro-forma invoice, we will arrange for settlement by banker’s transfer. We are looking forward to hearing from you shortly. Yours faithfully FOURNEIR ET CIE SA

Exercise 19 Here are some suggestions for sentences which you might include in a routine order. Read and translate them.

Opening phrases

1. Thank you for your offer of …, which we accept on the terms quoted.

2. Thank you for your catalogue and price list. Kindly send us as soon as possible …

3. Thank you for letting us have samples of … . We would be glad if you would supply us with …

4. Please send through our forwarding agents, K.Jones and Co.Ltd., Sunderland Avenue, Southampton, the following goods: …

5. Will you please arrange immediate dispatch of …

Referring to quality, etc.

1. We must point out that the machines must be guaranteed to be to our own specification.

2. Please supply in assorted colours, preferably 6 dozen each of red, yellow, green blue and brown.

3. There is no market here for the higher-priced cameras. Please send only models in the medium price-range.

4. We enclose a trial order. If the quality is up to our expectations, we shall send further orders in the near future.

5. We are arranging for the consignment to be inspected before shipment and must ask you to send only goods in perfect conditions.

Exercise 20 Match the two columns.

1. Trial order	(a) The customer places one order for a certain quantity of goods to be delivered at regular intervals, e.g. 500kg of coffee on the first day of each month.
2. Firm order	(b) The second order placed with a company.
3. Standing order	(c) The customer orders a small quantity of goods to test the quality.
4. Initial order	(d) The customer commits himself to buying the goods. This type of order may have a fixed delivery date.
5. Follow-up order	(e) The first order placed with a company.
6. Merchandise on call	(f) The customer orders the goods a long time before he needs them or a long time before they are available.
7. Advance order	(g) The customer orders goods in large quantities.
8. Bulk order	(h) The customer orders exactly the same goods as before.
9. Repeat order	(i) The customer places one order for a quantity of goods which he has delivered in parts as and when he needs them.

Exercise 21 Here are some phrases from order letters. What kind of orders have these customers placed?

1. Please send us the following coffee for test purposes: 100g French roast, 100g Brazilian breakfast, 100g Jamaican blend. 2. … would be grateful if you could send us as before … 3. … if there is any possibility of your granting us a quantity discount on this order? 4. If this order proves satisfactory we will place a second order next month. 5. … and so we will call you whenever we require new stocks. 6. … to be delivered by the end of the first week of every month. 7. … 20,000 pairs of white tennis shoes @ $15 a pair … 8. … to reorder the goods, the order of which was placed on 17^th March. 9. … 200 reams of paper to be delivered on the last working day of each month, Saturdays excepted. 10. As our warehouse space is limited and customer demand for the goods is high, we would like to place a … 11. …and as we have heard that supply is becoming increasingly difficult, we would like to place an order now for the goods to be delivered at the beginning of next year. 12. … quality and quantity as before.

Exercise 22 a) What kind of order do you think each of these customers would place? There may be more than one correct answer.

1. Mr.Brown import carpets from Turkey. Recently a business friend gave him the name of a new supplier in Turkey. 2. Mrs.Garrick has a small clothes shop. Her clothes sell very quickly and so she prefers to order large quantities. However, she doesn’t have enough space in the back of her shop to store a lot of clothes. 3. Mr.Wheeler is the owner of a pet shop. He specializes in reptiles, especially snakes. Recently he heard from his supplier that in the next few months it will become increasingly difficult to import them, and so snakes ordered after the end of this year will become considerably more expensive. 4. Mrs.Collins is the owner of a cheese shop in the south of England. She sells large quantities of some types of cheese, for example Cheddar, and would find it convenient to have the Cheddar delivered every week. 5. Mr.Graham manufactures machines to specification. He needs some parts to complete a machine which he is currently building. However, he is a bit worried as the customer needs the machine in 4 weeks’ time, and this won’t be possible if he doesn’t get the parts by a certain date. 6. Mr.Vintner is an exclusive retailer of fine wines. Every year, he likes to have just one bottle of each new wine to try before deciding whether or not to stock it in his shop. 7. Recently Mrs.Johnson, the owner of a bookshop, ordered 20 copies of a new cookery book. The book sold so well that she has decided to order another 30 copies.

b) Choose three situations from a) and compose orders for them.

Exercise 23 a) Read and translate the dialogue ‘Discussing the order’.

Brandon: Good afternoon, Mr. Salivan!

Salivan: Good afternoon, Mr. Brandon! How are you getting on?

B: Fine, thanks! And what about you?

S: Not so bad, thank you. Well, let’s speak to the point. As you know we are extending our business and we want to buy your equipment for producing some goods in Ukraine. To tell the truth we are interested in the work with you company. We know that your company produces the sort of equipment we need. It provides advanced technology and efficient service.

B: Dear, Mr. Salivan! Our new equipment is the best choice for your company! If you buy our equipment we’ll visit your factory and study your requirements. We have worked hard and we have achieved some success. Now our equipment corresponds to the highest technical level and the highest standards existing in the world today.

S: How long is the guarantee period for your equipment?

B: It was about 12 month, but now the service life of our equipment has been increased.

S: Really? I’m very pleased to hear it. How long will it take you to deliver two sets of this equipment to Kharkov?

B: I think about two weeks, not more.

S: And to put it into operation?

B: Two or three days depending on the model.

S: Is it possible to arrange training for our operators in your training centers?

B: There is no need in training centers. Our equipment is fully computerized. It’s easy for even inexperienced personnel to operate it. And of course we provide technical support for all our equipment. And don’t worry! It’s easy to adapt our equipment to your conditions.

S: Thank you for this information.

B: You are welcome. Goodbye.

S: Goodbye.

b) Translate into English using the above dialogue.

Говорити по суті, насущна проблема, заключити угоду, розширити бізнес, продовжуйте, передові технології, забезпечувати, ефективна система сервісу, збільшувати, вибір, вимоги, комплекти, ввести до експлуатації, скоротити, технологічний рівень, організувати навчання, пуск, непідготовлений персонал, пристосувати, відповісти на усі питання, з нашим обладнанням легко працювати.

с) Translate the following sentences.

1. Який гарантійний строк на ваше обладнання? 2. Скільки часу Вам потрібно, щоб ввести його в експлуатацію? 3. Чи можливо приладнати ваше обладнання до наших умов? 4. Чи можливо організувати підготовку наших співробітників у ваших навчальних центрах? 5. Скільки часу вам буде потрібно на доставку двох комплектів обладнання до нашої країни? 6. Містер Фролов відповість на усі ваші запитання. 7. Давайте обговоримо усе по суті.

d) Translate the dialogue.

Джексон: Доброго ранку, містер Bоронін. Як справи?

Воронин: Добре, дякую.

Д: Чи читали Ви наші рекламні матеріали? Чи зацікавило Вас наше технологічне обладнання?

B: Так, ми бажаємо придбати ваше обладнання для виробництва деяких товарів у Харкові. Ми знаємо, що ваша компания виробляє той вид обладнання, що нам потрібен. Нам відомо, що ваша компанія забезпечує передові технології та ефективну систему сервісу.

Д: Так, наше обладнання – це найкращий вибір для вашої компанії. Воно відповідає найвищому технологічному рівню та задовольняє найбільш строгим вимогам міжнародних стандартів. Воно повністю комп’ютеризовано. З ним легко працювати навіть непідготовленому персоналу.

В: Давайте обговоримо деякі питання нашої угоди. Який гарантійний строк на ваше обладнання?

Д: 12 місяців з дня пуску обладнання.

В: Який час вам потрібен на доставку двох комплектів обладнання до Харкова?

Д: Два-три тижні з моменту сплати.

В: Скільки потрібно часу, щоб ввести його до експлуатації?

Д: Від 2 до 5 днів в залежності від моделі.

В: Це нас влаштовує. Я пропоную заключити контракт з Вашою компанією до кінця цього тижня.

Д: Чудово. Сподіваюсь побачити Вас завтра.

В: До побачення.

Д: До побачення.