Schedule A:
Code of Conduct:
1. Accounts
All payment terms must be agreed between members.
Credit Agreements
It is now agreed that to provide protection and clarity in case of a dispute involving payments, all Five Star agents should create and adhere to individual credit agreements amongst themselves. (This can be just a simple clarification and agreement via email)
The agreement should cover credit terms, credit limits, maximum credit ceilings and minimum payments (to avoid bank charges)
These agreements are to be kept on file, and in the case of a dispute sent with the complaints form to the Committee.
Again in the event of any dispute the two parties involved must make every endeavour to sort the problem out between them, prior to entering the full grievance procedure.
Invoicing Dates
It is agreed that the Billing (or Invoicing) Date will be the shipping date on the HBL/HAWB Date ; (No invoices are to be dated before this date)
Currency Invoices are Paid In
The paying agent must make every effort to pay the receiving agent in the currency requested on their invoice.
If it is impossible (due to local banking restrictions) to pay in a requested currency then the paying agent must agree the amount needed to convert with the receiving agent so there is no loss when transfer is made.
All bank charges must be borne by the paying and not the receiving agent (except of course the local banks handling fee in the receiving agents country)
If a company does not adhere to the above and invoices are short paid on a regular basis, (and the short payment amounts are significant), they should be referred onto the Committee.
Late Payers
Any member is to contact the President after 3 emails have been sent chasing payment to a member, and no reply received.
Such an alert will trigger a credit warning status in the offending agents site entry (Code CREDWARN). The actual website page of the agent will also appear in red. The home page A-Z list will show any agent with a credit warning in red. Any agent that has been reported for going over their credit terms and has not paid despite 3 email chasers will be shown in BLUE on the home page list of countries. See the new section – Zero Tolerance – for more details lower in the accounts section of the code.
If the offending agent triggers 3 credit warnings, they will be expelled from the group. A member with 2 credit warnings against them will read CREDWARNX2.
Queried Invoices
Are not considered bad debts and so must not be forwarded to the President.
Agency Fees
All Membership fees are payable within 60 days of receipt of invoice. Fees not paid in 60 days will trigger a credit warning in blue on the website. Fees not paid in 3 months will trigger suspension.
Members may leave the FSFS Network at any time, however, their fees will not be refundable.
Members must refrain from using any FSFS material or logo after they have left.
Personal Guarantees
It is unworkable to obtain Personal Guarantees from fellow members. The same goes for bank guarantees. Instead members are asked to keep very strictly to their agreed credit limits. Do not offer agents extended credit as it is an FS Member, and do not exercise pressure to ask for extended credit for the same reason.
Freezing of Assets
This has been rejected as many FS members believe it is not legal, to hold a payment up to a member when they owe another member.
Instead the Zero Tolerance Policy will take precedence below.
Zero Tolerance Policy for Credit
1. Start date 1/11/2009
2. The Home page list of countries on the FS Website will now be color coded.
3. Code Red = Agents on Credit Warning – Do not offer credit
4. Code Blue = Agents reported as late payers by fellow members (Late means 15 days after terms are exceeded and no reply to 3 emails chasing payment) Once payments are made agent will go from Blue back to Green. The excuse, “we have not been paid by the client so we cannot pay” cannot be used to hold up payments.
5. Code Green = No risk agents
6. This system is non discriminatory, and will apply equally to all FS agents
7. The FS Committee will not be involved as the system is automatic
8. The only exception to this system is genuine queried invoices
Freight Deadbeats & Freight-Debt
Agents are advised if they wish to blacklist an agent to the above sites, they must report the offending agent themselves. The President will blacklist anyone who does not pay their annual membership fees
Global Credit Solutions (GCS)
Are available to deal with any international debts and their details (like also Freight Deadbeats and Freight-Debt) are listed in the website.
Go to the bottom tool bar and click on Debt Recovery link for full details and procedures.
FS members have requested to work together to provide each other with information and contact details of local lawyers in each others countries to chase debts locally if required.
Current List of Blacklisted Agents in Five Star
To see all agents suspended, terminated and blacklisted from Five Star, go to the Blacklisted agents link at the bottom tool bar of the home page of our web site.
2. Emails
It is now compulsory to show 2 email addresses in your website entry, so that members can send their requests to two options, in case one staff member is away, for back up purposes. Equally requesting members must send their requests to two contacts to avoid the above.
That emails, in the Subject box, should show the country and agents name, or the letters FS to grant easy identification and also to avoid loss to spam.
FSFS agents must acknowledge all communications within 24 hours, and reply in full in the shortest possible time thereafter.
In the case of a situation where business is threatened by a nil response it is agreed that the requesting agent must call the non reactive FS agent to obtain a direct answer.
3. Entry Criteria on Joining for Potential New Members
Any potential member applying to join must be Multi Modal (Air and Sea – Import and Export), not listed in another freight network, and established in the freight forwarding business for at least two years.
If FS cannot recruit a member agent for an open territory who is not in another network after exhaustive canvassing, then in order to provide coverage, service and potential business for its members, it will waiver the "one network rule" to recruit one member agent who belongs to another network.
All incoming agents will be subject to an open vetting by FS members (Pre Entry Viewing) prior to joining for a one week period, so any potential bad risk company may be identified and blocked from joining.
It is agreed by majority decision that a reserve bank of highly recommended agents be assembled in confidence in case key areas lose agents, so that for immediate continuity recommended reserve agents may replace the outgoing agent.
It will be fully understood that if any FS agent seeks a specialist agent that (for example) holds a specific security licence to execute a shipment, and the FS agent in the country of import/export does not, then the FS agent seeking such a licence will be compelled to go outside the network to another agent to fulfil their need.
FS will continue to seek high quality agents but due to the one agency rule, and the fact that recommendations are exhausted; we sometimes cannot obtain the perfect candidate with every criterion to join the group. As such outside agents can be sought to work with FS agents on specific shipments.
4. Declaring Restrictions of Your Services
It is compulsory to show in your site entry if you do not handle personal effects, or any other specific service.
5. Right to Refuse and Enquiry
Within reason, the option to refuse very difficult and time consuming requests or quotations is now enforced.
6. Business in General.
It is understood that old business relations must be maintained for old traffic, but it is now a high priority of the group to offer new business to our members, and even compare quotes from Five Star members with your established agents.
Sales leads and copies of HBLs / HAWBs must be shared as often as possible.
Routed traffic, (shipments not being handled at either side) details of buying party must be sent to agent in the relevant country for sales chase up.
All leads must be qualified with ALL the required information. (Input will equal output)
All leads must be actioned and answered within one week while they are live, and not allowed to go cold.
There will be no standard sales lead or quotation forms for the Group.
All rates must be honest net-net rates. For agents that come in with net-net rates too high, it is right to ask for a copy of the original quote to check.
All members must respect the nature of confidentially involved in all client-business relationships.
7. Agents Broadcasting Global Bulletins
It is forbidden for any agent to broadcast to the network any complaint or grievance they wish to air about another member.
Any complaint must be referred to the grievance procedure below.
Any agent who is rude or insulting to another member is to be immediately reported. That agent will be warned with a yellow card about their conduct. If they repeat such actions they will removed immediately from the group with a red card. FS agents expect and deserve a high level of professionalism and courtesy towards each other and will report anyone who behaves poorly.
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8. Grievance Procedure
If you have a genuine complaint against a fellow member, the procedure is;-
Complete the Formal Network Complaint Form, and send to the President in confidence. The President will then send the form on to the concerned party to answer the complaint. That party must reply in full within 2 weeks and return the form to the President.
The Committee is then advised and then the matter will be discussed with the two parties involved.
A decision will be made by the Committee and both parties must abide by it.
The whole process is kept confidential to protect everyone’s good name.
In cases of poor or non response, the complaints form can be used to notify the committee of a weak link in the group. The case reported must demonstrate a clear case of negligence, the minimum benchmark being 3 unanswered emails, or 3 different occasions when a response has not been provided.
Termination
If an agent is to receive termination, a one month notice will be given, and a global bulletin will be sent round warning of the termination. All members must then pay attention to get their outstanding dues paid by the outgoing member.
All means necessary (by working together) will be used to secure all FS agents payments are collected from the departing member.
9. No Confidence in a Network Agent
If it transpires that the President / Committee receives three separate complaints of unprofessional behavior resulting in lost business or clients, then the three strikes and out rule will apply and the member in question will be expelled.
Any agent expelled for malpractice will not have their fees refunded.
A coding will apply (WARNUNPR) and be listed in their site entry on the top right hand corner, 2 warnings will be (WARNUNPRX2)
Reporting Negative Agents
II you decide to cease using an FS member because you are dissatisfied with their service, attitude or performance, you must report your decision to the President. If any agent is reported more than once their position in the group will be seriously reviewed.
10. AGMS
The AGM will be held every year, in the same week, but checks on local holidays or restrictions to services must be cleared prior to an AGM being confirmed at a venue.
The duration will depend of numbers attending but an AGM will not be less than 2.5 days.
All FS agents are expected to attend an AGM at least once every third year. Very offline or poor economic countries must attend in this time and to be fair must attend the AGM that is held closest to their home continent. Only a very valid reason (eg serious health condition) will be accepted for not attending an AGM.
AGMs will be held in a different Continent every time to be geographically fair to all.
11. Website
It has been agreed that our website be made secure and closed for members only, and not to be accessed by others.
Members will access by their own user name and password.
To enhance security, it has been agreed that the website security access codes will be changed two times per year to avoid confusion, an email will be sent from the President advising all prime email contacts of the new codes, when each change occurs
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Members are encouraged to show they are a member of the network in their own websites, and business stationery, and to brand themselves to the network by means of using the supplied Five Star Logo.
It is compulsory to list more than one email contact in your site entry, in case prime contacts are away. You can list all departmental (generic) emails for sales, accounts and operations. Always the full name of the Prime Contact and position must be listed.
No agent is to advertise that they have an email address in any city if in fact they have no physical office there. (Ghost Offices).
12. Charity Scheme
It was agreed that such a benevolent scheme to help various global needy causes be introduced. This scheme however, will rely only on voluntary donations and will not be compulsory for any member. All donation amounts must be left up to the members, and donation amounts must be kept confidential.
Each year the cause for the scheme will be identified and located in the host country of the AGM. The AGM Host will identify the cause and advise the members (via the President) details of the aim of the cause.
The FS delegates may visit the recipient of the donations during the AGM.
All donations are to be sent to Transport Partners DXB (Tax free zone) , once the project is announced. FS committee will then approve the release of funds to the receiving agent who will oversee the donation being paid.
A report on how much we raised will be made available.
A feature on the progress of our aid projects will be incorporated into the website and into the FS On-Line Magazine.
13. Operations
Preparation of information for shipping to new countries
When shipping to a country for the first time, please do consult with, and get agreement from the FS agent at destination that the documentation is correct to avoid any delays, storage or penalties. A final emailing showing in effect a green light must be sent and agreed by the two agents, as if problems arise later, that green light email will be the evidence to determine the case.
Direct communication between the two agents planning the shipment is the best strategy; pre planning will avoid all problems. If agents want to publish any helpful information on their own websites as a back up that is good, but it is the communication that is critical when the shipment is live.
14. Indemnity
FSFS Network cannot and will not be held responsible for commercial and –or financial obligations and risks that are not met by any FSFS member.
FSFS Network does not accept responsibility for insurance claims or commercial risks borne out of the actions of its members.
15. Sales & Marketing
Profit Shares on Shipments
All profit shares must be advised and agreed before the execution of a shipment. Do not under any circumstances advise profit shares later, they must be agreed beforehand so all parties are satisfied.
Profit shares must be determined by the market and the agreement between agents.
On-Line Magazine
A new e-magazine will start on 1/1/2010. They will be produced quarterly.
All members are encouraged to send copy and material including photos to the President for inclusion in each edition.
Commercial news will be prominent, but personal news is equally encouraged. We trust this will demonstrate to inactive FS members how strong and dynamic the FS Network is.
Sales Lead Form
A new FS official sales lead form will be designed and sent to all FS Members.
This form is to be used by all FS members in future to send over fully qualified sales leads and its aim is to eradicate vague unqualified leads that have circulated around the group in the past.
Central Sales Offices
Received no support and as such the group will not adopt any centralized office or personnel to undertake sales to international corporations or bid for tenders (for example)
FS members wish to run their own businesses as they see fit and do not want a Big brother Network overseeing them.
16. PFI
PFI will operate and trade totally independently to Five Star
No agent will inter trade between either network.
There will be no transfers between networks
There will be no conflicts of interests between the two networks.
PFI is administered and run by another party.
17. General
The FSFS Committee may add or amend the FSFS Code of Conduct at any time.
FSFS members can pay for and cover an adjoining territory, if that area is vacant.
Within FSFS, members cannot promote offices in countries where they do not have official FS Membership there. Any member caught cross selling on another member’s territory will risk termination.
All FS Territories are granted as sole agency (except for the USA, China, Australia and South Africa)
All FS Members must be committed 100% to the FS Network and not belong to any other global freight networks.
If FS cannot recruit a member agent for an open territory who is not in another network after exhaustive canvassing, then in order to provide coverage, service and potential business for its members, it will waiver the "one network rule" to recruit one member agent who belongs to another network.
In order to confirm your understanding of the code, and that you agree to the Agency Agreement the code is annexed to, you must email back to the President stating that you have received them and that you agree to abide by them as a group member.
Member Agents who do not reply and confirm will not be deemed official members until they do so.
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