A UK-based regional chamber of commerce has launched a service to produce documents required for export letters of credit (L/Cs) as well as other documents required by exporters.

The scheme launched by the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce (WMCC) is known as Acorn Interactive and is aimed at making entering export markets easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Specialist expertise

According to the chamber, SMEs looking to export can now access all the documentation and services needed for international trade online in one place by using Acorn Interactive.

The new service also claims to provide specialist expertise to handle L/Cs, translation services, online credit checks and cargo insurance.

Benefits

According to WMCC's director of business development, Helen Phillips, Acorn Interactive "will save businesses time, in that all possible export documents can be prepared by entering the data just once."

"The documents can then be shared with and collected by the overseas customer or printed and sent to the bank or other third party as required," she explains.

Training courses

The service is available through any local chamber in the West Midlands region.

The WMCC is also planning import and export training courses, including an online interactive course for delegates who prefer to train in their own time.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.