Logistics
What is Incoterms?
A standard set of three letter trade terms that define where a seller's responsibility ends and a buyer's begins on an international shipment. They settle who arranges transport, who pays which costs, and who carries the risk at each stage.
Why it matters in practice
Incoterms are the difference between a supplier quote you can compare and one you cannot. A price quoted at the factory door and a price quoted delivered to your warehouse can look similar and mean very different things once freight, insurance, customs filing and duty land on one side or the other. The useful habit is to ask which term a quote is written on before comparing two suppliers, then price the missing legs yourself so both quotes end at the same place. The terms are published by the International Chamber of Commerce and revised periodically, which is why contracts normally name the version they are using rather than the term alone.
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