In foreign trade work, you need to work together, store and forward files, plan various tasks, record work and learning experiences, etc. If you have the right tools to help complete these tasks, your work efficiency will be greatly improved. Here are some commonly used tools.
(I) Large file storage and sharing tools
If you need to send large videos and design files to customers, but cannot send them through email or send them too slowly, you can use Baidu Cloud or Google Drive to store and share them. After uploading the files to the cloud, send the customer a sharing link with a password, and the customer can download them easily. Baidu Cloud can store 2,000G files for free, and Google Drive can store 15G files for free. This capacity is enough for daily office work.
You can also create folders in the network disk to store files in categories. Since Baidu and Google have powerful search functions, you can easily search for the files you want to find.
(II) Document collaborative editing tools
In foreign trade work, if several colleagues need to edit a document together, it must involve communication, discussion and adjustment among multiple people.
Scenario 1: The boss wants to compile the closing cases of multiple salesmen in the company into a company training material. In the past, one person wrote a part, and then copied it with a USB flash drive or sent it to another person via QQ for editing and integration. In the process of passing the file back and forth and changing it, the versions were unclear, and they had to discuss it again and again, which was very time-consuming.
Scenario 2: In the company’s internal training, after the salesmen finished the quotation and wrote the development letter, they sent it to the manager by email. The manager then modified the emails one by one, added comments, and then sent it back to the salesmen, which was not efficient.
Now you can use the tool Shimo Document to solve the problem of collaborative editing of documents at work.
Open the website of Shimo Document (http://shimo.im), register and log in.
It can be understood as an online Word or Excel document. You can create classified folders like a computer to facilitate the management of various documents.
After creating a new document and writing the information, the reader can also modify and comment. With the Shimo Document tool, you can do a good job of collaborative editing of documents.
(III) Mind mapping tools
Common mind mapping tools include XMind, MindMaster, MindNode, Baidu Mind Map, etc.
(IV) Task management tools
There are many tedious and small things in foreign trade work, and we often forget some things we originally planned to do inadvertently. In order to avoid forgetting things, you can use the tool Wunderlist. The APP version of Wunderlist is more convenient to use. For particularly important things, you can add stars. After completing the task, click the space in front and the task will be eliminated.
If you use a computer, you can download the Wunderlist software at www.wunderlist.com.
(V) Note-taking tools
Usually, work reports and business summaries are written in Word on the computer. If you are on a business trip and you don’t bring your computer with you, you need to ask your colleagues to help you open the computer to search for a report, which is time-consuming and you are worried about your privacy and customer information being peeped, which is quite troublesome. In order to avoid such situations, it is recommended that you use a note-taking tool that can synchronize and save data in the cloud. Youdao Cloud Notes and Evernote are both good tools, and there is no difference between them. You can choose according to your own habits.
You can create various folders on the left side of the Youdao Cloud Notes interface, which is more in line with the usual computer usage habits and is easy to use. The operation interface on the right is the same as Word, and it can be used to replace Word for work records. It can also synchronize with the cloud in real time, so you don’t have to worry about sudden power outages or computer crashes, and not having time to save documents. It also has a quick search function that can call up any document you want at any time, allowing you to travel without worries.