B. Acknowledgements

Study Section

You have just received an important document and a covering letter from your partner. Naturally you must answer it and write a letter of acknowledgement. The main idea of a good letter of acknowledgement is just saying “thank you” to your partner.

Why do we write acknowledgement?

Ø To show courtesy: the recipient need not worry – you have received what he sent.

Ø To avoid misunderstanding: you know what you have sent and the quantity.

Ø To provide a record: just look it up in your file and you will immediately know whether you have sent it or not.

What do we acknowledge?

The receipt of

a) documents (contracts, orders, invoices. etc.);

b) samples, goods;

c) money.

You may use this plan for writing it:

1. State what you have received and the amount if necessary.

2. Express thanks for sending you money, samples, etc.

3. Mention any special instructions or actions required on the part of the recipient if necessary.

4. Offer further service or think of any other courteous note.

You may use the following helpful phrases when:

1) you acknowledge receipt:

Ø We acknowledge (the) receipt of your letter/your order №

24/256 of 17 May, 2011.

Ø We duly received your Invoice № 135…

Ø We have received your letter of … enclosing…

Ø We are pleased to acknowledge your order of 30 March

which is receiving attention;

2) you express thanks:

Ø (We) thank you for your letter dated 1 May…

Ø We are obliged for your letter of 5 December…

Ø (We have received your samples) for which we thank you;

 

3) you “round off” the letter or write the conclusion of the

letter in a form of a polite wish or courteous notes:

Ø I hope this will be the beginning of a mutually profitable

cooperation.

Ø We appreciate your promptness in making tour payments

/carrying out our order and we are always pleased to serve

you.

Ø We sincerely hope that this will be a successful transaction

for you and will lead to further orders.

Ø We appreciate your placing this order with us…

Ø If we may be of service to you, please call us.

Ø Please do not hesitate to write if you require further information.

 

Practice

Task1

Read the following letter:

  Dear Sir   We thank you for your letter of 4 May, inquiring about our range of carpets. We have sent you under separate cover a comprehensive selection of our latest patterns. We enclose herewith our catalogue and price list. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.   Yours faithfully B. Damicrishna Production Manager

Task 2

Rewrite the previous letter using other synonymous phrases.

Task 3

1. Guided Letter Writing

 

Parties

 

Mr. T. Soames Mr. K. Smirnov

Engine Exporters Ltd Interface J.V.

 

Addresses

51 Market Road 16 Borsoyev Street

Hull Gomel 670003

Yorks Belarus

England

 

2.. Mr T. Soames is sending Mr K. Smirnov some brochures and catalogues about their new types of office equipment. Help Mr T. Soames to write a covering letter to Mr K. Smirnov:

Ø first state what you are enclosing with the letter;

Ø write a courteous note of goodwill.

 

3. Mr K. Smirnov receives Mr T. Soames’ covering letter and his advertising materials. Write a letter of acknowledgement for Mr. K. Smirnov:

Ø say that you have received the promotion literature Mr. T. Soames has sent you. Do not forget to thank Mr T. Soames for that;

Ø write that as soon as you have examined the materials you will get in touch with Mr T. Soames again to arrange a visit to their company and see the equipment in operation.

 

Task 4

This is an extract from a conversation between two businessmen:

Mr T.Trade and Mr J.Blake:

Mr. J.Blake: And we have received that order from the Belarusian School of Business and Tourism from Minsk. It also came with yesterday's mail.

Mr. T.Trade: Fine. I've been expecting it. Send them an acknowledgement and let's see what we can do for them.

Now it is Mr. J. Blake's task to write an acknowledgement to the Belarusian School of Business and Tourism. Help him do it. The firm's address is 30 Karastaianavai Street, Minsk, 107140, Belarus.

 

 

2C. Notifications, Announcements and

Introductions

 

Study Section

 

When sending a notification or announcement the sender's intention is to inform the recipient about something. They notify their partners:

Ø that the goods are ready for shipment;

Ø that they have carried out the order;

Ø that their representative is arriving on 20 May to take part in the tests, etc.

A letter of announcement will be written when the sender announces the change of the company's name/ the firm's address /the appointment of the branch manager, etc.

If you wanted to introduce your firm you should write the letter of introduction. The purpose of this kind of the letter is to persuade the addressee that you are the best in business.

 

Read the following examples of Notifications and Announcements.

Sample 1. Notification of readiness

 

Dear Sirs   We wish to inform you that the goods you ordered under contract No. 347/bm are ready for shipment. Enclosed you will find our pro forma invoice. We would be very pleased to be of service to you again. Yours faithfully  

Sample 2. Notifying Mr. W. Wallace's visit to London

 

 

Dear Sirs   We wish to inform you that Mr. W. Wallace will visit you on the morning of 15 November in your office. Mr. W. Wallace is fully authorized to act in the firm's name. We would appreciate a prompt confirmation of this appointment. If unsuitable, please suggest an alternative date to us. Yours faithfully  

 

 

The above letters start with the phrase "We wish to inform you that...". It is quite natural because the purpose of these letters is to inform. There also may be other optional points:

Ø some additional information about the main subject of the letters;

 

Ø certain courteous phrases finishing the letter (Sample 1).

 

It would be appreciated to send a letter of acknowledgement in reply to the Notification (Sample 1). Sample 2 requires a letter of confirmation in response.

 

Sample 3. Announcing new appointments

 

 

We are writing to inform you that Mr. Karl Yorden has been appointed Information Technology of our company. Mr. K. Yorden intends to visit Berlin early next month and discuss business matters with you. Yours faithfully  

 

Sample 4. Announcement of the opening of a branch office

Dear Sirs, We have pleasure in informing you that we have now opened a branch office in your city. The address of the branch office is Australia, Sydney, 10 Bond Street. Our branch office is headed by Mr. R. Collins. Please refer all your requests to him. We hope this new office will serve to promote our business relations. Yours faithfully  

 

Sample 5. Change of the company's address

  Dear Sirs, We would like to inform you that our company has changed its location. As from 1 September 2003 our address is ... . We should be obliged if you would inform the appropriate departments of these changes. Yours faithfully  

 

 

The next Sample 6 is a letter of introduction.

Match the following tasks of the sender with the appropriate points of the sample letter:

Ø provide some general information about your company, name the field of business, describe the structure of the company, its location and subscribe;

Ø give a description of the products you are manufacturing and try to persuade the reader that yours are the best in the field;

Ø specify the services you are especially good at;

Ø mention the material you are enclosing with the letter.

 

Sample 6.

A letter of introduction

 

Olympia Heavy Industries, Ltd. Your Ref: Our Ref:TM/ng 20 July, 2011 Asia Bank 23 Soi Saladaeng Bangkok   Dear Sirs, Olympia today is one of the largest internationally famous industrial and financial groups in the USA. Olympia Heavy Industries, Ltd. is America's leading, manufacturer of ships and material handling equipment, construction machinery, iron and steel making equipment, presses, chemical plants, speed variators and reducers, prime movers and steel structures and bridges as well as many other kinds of machinery and equipment for various industries. Olympia Heavy Industries, Ltd. at present has modern manufacturing faculties in seven states of the USA, each specialized in the manufacture of different products. In order to give you an idea of the capacity of our organization, we are enclosing our comprehensive illustrated brochure.   Yours faithfully   T. Merchant President

 

 

Practice