A neutral trade architect. A buyer or seller who has found a counterparty brings us in before they commit. We assess the counterparty, then run the deal as a neutral chair.
Send an enquiry
(01)Our role
We assess the counterparty and deliver a written risk report before you commit.
Terms, Incoterms, the payment instrument and inspection, set as neutral chair.
Contracts, documents and each step through shipping. You never handle logistics.
We follow it through until the cargo is delivered and the trade is settled.
In a new market, the details need settling before you commit. We establish who stands behind the cargo, what can be verified about the product and how inspection, delivery and payment fit together.
(02)Markets
Illustrative sea lanes. Drag to turn.
From Switzerland, we chair physical trades between Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. We do not buy, sell or source cargo. The buyer and the seller contract with each other, and we run the trade between them.
Grade, origin, terminal requirements, the delivery window and the payment terms go on one record that both parties confirm.
The specification, the origin documents and the inspection or assay for the lot are agreed by both parties in writing before anything moves.
Grade, origin, volume and the shipment window are set out once, so both parties work from the same terms.
We arrange the vessel and the inspector once both parties have agreed them in writing, then follow the voyage and the documents until payment is released. Freight is paid in advance through an independent bank or escrow agent, never through a Lodéra account.
(03)Process
Select a stage to see what happens, what goes on the record and what has to be decided.
A buyer or seller who has found a counterparty tells us the commodity, volume, route and timing. We agree who needs the supporting detail before any documents are exchanged.
Review who is on each side, their authority to act and the information that supports their commitments.
As neutral chair, we work through the product specification, shipment window and payment conditions with both parties, and establish what each party is committing to before the trade moves.
Both parties consent to our role in writing. Fees are disclosed in writing before you commit: a fixed fee, paid before the vessel is booked, plus a commission per ton. The party paying freight under the Incoterm pays, and every part is itemised on the bill.
We deliver a written risk report covering the counterparty, the cargo, the route and the payment structure, so the decision to proceed is made on evidence.
We book and pay the shipping parties, so you never handle logistics. Freight is itemised at cost with no markup. When the schedule moves, we assess how it affects the deal and work through the options with the parties.
Coordinate independent inspection around the product specification, sampling requirements and timing agreed by the parties.
We match the document requirements to the payment conditions. We never hold client funds or take title to cargo. Payment runs through an independent bank or escrow.
Follow the trade through delivery and settlement. Work through open issues with the parties before closing the record.
Our role and fee are agreed in writing before work begins. Fixed fee plus a commission per ton, itemised on every bill. The party paying freight under the Incoterm pays.
(04)Incoterms
The Incoterm sets where risk passes and who pays the main freight. The party paying freight also pays our fee. Choose a rule to see the split.
Any mode of transport
Sea and inland waterway
| Rule | Name | Risk passes | Main freight | Insurance | Lodéra’s fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Ex Works | Seller’s premises | Buyer | Not required of either party | Buyer |
| FCA | Free Carrier | Handed to the carrier | Buyer | Not required of either party | Buyer |
| FAS | Free Alongside Ship | Alongside the ship | Buyer | Not required of either party | Buyer |
| FOB | Free On Board | On board | Buyer | Not required of either party | Buyer |
| CFR | Cost and Freight | On board | Seller | Not required of either party | Seller |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance and Freight | On board | Seller | Seller, minimum cover | Seller |
| CPT | Carriage Paid To | Handed to the carrier | Seller | Not required of either party | Seller |
| CIP | Carriage and Insurance Paid To | Handed to the carrier | Seller | Seller, extensive cover | Seller |
| DAP | Delivered at Place | Arrival at destination | Seller | Not required of either party | Seller |
| DPU | Delivered at Place Unloaded | Unloaded | Seller | Not required of either party | Seller |
| DDP | Delivered Duty Paid | Import cleared | Seller | Not required of either party | Seller |
A simplified guide to the Incoterms® 2020 rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce. The contract and the full rules govern each trade. Incoterms® is a registered trademark of the ICC.
(05)Standards
A party is marked Lodéra Verified when it has been checked against these criteria on a stated date.
Lodéra Verified means “checked against these criteria on this date”. It is not a guarantee of performance or payment, and it does not replace your own checks.
We agree who is responsible for each part of the trade and who needs access to its information.
We review registration, ownership and authority to act, and establish which screening checks the transaction calls for before you commit.
We work with buyers, producers and trading houses. Banks, inspectors, freight providers and legal advisers each take the role the transaction requires.
If a draft payment document and an inspection report give different cargo quantities, we trace the figures to their source and resolve the discrepancy against the agreed terms.
We link agreed terms and counterparty checks to the documents behind them. We track cargo and voyage milestones, then check inspection, delivery and payment records against the agreed terms.
A short message is enough to start. We agree who needs the supporting detail and how documents will be shared before they are exchanged.
(06)Deal record
A cargo passes through buyer, seller, bank, inspector and carrier, and each tends to keep its own version of what was agreed. On every Lodéra trade we keep a single record on Claustrade, a shared deal record for physical commodity transactions.
The terms we set as neutral chair are written there once. Buyer and seller then follow the same terms, the same documents and the same next step, from signing to final payment.
You don’t register or repeat your checks: we set up your access when the trade starts.
Deal recordIllustrative
Every term is recorded with the document it comes from, so nobody works from a different version.
Loading, shipping, inspection, documents and payment are recorded as they happen, with notice to buyer and seller.
Each party sees what concerns its part of the trade, and nothing more.
Each side sees its own profit and loss on the trade. Nobody else does, Lodéra included.
Invite your lawyer, banker or colleagues, and choose what each of them sees.
Access for the length of the trade is included in Lodéra’s fixed fee.
(07)Company
The neutral chair. We verify both parties, set the agreed terms on one record, and follow shipping and documents through to payment. We never buy or sell the cargo.
Builds and runs Claustrade, the shared deal record both parties follow, and the tools our own desk works on.
See the deal recordA future division. Details will be published here when it opens.
Coming soon(08)Contact
Send a general enquiry or tell us what you’re buying or supplying. Include the commodity, volume, route and timing if you know them.
We work quietly. A short message is enough to start, and we’ll reply to the email address you provide.
Lodéra Trade Desk Switzerland info@lodera.ch