Industrial Products AG Thailand (B)

Dougal Simpson, an experienced Australian manager who had 20 years of experience with Industrial Products AG (IPAG), a large Swiss-based company in the field of industrial chemicals and plastics, accepted the position of managing director, Southeast Asia. Shortly after moving to Thailand, Simpson and his project engineer encountered difficulties trying to clear a shipment through Thai customs. The customs official refused to release the shipment and was charging IPAG with the serious offense of smuggling. When the project manager refused to pay the higher than usual “facilitation fee,” the customs official reported the offense to his superiors. Simpson had to figure out the best way to deal with this potentially serious situation.