securely import

How to securely import from China (and Asia)

How to securely import from China (or other Asian countries) in 2022, it is still one of the major concerns for the companies that contact us.  Some of them are about to organize their first import operation and they are worried about it; others, on the other hand, have had bad experiences in the past and show a clear lack of trust.

In any case, by all means, we wish to highlight that, yes, importing products from Asia is a safe exercise and that, with adequate knowledge, the vast majority of purchases allow for the goods being delivered in a perfect way. The problem, though, is that often times a lack of knowledge in terms of the import process and the consequences of some poor decisions end up making the company pay dearly for the whole operation.

As sourcing partner, we can definitely confirm that one of the worst actions one can take is trying to start the import operation when still too many doubts or questions are outstanding, without clear answers.  This situation, which happens more often than it should, provides a starting point for international purchases that surely won’t be successful.

Steps to follow to securely import products

Let’s assume that the company that wishes to import has already selected a product (or multiple products).  In this case, the first step would be to make a market study in order to define in more detail what exactly the target audience wishes to buy, so we prepare a set of exact specifications.

After this first step comes one of the most difficult ones: the selection of suppliers, which in many cases becomes one of the major obstacles for companies wishing to import products.

It is not only important to find the factory that provides the best match for the specifications we have defined (as well as for our budget), but we also need to make sure they are a reliable source. In this context, one of the initiatives we definitely do not recommended companies to do is buying lists of potential suppliers from the internet, since most likely these lists have not been independently verified.

Once we have selected a factory, it is highly relevant to consider quality control inspections, which is not the same thing as trusting (or not) our supplier, but it is rather a guarantee to make sure that the product will arrive at its final destination, complying with our set of specifications.  In this sense, it is worthwhile to take into account that both compulsory as voluntary inspections can be executed and that both types are actually recommended in most cases, in order to successfully implement the import operation.

The final steps linked to a secure import process make reference to transport and payment of import duties and other taxes, which turns out to be one of the factors that most headaches cause, since companies often don’t tend to have a clear idea about these concepts and, therefore, they neither have a precise idea about the overall cost of the import operation.

Therefore, it is critical to understand our real logistical needs before starting the international purchase activity and research the whole picture, e.g., in terms of taxes in both origin as destination.

A 100% secure import process? Count on a sourcing partner!

Regardless of how much experience a company might have in import activities, it is nearly impossible to guarantee that an international purchase becomes a 100% trouble-free process.  Nevertheless, when leaving the initiative in the hands of a purchasing consultant or sourcing partner, the likelihood of the process going smoothly, without incidents, becomes much higher and solutions will be found more easily to match most potential complications.

Depending on the experience the purchaser already has, the range of services provided by the sourcing partner may be more or less complete: ranging from supplier selection to quality control or logistics management, among others.

At S3 Group we have accumulated over 15 years of experience, specialized in importing products from China and other Asian countries.   The best part is that we have a great team, present in all major areas where we are active, in order to act as a connection, bridging the countries of origin and destination, a major competitive advantage, allowing us to guarantee our customers a truly secure import process.