Product Research for the Import/Export Business

Articles > Product Research for the Import/Export Business

In an increasingly diverse world of manufacturing, the product you need at the price you want to pay, might be made by a company in Vietnam or Brazil. It's all very well to talk about globalisation but how in practice, can you find what you need if you're over here and they're over there?

For just about every available product being produced in the world, the internet is the first port of call. There is no shortage of websites offering to help you find the goods you need wherever the manufacturer is based.

Operating for the most part in English, these online market places exist to bring buyers and sellers together irrespective of their geographical location. But what if the product you want is being produced in Vietnam and Brazil? And how can you be sure of quality and reliability. These questions all form an essential part of Product Research, an essential element in the import/export business.

Having found several suppliers who claim to be able to offer the goods you need, the next step in the research is to compare like with like. Shipping costs do play an important role in pricing, so you'll need to factor this into the price. Then comes the all important quality test - how can you be sure that a supplier who is half way around the world is going to be able to provide you with the product he is promising? Some buyers feel they can make do with a digital photo of the product they are buying and base the rest on trust. More sceptical importers insist that the supplier provides a sample of the material. This can also act as a test run for such things as shipping and packaging. For larger orders, there is often no substitute for visiting a supplier. This can become very expensive in terms of time and is no guarantee that the product which is finally shipped bears any relationship to the ones that were shown to the honoured visitor through a haze of hospitality. Many buyers insist that developing relationships face to face is still the best way to do business, even in this age of instant digital communication.

For those importers whose schedule or budget doesn't stretch to lengthy round-the-world buying trips, Product Research can be carried out by local agents. A trusted representative, or shipping agent can be dispatched to verify that the supplier really is who he says he is. In other cases, references from previous satisfied customers can also be checked. With the growth in international trade has come a widespread acceptance of the norms of international trade such as contracts and the enforceability of contracts across different legal systems and cultures but it would obviously be better to avoid mistakes at an early stage.

Since product research is such a vital part of international trade, it is important not to let the possibilities of e-commerce blind you to the possibility that not all suppliers can come up with the goods. The internet is a wonderful tool that has transformed the import/export business but it must never become a substitute for real product research.


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