China is becoming a production superpower, also known by the world as the factory of the world. For many foreign purchasing wholesalers and supermarkets, importing from China is the best purchasing strategy. Because importers imported from China mostly high-quality and cheap products. This is a great trade business opportunity for importers abroad by increasing profits and customizing products.
But for newbies, this is not an easy task to import from China. Worried due to complex international trade processes, language differences, long shipping times, and more.
As a professional Chinese manufacturer, Dowell will share practical tips for importing from China in this article, teaching you all the knowledge about the entire trade process of importing from China easily.
Step 1: Select the product to import from China
The first step to importing from China is choosing the right products, which can help you increase your profits and grow your long-term business. Which product to choose depends on the country’s commercial market and business environment. If you’re working on a new product or haven’t started selling it yet, read our Closet Storage guide.
If you already have a basic plan to import from China, you need to continue to see the suggestions below.
From a sustainable profitability perspective, imported products need to have the following characteristics:
· Large demand
This requires that in your country, the demand for this product is very large. This helps your sales if the product is in high demand. For example, consumer goods.
· Consider transportation and maintenance costs
Products shipped in large quantities may be significantly cheaper on international shipping than products shipped in small quantities. You also need to consider the cost of product maintenance in the later stage and try to choose a product with a low maintenance cost, which can help you reduce the cost in the later stage.
· Consider the uniqueness of the product
If the imported products are not special and others are already selling them in large quantities, then you have no product advantage. Then, special customized products are a good choice, with the novelty and uniqueness of the products, helping you sell high prices, and importing customized products for a long time is conducive to building your own brand.
Step 2: Find Chinese suppliers
2.1 B2B website
2.1.1 Alibaba.com (https://www.alibaba.com/)
As the world’s largest B2B cross-border e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com has covered more than 200 countries and regions and 5,900+ product categories around the world. You can talk directly to the Chinese supplier about your product needs or expectations.
Alibaba
2.1.2 Made in China (https://www.made-in-china.com/)
Made-in-China.com is an online world where Chinese product information gathers. It provides e-commerce services with rich products for domestic and foreign buyers and aims to use the Internet to introduce Chinese suppliers’ products to domestic and foreign buyers.
Made-in-china
2.2 Participating in Chinese trade fairs
If you prefer face-to-face interaction with manufacturers and suppliers, attending a trade show is a great way to be in China. Participating in such exhibitions can give you a better understanding of Chinese suppliers and their products. This allows you to better screen suppliers and ultimately establish cooperation. The Canton Fair and Yiwu Fair are relatively well-known and internationally influential among China’s foreign trade exhibitions.
2.2.1 Canton Fair
The most common and largest Chinese trade fair is the Canton Fair. China Import and Export Fair, founded on April 25, 1957, is held twice a year, one each in the spring and autumn, and is divided into three phases each, covering almost most product categories.
It is a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, the highest level, the largest scale, the most complete variety of commodities, the largest number of buyers, the widest distribution of countries and regions, and the best transaction effect in China.
It is known as “China’s first exhibition”. Due to the relatively large scale of the Canton Fair, there are many suppliers. Before participating in the exhibition, you can know the list of suppliers and their locations online in advance.
If you cannot come to the offline advertising fair due to the impact of the new crown virus, you can choose the online Canton Fair. The online Canton Fair holds a video conference for face-to-face communication with suppliers, which makes the communication between you and suppliers simple, fast and smooth.
Canton Fair
2.2.2 Yiwu Fair
If you want to buy small commodities, Yiwu Fair is the most suitable Chinese trade fair. Yiwu Fair is currently the largest and most influential consumer goods exhibition in China, and one of the three major export commodity exhibitions organized by the Ministry of Commerce of China. Exhibiting industries include hardware, toys and children’s products, handicrafts, cultural office supplies, sports and leisure products, imported goods, knitted textiles, daily necessities, jewelry and accessories, luggage and leather goods, electronic appliances, e-commerce and trade services, etc.
2.3 Yiwu Market
Yiwu Market is located in Yiwu, China. Yiwu is the largest small commodity distribution center in the world. It has been identified as the world’s largest market by international authorities such as the United Nations and the World Bank. In Yiwu International Trade City, you can find the most complete and cheapest small commodities. The market has 43 industries, 1,900 categories, and 1.7 million commodities.
You can find cheap and high-quality handicrafts, accessories, hardware, daily necessities, rain gear, electronic appliances, toys, cosmetics, sports, socks, non-staple food, watches, threads, needle cotton, textiles, ties, clothing, etc. Use industrial products.
Yiwu wholesalers cooperate with a large number of factories, and the logistics of the small commodity wholesale market are well-developed. You can buy off-the-shelf products on-site or have them shipped in bulk to your address.
Yiwu International Trade City
Step 3: Supplier audit
Having chosen the right supplier, what’s next?
Supplier audit is a systematic examination of suppliers to find out the real status of suppliers, compare them with buyers’ expectations and standards, and determine the extent to which target suppliers meet buyers’ standards.
Its value is:
Supplier audits can help buyers make sound decisions. Choosing the right supplier can add value to your business.
Determine the effectiveness of the supplier’s quality management system and the capability of the manufacturing process, determine that the supplier has the qualifications to add value to the purchasing organization, affirm the supplier’s strengths, point out the supplier’s weaknesses, and improve the supplier through improvement plans. performance in the market;
Review supplier compliance and avoid potential compliance risks.
3.1 How to audit suppliers
Due to the differences in suppliers’ own conditions, there must be objective scoring items as the basis for selecting qualified suppliers. Therefore, the supplier audit should formulate detailed audit content. You need to know the following information about the supplier:
(1) The operating status of the supplier. It mainly includes the history of the supplier’s operation, the qualifications of the person in charge, the amount of registered capital, the number of employees, the completion record and performance, the main customers, and the financial status.
(2) The production capacity of the supplier. It mainly includes whether the supplier’s production equipment is advanced, whether the production capacity has been fully utilized, the space distance of the workshop and whether the manpower for the production operation is sufficient.
(3) Technical ability. It mainly includes whether the supplier’s technology is self-developed or imported from outside, whether there is cooperation with internationally renowned technology development institutions, technical evaluation of existing products or trial products, product development cycle, number of technical personnel and education level, etc.
(4) Management system. It mainly includes whether the production process is smooth and reasonable, how efficient the output is, whether the material control is computerized, whether the production plan is frequently changed, and whether the procurement operation provides a good basis for cost calculation.
(5) Quality management. It mainly includes quality management guidelines, policies, implementation and implementation of the quality management system, whether there is a quality management system manual, whether there is a quality assurance operation plan, whether there is an annual quality inspection target, whether there is an evaluation level by a political organization, whether Passed ISO9000 certification.
Step 4: Place an order
After a rather tedious process, you can place an order with your Chinese supplier. In order to ensure the quality of the product, when placing the first order, it is recommended that you do not place an order for large quantities of products unless you particularly trust this supplier. To ensure quality, for the first time you can order a sample from the supplier.
The order information for the transaction should fully include the details of the order, such as product specifications, quantity, price, packaging, payment terms, shipping terms, etc.
Step 5: Customs clearance
Customs clearance is the last step for importers to import from China. If you do not provide accurate customs clearance information and follow the prescribed procedures, your goods are at risk of being seized. This can cause delays in imports and cost your business.
Imported goods valued at $800 or more are subject to duties and other taxes. Well, goods below the US minimum value of $800 are exempt.
Step 6:Track your shipment and prepare it for arrival
Shipping goods internationally takes time. For example, it takes on average about 14 days for a shipment out of China to reach the US West Coast, or 30 days to reach the US East Coast.
Typically, the destination agent listed on the bill of lading will notify the consignee with notification of arrival within 5 days or less of arrival at the port.
When the cargo arrives in the United States, the importer of record will present the cargo’s entry documents to the port supervisor at the port of the cargo.
Contents of entry documents:
· Bill of lading listing the items to be imported.
· Official invoice listing the country of origin, purchase price, and tariff classification of the imported goods.
· Packing list detailing imported goods.
· Arrival notification provided by the freight forwarder.
You will expedite your shipment through customs if you:
· Bill your shipments in a systematic way.
· Display the exact quantity of each item in each box, bag, case, or package.
· Put a mark and number on each package.
Display these marks or numbers on the invoice opposite the item details contained in the package with these marks and numbers.
As a manufacturer for over 20 years, Dowell can also help you easily import from China. You are welcome to contact us. Want to know more about us?
