Almost everyone importing for the first time meets the same handful of problems, and every one of them has a simple fix that costs nothing when applied early. Here are ten worth knowing before the first order rather than after it.
1. Comparing prices that are not comparable
Two quotations arrive and one is noticeably lower, so it looks like the better deal. Often it is quoted on a different delivery term, with different materials, or without packing.
The fix. Put every offer into the same table with the same rows, covering specification, quantity, delivery term, packing, carton size, loading quantity and lead time. Then calculate a landed cost per delivered item. That number decides it, and it frequently favours the higher unit price.
2. Ordering without a physical sample
Colour on a screen is not colour in a room, and a photograph hides construction entirely.
The fix. Approve a physical sample for anything where comfort or construction matters, and finish panels for everything else. Keep the approved sample as the standard. For quantity orders, add a first article from the production line.
3. Forgetting the access route
A sofa that fits the room perfectly and cannot get up the stairs is a genuinely common situation.
The fix. Measure the front door, the hallway, the stair turn and the lift car, and send those numbers with the order. If access is tight, ask at the enquiry stage whether the piece can be supplied in sections. Most can, if the question comes before manufacture.
4. Underestimating the total timeline
A quoted production time of thirty days is taken as a delivery date, and the project is planned around it.
The fix. Add all five stages. Specification and quotation, sampling and approval, production, inspection and packing, then shipping and clearance. Work backward from your date and add a buffer of two to three weeks.
5. Not specifying packing
Packing is treated as the factory’s business, then goods arrive marked and everyone is disappointed.
The fix. Write a one page packing specification into the order. Foam thickness, corner protection, carton grade, bagging, desiccant, pallet type and labelling format. Ask for photographs of packing in progress before cartons are sealed.
6. Ignoring carton sizes
Freight is charged largely by volume, and nobody checks the carton dimensions until the goods are made.
The fix. Ask for carton dimensions and loading quantity at the quotation stage. Sometimes a small adjustment to a carton allows an extra row per layer, which across a container adds items at no extra freight cost.
7. Leaving compliance to the end
A required certificate is discovered late, and testing takes weeks that the schedule does not have.
The fix. Ask at the specification stage which certificates your market and building type require, such as fire performance for contract upholstery or emission classes for board products. Arrange testing before production rather than after.
8. Inconsistent documents
The invoice, the packing list and the bill of lading describe the goods slightly differently, and customs asks a question that costs days.
The fix. Ask for draft documents before the goods sail and check that descriptions, quantities and values match across all of them. Give the complete set to your broker in advance so clearance starts on arrival.
9. Changing the specification mid production
A small improvement occurs to someone in week six, and it resets more of the schedule than expected because material may already be cut.
The fix. Decide the specification once and hold it. If a change is genuinely necessary, raise it immediately and ask what it costs in time before agreeing, since the price of a change grows every day.
10. Ordering no spares
A chair is damaged in year two, and matching it from a later production run turns out to be difficult.
The fix. Order two to five percent spares with the original purchase, along with spare covers, glides, handles and a small quantity of fabric. It is the cheapest insurance in the whole order.
The pattern behind all ten
Every one of these is a decision made early that saves a great deal later. Specify properly, approve quickly, ask for the numbers that drive freight, and write things down.
Buyers who work this way rarely have dramatic problems, and their orders are also easier and more pleasant for the factory, which tends to show up in the price.
If you would like help setting an order up so these never come around, our team in Foshan does this every week.