If you take some time to carefully plan and manage importing goods, your business can really thrive from the endeavour. By sourcing a foreign supplier, you can cut costs, helping your business to increase revenue. But, importing goods into Australia can be a challenging process, especially if you’ve no knowledge of the industry. Here are some important factors to consider when importing.
Difficulty with Communication
When sourcing overseas suppliers, it can be difficult to build a solid relationship purely because of their geographic location. Starting out, most homegrown companies find foreign suppliers online, once they’ve found a product or material they are looking to import, they order through the supplier’s website. If you are thinking about importing goods using this process, it is important to source a reliable supplier, this can be difficult online.
If you have the resources, it is advisable to take a trip out to their premises and meet with a company representative. This enables you to test the quality of their goods first-hand, you also get to build a better relationship with your supplier if you’ve met them in person.
Hiring an Import Company
If this is your first time importing goods, then you may not understand the complex procedures involved. That is why it is beneficial to hire an Australian import company to assist you with the entire process, reputable businesses provide a wide variety of services which include:
- Transportation logistics
- Customs brokering
- Import clearances
- Consolidation
- Letters of credit
- Importation law
Hiring an import company allows you to concentrate on other aspects of the process, you can focus on bartering a good deal with your suppliers knowing that your goods will reach their destination without any issues. These companies make importing goods into Australian hassle free and straightforward, you can instantly capitalise on international trade.
Quality of Goods
If you are sourcing goods online, it can be difficult to assess their quality. The quality of products you import is vitally important to your business, if you let it slip, you could potentially lose a lot of customers. It is important to try import cheaper items without letting the quality of that product decrease. If the quality of your brand or service drops, it will affect your profit margin.
Investigate Numerous Suppliers
If you are importing goods from the EU or the US, it is generally less risky than dealing with businesses from Asia or Africa. They have tighter restrictions in place that protect overseas organisations. However, you won’t save as much money as you would sourcing goods or raw materials from these markets. If the country is politically stable and has trade agreements with Australia, it is often better to try source goods from the Asian market as opposed to the EU or the US.
There are numerous factors to consider when importing goods into Australia. Most business owners chose to import to save costs, they understand that sourcing products and services from outside the country can be highly effective and profitable. But before you give your company the green light, consider all the costs and complexities involved.