Do you know the 5 most common errors whilst importing? Knowing these errors will help you avoid making mistakes in the future.
Our experience as sourcing consultants has shown us that, regardless of the variety of products companies wish to source, the main mistakes made tend to be the same ones.
Quite often, the errors committed while importing start when preparing and implementing the research and selection of potential suppliers. The fact that we encounter mishaps in the early stages of the process usually means that these errors become amplified over time and tend to have an impact on later stages of the process.
Whether the product has been created by ourselves or by a third party, the design and definition of the product are critical and the results will depend on this step. It’s important to define a lot of detail in what we are looking for and how the product should be – for example, materials, customisation, etc, leaving no decision pending.
The supplier selection ohase is one of the most relevant parts of the overall process, when deciding to import products from overseas.
When selecting a factory, it’s crucial to know whether they will be able to do the job as requested, to the required quality standards, whilst using the correct materials.
It is worthwhile remembering that the import costs are not simply the sum of the product cost and the transport expenses. There is a long list of additional factors to be taken into account:
Therefore, making the wrong calculations in this process is one of the most common mistakes companies make, particularly when they are implementing their first importing project, ending in having a major impact on the profit margin.
This type of error tends to be the consequence of the combination of few factors. This may be due to a poor specifications for the product, often down to poor communication with suppliers and may lead to errors in the product itself.
In order to avoid product mistakes, which tend to end up being the ones with the largest impact, particularly when detected too late, it’s crucial that voluntary quality control inspections are always foreseen. It’s also important that no shipment of any goods happens without having evaluated the products first.
It should be said that, mistakes happen during the import process and lead many businesses to think that international purchasing is not a good option.
Importing products is one of the best ways to achieve better sales margins and to make the company more competitive in the market, however when it is done correctly things can run smoothly and this us why we recommend leaving the purchasing processes to the professionals.