Purchasing from abroad is a trending practice among sellers worldwide due to extremely attractive opportunities compared to domestic goods. Below is the most detailed cross-border purchasing method to help you access reputable suppliers with high-quality goods.
Opportunities and Challenges in Purchasing from Abroad
The trend of buying wholesale from abroad is not too new but is always of interest because it opens many attractive opportunities. Of course, purchasing from abroad for retail, or importing in large quantities to meet any demand, also presents you with different opportunities and challenges, such as:
Opportunities
One of the main reasons many businesses and sellers choose to buy from abroad is the lower production costs. Consequently, retailing will make your products more competitively priced. For example, Vietnam is one of the countries with a supply of high-quality goods at low prices due to relatively low labor costs. Therefore, when purchasing goods in this country, businesses can optimize costs to yield good profits, increasing their competitiveness in the domestic market.
In addition, many foreign suppliers have specialized materials, technology, and trendy product designs that domestic goods may not yet meet—enhancing your market competitiveness when retailing.
In cases where you buy machinery or equipment for production needs, most of us trust that the products will be of quality and meet our requirements—technological devices that may not be available domestically or have not yet reached the best level of perfection.
Challenges
Purchasing goods from foreign sources comes with its own set of challenges, such as:
- Language barriers.
- Differences in time zones and culture make communication and collaboration difficult.
- Longer shipping times.
- Additional costs such as customs duties, taxes, and tariffs…
- Risks that arise for suppliers.
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The Most Detailed Foreign Purchasing Process
To purchase foreign goods for your various purposes – especially when you want to access wholesale sources abroad for domestic retail business – to minimize risks, you should refer to the following process:
Step 1: Consider the Business Segment
First, consider which industry or type of goods you want or are currently dealing in. If you are targeting fast-moving, inexpensive consumer goods, such as household items or fresh food, the way of purchasing from abroad will be very different from that of specialized, uncommon goods.
Identifying the business segment is the first step to narrowing down the search for the right supplier. From there, you’ll know whether to deal directly with manufacturers or through intermediaries. Typically, cutting out intermediaries can often negotiate better prices and save money in the long run.
Especially if your target is high-quality, low-cost goods, you should consider sourcing from countries with efficient production costs such as Vietnam. Because exports from Vietnam are competitively priced and of good quality, they can give you a price advantage when doing business in the domestic market.
Step 2: Thoroughly Research Supplier Information
There are many ways to review supplier information, depending on the platforms you access it through. Here are some simple methods for you:
Supplier’s Website
You can directly access the supplier’s website for a clear view of their products and services, as well as information on pricing and shipping policies. But if you’re not familiar with the market, this could be a time-consuming process.
B2B E-commerce Platforms
B2B marketplaces like Alibaba or SourceVietnam.com are great resources as they allow you to search for suppliers by product category or location and often offer features like the Request for Quotation (RFQ) tool, which helps you easily compare prices from multiple suppliers.
Buying from strangers may seem unsafe, but these websites have adequate security measures to protect buyers and verify sellers.
Trade Associations
Trade associations can provide information about suppliers in specific industries or regions and often have a “matchmaking” service to connect you with suitable suppliers.
Trade Shows
Trade shows are an excellent way to meet potential suppliers in person and get a feel for the type of products they can offer. They can also be used as a networking opportunity, and you might even receive exclusive offers or discounts when attending.
Your Personal Network
Do not underestimate the value of your personal network when seeking suppliers from abroad. Reach out to your industry partners or personal network to see if they have any recommendations or insights into the sourcing process.
Step 3: Select a supplier for overseas purchasing
By this stage, you have exercised due diligence and narrowed down the list of suppliers you wish to collaborate with. Now is the time to start reaching out and determining the best final supplier for your business.
Considerations when communicating with suppliers that you should pay attention to include:
- Request samples of the products they manufacture, and you want to purchase.
- Look at reviews from previous customers to gauge the reliability and operational history.
- You should ask about the minimum order quantity requirements or the total amount the supplier requires…
- Delivery time and shelf life. Make sure about the supplier’s lead time and shipping method to see if it meets your needs.
- If you are new to sourcing overseas purchases to serve various purposes, especially retail business, consider working with wholesale suppliers using the drop shipping method.
Step 4: Managing suppliers when buying from overseas
Keep in touch with them and monitor the performance of the supplier you have chosen as it directly affects your business’s sales ability. You need to check in regularly with the supplier to ensure that their work meets the standards you have agreed upon beforehand.
If you want everything to be official, you should enter a contract with your foreign supplier, so there are no misunderstandings or surprises later. The contract should clearly describe the terms of the partnership, including prices, lead times, shipping methods, and any other relevant details.
Step 5: Payment
One of the most troublesome aspects when looking for a foreign supplier is how to pay them. Sending money abroad can be expensive, with various fees and unfavorable exchange rates accumulating.
You may receive an invoice with a date when you need to pay quickly, and you may also need to pay in various currencies, which will add additional costs. But now you have many convenient options for global payments that can help streamline the payment process.
With the above five steps, you can choose a reputable supplier from various sources for overseas purchases to serve the different needs of your business. Remember, this is a very basic process that you must carefully consider to be successful and easier with wholesale transactions from foreign partners. Additionally, if you want to access quality B2B goods from Vietnam, you can join and transact on the B2B e-commerce platform – SourceVietnam.com.
Purchasing high-quality Vietnamese goods has become more convenient with SourceVietnam.com
SourceVietnam.com is the first cross-border B2B e-commerce platform in Vietnam, offering you the chance to access high-quality Vietnamese suppliers and manufacturers at extremely competitive prices for retail in the domestic market.
Advantages from Vietnam’s first B2B e-commerce platform
Centralized purchasing channel
With over 40 product categories including consumer electronics, machinery, and garments, you can search for any desired product on the platform with intelligent filters by supplier unit, rating, or value.
Cross-border, timeless
SourceVietnam.com boasts multifunctional sales features, operating 24/7 with continuous service improvements to support sellers worldwide and buyers to find opportunities and conduct business on both mobile devices and electronic displays.
No language barriers
SourceVietnam.com integrates the ability to flexibly switch between over 15 of the world’s most common languages, facilitating international buyers in the process of exchanging and negotiating transactions.
Top-notch reputation
All suppliers on SourceVietnam.com are verified with a guaranteed quality of goods. Particularly, Vietnamese sellers will be:
- High-quality Vietnamese enterprises using the GoEXPORT support solution for exporting on Alibaba.com.
- Potential enterprises sponsored by government organizations in cooperation with Mediastep Software Vietnam and wanting to participate in international goods export.
The process of purchasing from abroad on SourceVietnam.com
Here is how to purchase on the B2B e-commerce platform SourceVietnam.com:
Step 1: Search for suitable products and suppliers.
You can easily search for product information through keywords and product categories.
Step 2: Actively connect with suppliers.
You can directly contact any supplier on SourceVietnam.com through the inbox integrated with the automatic custom language translation feature – making conversations smoother and easier than ever.
Step 3: Negotiate and bargain.
You should actively negotiate the price, quantity, quality, payment methods, and shipping forms with suppliers to get the best deal.
Step 4: Payment and receipt of goods.
Proceed with payment or deposit as agreed upon and monitor the supplier’s status to ensure the goods are sent in the correct quantity and at the agreed time.
If you are looking for international suppliers to purchase from abroad, or B2B trade opportunities with international customers, then SourceVietnam.com will be an extremely attractive new platform for you. Start today to expand the development opportunities for your business!
