Commonly asked questions about importing from China
Jacqueline Gyer • Sep 16, 2019
The top 4 issues with product sourcing and import from China
How these 4 issues with product souring and import services from China to the Uk, are posing problems for big e-commerce businesses.
Within the past decade, there has been an increasing demand for product sourcing and product import from China. More people and businesses within the U.K are opting to source products and import them from China, primarily because it’s cheaper to mass produce but also because the high quality is now a given.
However, alongside this demand means a growing number of issues and challenges within the international sourcing and import business, with many large businesses often falling short of the expectations that their customers expect.
DAMAGED OR WRONG GOODS
One of the key problems that large e-commerce businesses appear to have is the damage or supply of the wrong goods. The biggest complaint amongst the industry is the incorrect handling of products or wrongly allocated products, especially in regard to larger sourced items such as furniture. Recently, DHgate came under fire for its handling of damaged goods disputes – with many not receiving adequate refunds after their products arrived in a damaged state. This appears to be a common problem amongst the larger scale e-commerce industry, particularly when dealing with product sourcing and import services from China.
SPEED OF DELIVERY
Another area with large businesses, who are dealing with importation services and product sourcing, have is the issue with speed of product delivery from China to the UK. A top complaint towards large-scale product sourcing and importing companies is the amount of time it takes for a shipment to arrive at its destination. Whilst in the past several years the length of time it takes has reduced significantly, it appears that larger companies in particular are struggling to speed up their process.
We quality control and inspect all of our products at source before they’re shipped to you, meaning that issues are highly unlikely. We also take responsibility for your goods whilst they’re being shipped to ensure that they arrive at you in the condition you would expect.
NEGLECT OF CUSTOMERS
A huge area that appears to need attention with large e-commerce companies is its neglect towards its customers and businesses who use their platforms for product sourcing and import services. It appears over the past few years that customer service expectations have dropped significantly, especially for the likes of AliExpress, whose negative reviews draw attention to a large-scale problem within their company. Issues such as no direct contact number, language barriers and poor response time are frequent complaints towards the company.
BREXIT
Brexit poses a huge problem amongst many industries, with political uncertainty appearing to loom over business. Businesses that product source and import from within Europe are slowly being hit the hardest, with fees expected to skyrocket when the U.K exits the European Union in October.
SO HOW IS EASTMEETSWESTDIRECT DIFFERENT? AND HOW ARE WE DEALING WITH THESE ISSUES?
Whilst these 4 issues are continually flagging up again and again amongst large e-commerce companies like AliExpress and DHgate, East Meets West Direct has already come up with solutions. Our company prides itself on making your product sourcing and importation experience completely stress-free, offering solutions to the worries and concerns you might have when using larger-scale companies.
Damaged and/or wrong goods is no issue for us. We quality control and inspect all of our products at source before they’re shipped to you, meaning that issues are highly unlikely. We also take responsibility for your goods whilst they’re being shipped to ensure that they arrive at you in the condition you would expect.
Whilst speed may be an issue for some companies, at East Meets West Direct efficiency and speed are our top priorities. With a partner in Shanghai who has over twenty years of experience in China imports and exports, as well as a team based in the U.K, we ensure the fast product sourcing, packaging, shipment and delivery of your goods, taking the stress and worry out of your product sourcing and importation worries.
We pride ourselves on our customer service skills, unlike larger companies that may not offer the same care and attention to detail. East Meets West Direct offers a completely tailored and personalised service – from sourcing to shipping your products. We offer a range of services, such as sourcing office furniture (from chairs and desks to I.T hardware), with each client equally important to us. Bi-lingual representatives also mean that you don’t need to worry about language barriers if issues do arise with your product sourcing and import service needs.
Finally, whilst Brexit may be impacting other businesses negatively, it appears that the U.K’s exit from the European Union in October will only strengthen China-U.K relations.
With import fees for trade between the U.K and European Union set to rise, sourcing products from a reliable and quality product sourcing and import company such as EastMeetsWestDirect could be highly beneficial for UK business.
How will Brexit potentially affect the way that people import goods from China? East Meets West Direct.com has some guidelines
The business opportunities available from importing goods from China are well recognised. 20 years ago, importing goods from China was almost a gold rush, with Europeans and British flying over to China to visit factories and to source products to sell in their native retail markets. Much money was made, but not without teething problems. Quality control in the early days was something of an issue, as was adherence to EU native standards. Added to this was the potential complications of transport, customs clearance and the logistics of importing from the other side of the world, and very quickly business practises had to be tightened up. Pretty quickly though, highly effective supply chains were implemented, high quality products were flooding into UK warehouses, and UK retailers were enjoying high margin sales. As more people became involved, naturally the competition for retail buyers increased and price started to become an issue. Even whilst enjoying huge margins due to the relatively low cost of production of goods in China, discounts started to creep in amongst retailers, and the heady days of huge profits were becoming slightly eroded.
In January 2017, China was the second largest importer into the UK (after Germany) worth imports worth in excess of £3.68 billion. When considering setting up a business based around importing goods from China there are a number of important things that need to be considered. These will include managing long-distance relationships, to organising international transport and customs clearance. One of the most important things that you need to consider right from the start is to have very clear objectives as to what you want to achieve. Are you looking for a cheaper source of supplies from China, or are you looking to import products that are not currently readily available for sale in the United Kingdom? You then need to find a reliable and trustworthy supplier for your products from China. This will include agreeing specifications as well as making sure that the products comply with any EU or UK standards. Check with your potential supplier if you are buying directly from them or if they are outsourcing production themselves. It will also be helpful to understand the culture of the Chinese and their markets. Mandarin is the official language in China and is becoming an increasingly important language globally. Learning just a few phrases and words can be well worth the time and will impress your potential Chinese partners.
Contact
+44(0)203 538 5662
info@eastmeetswestdirect.com
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