A lot of work goes into sourcing quality goods from overseas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your life a little easier while still doing things right. Here are six easy ways to simplify your global sourcing without jeopardizing the quality of the goods you’re buying. Your customers will be happy with the results and so will your business!
The 1st Step
Figure out What You’re Really Looking For: There’s a big difference between ‘buying cheap goods from overseas’ and ‘supplying goods from overseas’. Before you get started, make sure you know exactly what kind of product you want, who will be buying it, how much it should cost, where it should come from, and how long it should take. Otherwise, your global sourcing services effort could get bogged down in bureaucracy or cost more than expected. The 2nd Step: Find an Overseas Partner To Help Get You Started. If you want to buy cheap but legally, it’s best if someone already familiar with all those rules helps you get started – otherwise, there are just too many possibilities for mistakes or fraud.
The 2nd Step
Running tests: Once you’ve executed your original idea, you can begin running tests that mimic your original plan. These tests are what we call quick wins. Once you execute a few, they’ll give you enough data to confirm or disprove your hypothesis (or prove it right), and when executed correctly, lead directly to substantial business growth. When testing different ways of marketing—such as AdWords, content marketing, and email campaigns—look for trends over time: Is one channel performing better than another? Does one offer better ROI? Does more traffic mean more sales?
The 3rd Step
Define your Region, Sub-region, Country, and City Target: You don’t want to be searching all over China for a China sourcing company who specializes in shipping. Instead, focus on a geographic area you can easily travel or send emails from. Begin by defining your region (North America? Europe?), then sub-region (New England? Southeast Asia?), country, and city targets. How many suppliers do you need?: In most cases, it makes sense to limit yourself to just one or two suppliers per product category; start by determining how many suppliers you’ll need overall—and then divide that number by four (the number of categories). This will allow you to search for multiple suppliers without spreading yourself too thin.
The 4th Step
Finding Suppliers for Your Products or Services: One of the first things you need to do in order to source a product overseas is find a vendor who has what you’re looking for. And while your research can be done online, there’s no substitute for showing up in person at markets and exhibitions where you can speak with vendors one-on-one. These events are great places to test product samples, discuss quantities and negotiate prices, and become familiar with customs regulations so that you don’t find yourself facing any unpleasant surprises later on.
The 5th Step
Do your homework. This should be more than obvious. Make sure you understand what people need, which means you’ve researched your marketplace and know where people hang out and buy/sell things in your niche. If you don’t do that, you’re in for a rude awakening when someone asks a question about your solution to a problem they’re facing—because if you don’t know that it exists, how can you solve it? So don’t write articles unless they address specific problems or interests; make sure each one offers a new angle on an existing issue.
The 6th Step
Spend More Time on Market Research: Now that you have a basic idea of your new product, it’s time to look at what customers want. Use your imagination and other knowledge of your industry and field – do some serious market research. Look into how people use products similar to yours and ask them what features they would like on their next purchase. Ask friends and family if they would be interested in purchasing such a product. Conduct surveys asking questions about typical customer needs when it comes to products like yours. There are plenty of ways for you to figure out which types of features or qualities people want in their next product – but market research is by far one of the most effective!
