Kinahandeln

With Our Help, Your Importing From China Is Finally Effortless And Trustworthy

How to import from China (2020 Guide)

Importing from China is absolutely a highly profitable business idea if you have an experienced team. China is the biggest manufacturer hub in the world and it has the widest range of products you can choose from. With decades of export and manufacturing experiences, Chinese manufacturers just know the best when it comes to efficiency and what is in demand. The advantages of cheap workforce, cheap material, export tax refunds and government financial support can bring down your importing cost significantly. Yet importing from China can also be full of complications and traps, which you need to be knowledgeable enough to dodge. If everything gets done right, your procurement from China will generate a significant profit for you.

Here is an import checklist that gives you a step by step guide on how to start your importing from China. we will walk you through each point later on in this article.

  1. Decide on what product you want to import from China, describe with a sample or design sketch.
  2. Find out whether your potential product requires an import license.
  3. Identify which EU regulations and standards that your products need to comply with.
  4. Find trustworthy suppliers through a reliable network or your own sourcing team in China.
  5. Verify suppliers for trustworthiness and reliability.
  6. Keep a clear communication with your suppliers throughout the whole manufacturing process.
  7. Arrange an optimal payment plan that saves money for you.
  8. Order a full inspection of mass production before the shipment.
  9. Find the right forwarder partner that you can trust.

1. Decide on what product you want to import from China, visualize with a prototype, a sample or a detailed sketch.

Kinahandeln helps you with product samples and design sketch.

Chinese are extremely skillful manufacturers If you make sure they understand exactly what you want. Having a complete prototype would be ideal, then all you need is a translator and holding everyone to the standard you have set. Make sure your suppliers closely follow your specifications. Yet in most cases importers do not have a solid blueprint but some inspirations or a rough sketch of the potential product. If this is your situation, you may need a professional sourcing company, which you can work out a mood board with. They know how to communicate your ideas clearly with Chinese factories (they will also include translating into their service package). Some experienced sourcing companies may have even sourced a similar product, that can make your project much easier and shorten the lead time.

2. Find out whether your potential product requires an import license.

An import license is a document issued by a national government authorizing the importation of certain goods into its territory. If you are purchasing goods from a non-EU country, certain categories of goods require an import license. However most products are freely importable and does not need an import license. You or your import agent need to identify your commodity code and make an import declaration. You must classify your goods and report to the local customs bureau.

3. Identify which EU regulations and standards that your products need to comply with.

Kinahandeln FSC

Here is one thing you need to bear in mind. According to EU law (EU products requirements apply in all EU countries), before your products can be traded freely in the EU, you must ensure that they comply with any relevant EU rules first. That means you need to perform your own control over the products in terms of quality and hazard. It is your responsibility to find out which directives, rules and standards are relevant to your product and your industry. You must fulfill the obligation of aligning all your products with all the health, safety and environmental standards. For example, to import wood products, you need to be familiar with Timber Regulation and how all types of FSC labels work. Chemicals legislation REACH must be complied with if your products contain chemicals. EC mark is required for electronics. You as an importer or your import consultant need to know which regulation applies to what product.

4. Find trustworthy suppliers through a reliable network or your sourcing agent in China.

Kinahandeln is a sourcing agent that you can trust.

Where to find high-quality suppliers? Newbies mostly start with searching on Google. If that’s what you do, you will be exposed to hundreds of thousands of results. Filtering out the good suppliers from such a huge database would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Facing an overwhelming information load, most people end up just taking luck and deciding on one. This can be extremely risky. Those with a little more experience might go with a sourcing platform such as Alibaba. That is doable, but you need to be prepared to pay for an overpriced procurement.

Suppliers pay up to 80,000 RMB to get on Alibaba and similarly on other sourcing platforms. These costs will, of course, be calculated and added in your importation later. On top of it all, most qualified factories won’t pay for this fee to get on sourcing platforms as their good reputation can bring enough orders though local contacts with sourcing agents. If you only search on Alibaba, you will miss an ocean of good options. The optimal solution would be teaming up with a local sourcing agent to search locally or an import consultant that takes care of every aspect of your importation including sourcing. They both have a wider range of local supplier networks. It is also free to source if you place an order.

5. Verify suppliers for trustworthiness and reliability.

Verifying suppliers is a time-consuming but important job, a lot of research and audit need to be done. China has its own cooperate checking system called National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, where it is possible to check on vendor’s overall performance, background information and whether they have complied with regulations. You can also contact the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce (you need to speak Chinese) to check on their business license. If you have a local team, the communication will be much easier, otherwise your sourcing company should be able to conduct the verification and report to you.

6. Keep a clear communication with your suppliers throughout the whole manufacturing process.

Kinahandeln maintains a clear communication with your suppliers for you.

You can never make yourself too clear about what your product specification during manufacturing in China. The same reason for having a mood board for your product from day one, a clear communication helps you avoid the misunderstanding that caused by language barrier. Try to write down every detail (better in Chinese) as a handbook for your suppliers and stay posted about every step throughout the whole manufacturing process. Your local team or sourcing partner in China can even visit the production line now and then to monitor and negotiate in person. This way will ensure that your products are aligned with your specifications and quality expectations.

7. Arrange an optimal payment plan that saves money for you.

Kinahandeln helps with import payment!

There are a lot of wire transfer options out there, make sure you stay smart! Try to consult your sourcing agent in China while making the payment plan as they are much more experienced and always stay up to date with the “profit-optimizing” tactics. For having more control over the suppliers in terms of quality, you can choose to let your Chinese sourcing agent pay your vendors on your behalf, they will be able to request a full inspection on the mass products before the payment to further ensure the quality. Paying in the “right way” can save you up to 3%.

8. Order a full inspection of mass production before the shipment.

Kinahandeln conducts full inspection of your products.

You need to hire a competent inspector or having a competent sourcing company in China conduct a professional inspection. There are two common types, random inspection, and full inspection. We recommend a full inspection of your first order if it is realistic. Some import agencies even provide during production check and pre-shipment inspection to have even better control over quality.

9. Team up with a forwarder partner that you can trust.

They are a lot of things to consider in order to save on your shipping cost. We will talk into details in another article. How you select the incoterm makes a big difference in your shipping cost. Some common incoterm that you should know are CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight), FAS (Free Alongside Ship), FOB (Free on Board), EXW (Ex Works). Besides, shipping season has impact on shipping cost. Negotiate on a door-to-door delivery with your forwarder before the shipment, you will be able to receive your goods at your door and expect all the import paperwork done for you.

Who is Kinahandeln?

Kinahandeln is a Swedish found company located in Kungsbacka with our local sourcing and QC team in China. Our Swedish office provides you a wide range of project consultancy services, including product develop, EU law and regulations, customs clearance, logistic and customer satisfaction. Our Chinese team with their local advantages takes care of your souring, quality control and production line visit, pricing, social audit and export paperwork services. Importing through us is just like having an import department in Europe that handles the whole project and a local office in China that monitors the manufacturing on a daily base. With our unique advantages, we are able to take care of all aspects of your import project both in China and Sweden. No experience from your side is required. Start your business with us today!