What is a Sourcing Agent? Do I really need them to buy furniture in Indonesia?
Those questions are often asked by importers who want to move their supply chain to Indonesia. As an importer or furniture seller, you may be wondering if you really need the help of a sourcing agent or simply importing the products yourself. Let’s dig more into this article about how difficult it can be to import furniture from Indonesia!
What does a sourcing agent realistically involve?
The first thing you have to do to move your supply chain to Indonesia is to find a good and reliable supplier and an internet search for suppliers from your office in another country is not a good start nor an efficient way to do it.
You have to invest at least 1 to 3 hours per day to do supplier sourcing and management, and this applies to each supplier.
Why? Because you need to make sure several critical information before placing any order with them, such as:
• Supplier basic information and management including their products’ quality level
• Supplier capabilities in taking your order
• Long term relationships (communication, quality control, shipments follow-up, defect claim, and so on)
If your team is unable to accomplish this, you should consider working with a sourcing agentcy to help you in finding reliable furniture and home décor suppliers in Indonesia.
What are the benefits of working with a sourcing agent?
If you are still wondering whether working with a sourcing agent is a good decision to make or not. Here is the explanation of why it will become the best decision that you have ever made:
- Sourcing agent as your business partner. You can imagine, Indonesia is a big country with thousands of islands. Looking for a high-standard manufacturer who produces the high-standard quality product is similar to looking for a needle in a haystack. By hiring a sourcing agent, he will help you to find the best supplier of the products you want. He will absolutely be a savior for you.
- Sourcing agent as your spokesperson. Hiring a sourcing agent means you have nothing to worry about. They live around your suppliers and they spoke the same language as your suppliers. This will save you from the communication and culture gap between you and your suppliers. And also your sourcing agent will act as your trusted middleman who will negotiate with the suppliers to get you the best prices.
- Sourcing agents will minimize your risk, and maximize your profit. Having a professional sourcing agent on your side is really a great decision. You can minimize all the risks of importing goods and get the maximum profit. Why? It is because you don’t have to spend much money to travel to Indonesia just to check and monitor your productions. Let your sourcing agent do the job of taking care of all the documents and be your eyes during the manufacturing process. Furthermore, a sourcing agent can be your local representation and work closely with your company to research, find, negotiate and manage suppliers in Indonesia. They can also assist with market research, quality control, pre-shipment inspection, customs clearance, and supplier network development. The investment of hiring a sourcing agent will reduce your overall operating expenses to increase revenues.
- Getting out of trouble. this is probably the most under-rated function of a good sourcing agent. When problems arise such as product quality claims and delay shipment an importer who isn’t in Indonesia cannot just solve them by emails and phone calls. A sourcing agent knows the ins and outs of the business in Indonesia, they can visit the suppliers regularly to see what’s going on and report to you immediately if there is anything that goes wrong. They can ensure you access trusted suppliers so that you get the conform products.
Get sourcing help from the experts on the ground in Indonesia now!
Asean Sourcing can act as your partner working in the ground in Indonesia to avoid you from all the hassles of sourcing your product.
Asean Sourcing is a sourcing agent and service company, unlike the other common sourcing agencies, we are the expert in the furniture and décor home industry in Indonesia, and we invest our time and knowledge to give and source high-quality products with the best price balance for you. If you are looking for a professional sourcing agent to assist you with your import business, Asean Sourcing is the right choice!
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