Importers, Exporters and Wholesalers
Plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the operations of importing, exporting and wholesaling trading establishments.
A week of trading
You are the owner and manager of a small import business, with a container at sea, a supplier waiting and customers asking about stock. It is Monday. A container is due in on Thursday, a big customer wants a price for a new order, and your overseas supplier has sent a message that may change everything.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
The cost of materials has gone up and I have to raise my price for your next order. I am sorry. Also, if you can confirm today, I can ship in two weeks. If you wait, I cannot say when.
Confirm today at the new price, to secure the shipping slot
You get your slot, but you committed before working out whether your customers will pay the higher price. Pressure to decide quickly usually favours the seller.
Ask for a day, check what your customers will accept and then reply with a clear counter-offer
Mr Zhang agrees to hold the slot for a day. You learn your customers can absorb a small increase, and you negotiate a smaller one with a larger order. A day of homework often saves months of regret.
Refuse the increase and say you will find another supplier
There is no other supplier ready, and your customers need stock in a month. Threatening to leave works only when you actually have somewhere else to go.
I love the new range. I would like two thousand units at the price you quoted last month, delivered by the start of next month. If you can do it, we will place a standing order. Can you confirm now?
Confirm everything now, because a standing order is a huge win and she may not ask again
You agree before checking whether the supplier can deliver or what the cost increase does to your margin. When the numbers come back, the standing order loses money.
Tell her the price may change, explain why, and give a date once the supplier confirms
Alejandra appreciates the honesty, and you avoid an overpromise. Because you were open about the risk, the standing order is built on terms that work for both of you.
Say you will think about it and get back to her next week, once you have looked at the numbers
Nothing is promised that you cannot deliver, but a week is a long time for a big buyer. She starts talking to another importer while she waits.
I have the paperwork for Thursday's container, and one item is described differently on the invoice and the packing list. It is probably a typing error. I can lodge it as it is, or ask the supplier to correct it. Correcting will take a few days.
Ask the supplier to correct it, and tell your customers about the possible delay now
The paperwork is right, though you could have started the correction before Duncan raised it, and the customers hear about the delay at the last minute.
Lodge it as it is, since it is probably only a typing error and the container is due Thursday
The container is held for inspection and a fine is considered. A small mismatch becomes a big delay, and you are responsible for what is declared.
Ask for the correction now, tell your customers early and plan part-deliveries from stock
The paperwork is clean, your customers have time to adjust and part-deliveries keep the shelves from emptying. Dealing with the border properly is part of the business, not an obstacle to it.
How it went
By Friday you have a counter-offer out, a careful reply to the big buyer and a corrected shipping document on its way. Importers carry risk across distance, currencies and rules, and rely on relationships to make it work. Does trading goods from one part of the world to another sound exciting to you?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The container that would not clear
A fictional case set in a small fictional company that imports ceramic homewares and sells them to shops around the country.
The situation
Importer Thandiwe Mokoena ran Clay & Kiln Imports from a rented warehouse. A container of dinnerware for a big seasonal order had arrived at the port, but it was held. The invoice listed the goods under one description and the packing list under another, and the supplier's paperwork gave two different weights. Each day the container sat there, storage fees grew. Her customers wanted their stock in ten days. The supplier overseas told her the mismatch was no problem and the goods should be released.
What they did
Thandiwe resisted pushing the paperwork through. She called her customs broker, who explained which documents needed to match. She asked the supplier to send corrected, matching papers rather than argue that the originals were fine. While waiting, she rang her three biggest customers herself, told them about the delay and offered part-deliveries from existing stock. She also began keeping a small checklist of the documents for each shipment.
How it turned out
The corrected documents arrived four days later and the container cleared. Two customers accepted the partial delivery and one cancelled part of their order. The storage fees were an unwelcome cost, but Thandiwe's checklist caught a similar error on the next shipment before it left the supplier.
What would you do?
- Why was it better to get corrected documents than to argue the originals were fine?
- How would you tell a customer that their order will be late?
- What kinds of things could go wrong when goods cross a border?