Many foreign buyers seem to favor manufacturers only over all other types of businesses in the supply chain. And some buying offices discriminate in a sense against trading companies because they exhaust profits in the middle, and some of them tend to lead foreign buyers to think of all intermediaries, including sourcing agents, as negative players. However, I believe that the decision should be left to the buyers themselves when choosing between purchasing offices, sourcing agents, manufacturers or trading companies.
First of all, we must ask ourselves, what is it that buyers really care about? Actually, the answer can be very simple: quality, price and service. Although I am a sourcing agent myself, I hold the view that products can be sourced from any type of business that best combines all three factors or anyone who can make it easy for the manufacturer to adjust these three factors to achieve a perfect balance.
For example, if a good trading company can strike a good balance between these three factors, I don’t see why buyers shouldn’t choose to negotiate with a merchant. Believe it or not, some commercial companies may even offer lower prices than manufacturers with the advantage of getting a tax refund from the government. Also, it must be admitted that they could have more experience in terms of product knowledge than all product sourcing companies or individuals, because unlike purchasing offices dealing with, say, 30 industries, these traders have been focused on a particular industry for years.
The same goes for individual sourcing agents, although they are stereotyped as always taking bribes in the middle, there are still some really professional and loyal players that deserve a review, it requires keen observation, instinct, and sometimes just good luck for part of buyers to get a very good. The most valuable advantage of hiring a truly professional sourcing agent is that the sourcing agent looks for suppliers without prejudice against any type of business, so that they can show different options available to the buyer, and they will always fight for the interests and terms of the buyer. customer. But vendors, especially commercial companies, can sometimes pose difficulties for their customers, especially when dramas occur in a business process due to a natural conflict of interest. Also, some sourcing agents may offer good supplier referrals to their clients and deal directly with suppliers to save everyone’s time. They also charge very reasonably and flexibly, plus they can devote more time and personal attention to their customers.
Another group of service providers is buying offices. But one of the differences is that some buying offices may be better suited only for large buyers, because when processing large orders, for large buyers, the consulting cost may represent only a small part of your budget. However, for most buyers who are small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, or startups, a large purchasing office can cost them as much (or even more) as a commercial company, because purchasing offices require more investment in the rental of large companies. office area, hiring of several employees, etc.
Lastly, it should be noted that dealing directly with manufacturers that only do domestic business is definitely frustrating, they typically export overseas through trading companies. Fortunately, foreign buyers can build an export pipeline by hiring sourcing agents, business interpreters, purchasing offices, or trading companies to bridge the gap.
Therefore, I suggest that foreign buyers carefully examine the price, quality and service when engaging in different types of business in the supply chain. None of the three players mentioned is guaranteed to be the best choice.