Import Management
What is it?
Cheaper pricing and higher margins require many wholesalers and retailers to have at least part of their range sourced from Overseas, usually Asia.
Purchasing from overseas factories generally entails lead-times of 1.5 – 6months from order placement to receipt of goods, with the goods having to be manufactured, transported, shipped and then customs cleared and locally transported. Safety stock parameters and accurate forecasting are paramount, as is visibility of forward stock position.
Purchasing from factories in China, Taiwan etc requires strong processes, as consistency of lead times and many other parameters can be highly fluid. Other issues include balancing container fill and Minimum Order Quantity requirements. Strong processes are required to prevent logistic cost and stockholding blowouts, which would quickly eat up any first margin benefits of cheaper pricing.