Ebook
Finding and retaining a supplier
The buyer's guide for importing their first batch. Finding a supplier is the easy part: there are tens of thousands of them, and many will respond. What determines your margin comes afterward—getting a sustainable price, quality that doesn't deviate by the fifth batch, and a lead time that doesn't stretch out when you become a small customer among others.
- Pages
- 37
- Mots
- 8 569
- Format
€39
Digital content. The waiver of the right of withdrawal checkbox is located on the cart page, before payment.
This book covers that part. It is written from the buyer's perspective, using professional vocabulary, and goes into detail about clauses, tables, and calculations.
The six parts
I. Understanding this market — What you're really buying (the product, consistency, the relationship). Who takes what in the chain. The six tests that distinguish a manufacturer from a trader in ten minutes.
II. Finding — The six channels by decreasing yield, including trade shows and customs manifests. The first contact message that gets a real response, in French and English. Vetting a company before discussing money with them.
III. Quoting — Anatomy of an industrial quote in twelve lines. Incoterms 2020 explained by risk transfer, with the three pitfalls (CIF, EXW, DDP). The complete formula for the landed cost, with a detailed example. Tooling ownership, a point that makes you captive.
IV. Quality — The four-step sampling protocol, from prototype to sealed golden sample. How to write a technical specification that prohibits instead of describes, with a before/after table. Reading an AQL table (ISO 2859-1) and drafting the inspection clause. The factory audit, point by point.
V. Securing — Payment instruments and their sequences. Bank account change fraud, its exact scheme, and the rule that stops it. The minimum eight-point contract. Why a Western NDA doesn't protect you, and what an enforceable NNN agreement is.
VI. Maintaining — Negotiating in a repeated game: the levers that cost little to the supplier, those that damage the relationship. Detecting and stopping quality drift. Setting up a second source without alienating the first. A plan for the first twelve months.
What you take away
- A structured Request for Quotation (RFQ) template, ready to send
- Two first contact templates, French and English
- A 25-point checklist before the first order
- The landed cost formula and a complete detailed example
- An annotated extract from an AQL sampling table
- A comparative table of the nine Incoterms by risk transfer
- A glossary of 13 industry terms
- Logistical benchmarks: container capacities, actual filling rates
For whom
Brand creators preparing their first import, independent businesses and small structures buying directly, and anyone who has lost money on a batch and wants to understand why.
For whom it is not
Experienced industrial buyers will mostly find reminders here. It is also not a supplier directory: no contacts are provided.
What the book does not cover
Step-by-step customs clearance, detailed import taxation, product compliance by category (toys, cosmetics, electronics, food, medical devices) and applied trademark law. These topics are too dependent on your country and category to be honestly covered here.
Format
PDF, 21 chapters and 4 appendices. For on-screen reading or printing. Immediate access after purchase.
This book describes working methods and professional practices. It does not guarantee any commercial results. Customs, tax, and contractual points are provided for guidance: for a real operation, have your contracts reviewed by a lawyer and your declarations by a customs professional.