International Business

In today's international business market, where competition is so fierce, the importance of choosing the best off shore or on shore sourcing agents has occupied the front seat. Owing to the expertise of different countries in different fields such as manufacturing, product building, etc., it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with their pace.

Many business firms irrespective of their sizes are constantly checking and giving utmost importance to the questions like, "Are we getting the best price quotes for the source we are using? Are the sourcing materials and products bought from the best possible source?"

In order to avoid all these potential complications and have a clear picture of the source, most of the International businesses are using the expertise of sourcing agents both at national and international level. Following information throws some light on the importance of role of sourcing agents and how they can help your business develop at both national and international level.

Sourcing Agent

A good sourcing agent must be capable of reducing at least 20% of the overhead on the purchase department. This includes both the hidden costs as well as the standard costs.

Standard Costs: Some of the standard costs that a sourcing agent should be capable of reducing include and are not limited to the cargo, shipping insurance, customs fee, import tax, dock fee, etc.

Hidden Costs: A good sourcing agent should also be able to minimize some of the hidden costs such as contract fees when hiring new supplier, costs of visiting the supplier, fees incurred due to delay in shipping, custom fees accrued due to inappropriate documentation or due to some missing docs, anti-dumping fees, delays at the shipping terminal due to congestion etc.

International Sourcing Agents

Good international agents make international process of sourcing as easy as a domestic one. These global sourcing companies often offer services such as taking care of the entire offshore manufacturing process along with purchases. International business transactions are made easy with global sourcing companies as they are well versed with all such processes.

IB's often do not hesitate to pay a ten to twenty percent extra on top of the agreed price to these agents, because of the following benefits:

International Sourcing Agents Often Represent the Supplier

Provide an immediate access to the best suppliers and trustworthy companies that offer the most relevant expertise in minimum time frames.

Some of the global sourcing companies also offer engineering services and lend a hand in the development of new products.

Keep an eye on the price quotes from various all over the world if found necessary.

International agents apart from managing the international communications also handle the translations and arrange site visits at appropriate times.

Sometimes, they can also turn out to be buying agents or project managers for projects that require multiple overseas suppliers.

The above mentioned are only a few of the benefits that an International Business can enjoy by hiring a good agent. Hence, it might be a good idea for you to try out one of these International or domestic agents on you next project and reap the benefits that come your way.