Importing Furniture from China in 5 Steps

China is currently leading the goods and products market in the world for producing the world’s most technical, expensive and all kinds of items that vary in price points at rates inexpensive than other manufacturers in the whole entire world. Countries that are less efficient are producing something usually import that good from other countries or exchange it for trade. Currently, China has a good trade market due to its amazing price points and quality.

Similarly, China has a huge number of furniture manufacturers varying from home-based brand fewer furniture producers, generic furniture producers, small to medium sized furniture producing companies or businesses and bigger furniture producing firms. The number counts above 50,000 different kinds and levels of furniture producers. Due to its cost saving factor, high quality and less use of building tools, China’s furniture is demanded and is imported by people all over the world. China has become the world’s largest furniture sourcing and exporting country since 2004. Therefore, there are a number of furniture producers and sellers on an individual as well as bulk level.

Here are the 5 steps that can guide you through the process of importing furniture from China in just 5 steps in detail:

Finding a suitable furniture manufacturer in China: The first and foremost step is finding a suitable manufacturer sounds easy just because the internet has made a search for anything and everything a lot easier. But mind this, it is not as easy as it seems. There are a number of factors and processes that undergo the process of selecting a suitable manufacturer that fit in the requirements and will be expected to fulfill the demand of the customer. For Example, the registered capital of a company will represent how big or small a company is since it is an indication of the business or company’s size. Besides, looking at the business scope tells pretty much about the business that what it is, whether manufacturing, production or exports, wholesaling, retailing. Every business has its own scope depending upon the nature of its business.

Customization and Quality Control: Once a suitable manufacturer has been selected. The next thing that must be looked for is that whether the selected one can provide and fulfill the customized needs and demands that are required. This means if the manufacturer is not just a manufacturer but also an OEM Manufacturer that operates on the Make to Order Principle.
An OEM Manufacturer accepts customizations in designs, materials, tools, foams, and fabrics used in the furniture, specification alterations, etc.
Besides, it is necessary to ensure that whether the business or the company selected is as per the Quality Management Systems and Standards such as ISO 9001 assure that the company provides quality, options, and stability required to compete in the competing market.

Safety Standards and Lab Testing: In some markets, there are some federal frameworks and some fire retardancy regulations that must be met in order to be able to produce, manufacture, market and sell as per the quality standards and safety regulations. For Example, European Union has a mandatory fire safety standards framework, to which the manufacturers must bind to and strictly follow in order to be counted as safe and as per standards in the European Union Standards.
Whereas, America has no such safety frameworks to which the American manufacturers need to comply. The manufacturer must be able to comply with the standards of production and manufacturing communicated by the buyer. Besides, once the manufacturer meets the demands of the buyer the goods must be lab tested for safety and to ensure if the goods produced are as per customer demands. In addition, whether the produced goods function as per the requirement of the buyer. For Example, test such as fire retardance tests must be performed and other kinds of required inspections must also be done.

Shipping Process: The second last and an important plus crucial part of the importer selection process must include information about the shipping process. Some manufacturers offer free shipping all around the world, whereas, some offer free shipping in certain locations of the world or up to the nearest cities only of the manufacturing city. Most manufacturers do not offer to ship unless the order is a huge and bulk order. Besides, many manufacturers do not offer to ship internationally. Those who do offer international shipping only offer international shipping is if the order placed is in bulk. However, so do offer shipping but the cost of shipping is expensive. Moreover, some furniture is fragile. It must be shipped accordingly. Therefore, the best way of ensuring that the furniture is being safely shipped, the importer must openly communicate about this with the exporter. Besides, a smart technique to save shipping costs is that the exporter must be asked to charge on unit bases instead of the container basis, which would save the costs of shipping.

Payment: Payment is the last and the most important factor when choosing a furniture importer from China. Not all importers accept all kinds of payment procedures. Besides, some agreements and paperwork are needed to be done before the payment is actually done. In fact, when the manufacturer is required to produce goods on demand, a small sum of money is paid to the manufacturer as the advance token money, so that the producer of the furniture could begin the manufacturing process. Moreover, the payment process is something that is negotiable between the importer and exporter. The process becomes even more negotiable when the order for furniture placed by the buyer places a bulk order. There are multiple modes of payments that can be used when importing furniture from China such as PayPal, Letter of Credit, International Wire Transfer, International Credit Cards, Online Escrow Account, Cash on Delivery by Sourcing Agents or Sourcing Companies and Western Union. The safest procedure of payment for bigger and bulkier orders is via Letter of Credit that incurs an additional cost of services that are charged by the bank but is safe too.