Factors to Consider When Buying from Abroad
2.0. FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING FROM ABROAD (Ng’holombi D.W. –BBA Procurement & Logistics Management, CPSP)
2.1. Identifying a Supplier:
An international buyer, among other things to consider is where he or she is going to source his or her requirements. To many buyers especially who are starting this transaction, always suffer a lot of problems and some times they end into buying from unreliable suppliers. It is very important to put in mind that, identifying a supplier is a professional approach and the buyer is subjected to understanding various sources of information on different suppliers as to his or her requirements.
2”An important part of the work of a buyer, whether the buyer is operating in the domestic market or international, is ‘sourcing’. In many developing economies, where buying firms are just beginning to explore the international market, the major difficulty is to locate potential suppliers in the global market. Fortunately the advent of global network is of information regarding not only the suppliers, but also, also almost any detail required regarding their products is accessible to buyers in most countries.”
In the international buying perspective, a buyer can fetch information on different suppliers from different sources like; Internet, where a number of suppliers display their functions in their web sites. If this is not enough, other sources are the international trade fairs where a buyer can visit physically and collect information on different suppliers he likes. Embassies and Chamber of commerce are also reliable sources of information suppliers. Banks are another source of information about suppliers as they are connected to financing international trades and have experience in dealing with importations. There are oversea directories, which are international publications with collection international trade news, therein are published different suppliers with their respective products. Another reliable sources are
2.1. Identifying a Supplier:
An international buyer, among other things to consider is where he or she is going to source his or her requirements. To many buyers especially who are starting this transaction, always suffer a lot of problems and some times they end into buying from unreliable suppliers. It is very important to put in mind that, identifying a supplier is a professional approach and the buyer is subjected to understanding various sources of information on different suppliers as to his or her requirements.
2”An important part of the work of a buyer, whether the buyer is operating in the domestic market or international, is ‘sourcing’. In many developing economies, where buying firms are just beginning to explore the international market, the major difficulty is to locate potential suppliers in the global market. Fortunately the advent of global network is of information regarding not only the suppliers, but also, also almost any detail required regarding their products is accessible to buyers in most countries.”
In the international buying perspective, a buyer can fetch information on different suppliers from different sources like; Internet, where a number of suppliers display their functions in their web sites. If this is not enough, other sources are the international trade fairs where a buyer can visit physically and collect information on different suppliers he likes. Embassies and Chamber of commerce are also reliable sources of information suppliers. Banks are another source of information about suppliers as they are connected to financing international trades and have experience in dealing with importations. There are oversea directories, which are international publications with collection international trade news, therein are published different suppliers with their respective products. Another reliable sources are
References: 1. Burt N.D. et al (2003), World class Supply Management – The Key to Supply Chain Management 7th ed. Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Ltd- New Delhi. 2. Burton J.A. (1980) Effective Warehousing 2nd ed. 3. Dobler W.D. et al. (1990) Purchasing and Material s Management (Text &cases) 5th ed. McGraw-Hill International editions, Singapore 4 6. Mrope N. (2005) Understanding International Purchasing, Mzumbe Bookshop Project Morogoro – Tanzania. 7. Ngeze A.P. (2005) Logistic Management Notes - Manual, SAUT (Not published) -----------------------