1) Determine if there is a local market for the goods that you intend to introduce
It is important for you to make sure that there is a reliable market demand for the goods that you intend to procure from outside the country. This will help shield you from any unnecessary losses. It can be hard on you and your business to find that all the time, effort and money expended in importing a consignment of goods is bound to be wasted due to lack of demand for the end products that will be manufactured.
Forming focus groups that will research and find out if the market is interested in what you have to offer will help you know how much inventory you will allow the business to keep in its stores. It will also enable you to know how much money you want to spend on purchasing goods outside the country.
2) Find out if you are legally allowed to import the items you have purchased
It will help if you have a legal compliance department in your business. If you cannot afford to run one, then you should have a lawyer working with you. Choose one that is an expert in international law and laws pertaining to the customs departments. This is the person who will tell you whether the items being imported are legally allowed in the country or not. Failure to get legal representation could end up in you importing contraband such as arms, ivory tusks and so on. By having good legal representation before making the import, your business will have saved face.
3) Estimate the costs of importing the goods in question
Before placing an order with a company outside your country’s borders, it would be prudent to list down all the costs associated with the whole exercise. Some of these costs might include:
1) The cost of storing the goods before they reach your warehouse
2) Duties and taxes that have to be paid at customs checkpoints
3) Charges for using brokers and freighters at ports, harbors and border checkpoints.
The best thing to do is to have a team of trusted employees whose only job will be handling the clearance of the goods bought into the country. This will help you by giving you free time that you can use to focus on other things.