CCTV cameras, electronics and mobile accessories
We are looking for China sourcing agent who can handle our orders, consolidate the goods and arrange air shipment.
Two orders, 47 packages, one air waybill.
Intro
The client was buying from two suppliers in China. The CCTV cameras of a well-known brand they purchased directly from the original supplier and paid themselves. The electronics and mobile accessories order they handed to me: their supplier and their purchase list, with the order managed and paid on my side.
The shipment was urgent, but some questions on the China side slowed down the process, and they needed someone on the ground in China to manage it promptly. My part ran through to export: the second order, collection from both suppliers, consolidation, and air shipment.
Service scope
- Manage the existing supplier and handle the order end to end
- Manage China-side local logistics and consolidate all the orders
- Book air freight and handle export handover
- Assist with the official declaration and export customs clearance for one supplier
- Provide the AWB copy after dispatch
Outcome
One supplier was already paid by the client. I handled that order through to export and assisted with declaring the export officially. The other supplier I took over and executed end to end — order placement, follow-ups and payment — and issued the invoice as the seller of record. All the goods were consolidated at the warehouse in China and shipped by air as one batch: 47 packages, 550 kg chargeable weight in total. After dispatch I provided the client with a copy of the AWB.
FAQ
No critical issues, but a few questions were slowing the process down. Also, the camera supplier required a formal export declaration but was not responsible for arranging the export — so for that order it was becoming the client's problem.
They could. But the client was on another continent, and they didn't have any permanent manager or office in China to manage their orders in real time and keep the process moving and predictable.
550 kg is the dimensional weight: the volume of the goods was higher than normal for their 453 kg, and in that case the carrier charges by volume, not by actual weight.
Anton Gora
Independent sourcing
and purchasing agent in China
and purchasing agent in China
Master’s degree in Sinology
In China since 2005
In China since 2005
Field notes
Why is my Chinese supplier asking for a freight forwarder after I already paid them?
Nothing is wrong with your order: an official payment needs an official export, and the supplier assumes your side is handling it.