Signage equipment, tools and materials
A growing buyer, purchases from multiple suppliers — and one agent in China to run it all as the seller of record.
Client location: West Africa
Logistics mode: FCL, 40 ft HQ
Service format: End-to-end
Service focus: Multi-supplier sourcing and purchasing management in China. Seller of record. Long-term private agent. A single point of contact on the ground in China. One container — one consignee.
Intro
An established company, large in its region, had been purchasing in China for years. As the business grew, the supply chain workflow grew with it: multiple products from different suppliers, and no practical way to run all of that from across the ocean — they did not want to approach each manufacturer directly.
What they needed was a long-term, independent sourcing agent on the ground in China — a private agent, not an agency — to build a business relationship with: someone to source the products, speak with the sellers and factories, manage the procurement, consolidate orders from multiple factories, and ship everything from a single source, as the seller of record.
Product range
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Signage and production materials
stainless steel frontlit outdoor signage, foam board, acrylic board, aluminium composite panels with installation glue, acrylic sheets, E-jet vinyl rolls. -
Lighting
LED modules, T5 LED tubes with fittings. -
Workshop and office equipment
ESD chairs and table mats, magnifying lamps, steel lockers and filing cabinets. -
Other
louvre panels, colour cards, catalogues and tile samples.
Service scope
- Source suppliers and manufacturers against the client’s references
- Confirm the exact items and details from the suppliers’ catalogues — approved by the client’s procurement
- Visit selected suppliers in person
- Place and manage the confirmed purchases
- Handle payments to multiple suppliers in China in different currencies
- Consolidate the orders at the warehouse
- Load the container and arrange export from China
- Provide the documents needed to clear import at destination
Outcome
I managed the orders, handled the back-and-forth and the small issues along the way, and visited two of the suppliers in person. Purchases from 13 suppliers went as one shipment into one 40 ft HQ container. For the client, the entire process ran without incident. They received the contract, one commercial invoice for all the purchases, the packing list, and a copy of the bill of lading.
Since this container, we have kept working together — I became their agent in China.
FAQ
No. The client approved the goods and the details; the contracts and payments with the suppliers ran on my side, and the client’s counterparty in the deal was my company — the seller of record.
Each supplier was paid on my side, in USD or RMB, as their terms required. The client made one payment against one consolidated invoice, in EUR.
Anton Gora
Independent sourcing and purchasing agent
Master’s degree in Sinology
In China since 2005
In China since 2005