It’s now been a couple of weeks since the last post, but true to our supplier’s estimations the second round of design #2 samples came in this week – reflecting the changes required. The changes were made exactly as required and we are all happy to know that we now have another sellable product on our hands.

Price-wise, we’ve also come in just below our desired figure of $75 per piece, and we were only able to achieve this due to our combining consignments with the first design, as well as the quantities we expect to purchase of both designs.

Seeing as we will be ordering in bulk, and how jackets (even when flat-packed) take up considerable more room than your average portable electronics package or software package, we also have to account for storage space / warehousing. Luckily, our partners already factored this in and have allocated room in one of their warehouses for the purpose. Those of you exploring the idea of trading / manufacturing in bulk will need to consider your storage requirements at the beginning. You could, otherwise, face a problem later down the line that might render your venture unprofitable. If we didn’t have access to this virtually ‘free’ space, we probably wouldn’t be able to make our $75 per piece target for design #2.

So where to from here? As described at the beginning of this venture, we have fulfilled our side of the project and it’s now up to our partners to follow on with the sale and distribution of our jackets. Based on their distribution agreements they will now place a bulk order of both designs, with color choice quantities depending on their forecasts and the general consensus of retailers as to which colors they believe will sell best.

We haven’t dealt with the issue of import taxes and duties at this stage because sample orders are generally low volume / low consignment value, thus rarely attracting any kind of customs attention. You must be aware of your local customs and import laws, as they vary country to country. Also, just because samples are generally low volume, this doesn’t always necessarily exclude you from duties payable. It all depends on the type of product you are importing and the value of the consignment, as small as you think it might be.

Unless you know what you’re already doing, it’s generally easier to employ the services of a freight forwarder / broker when importing bulk consignments, whether by international air, sea or train. On top of their specific knowledge, they often have existing industry relationships that can make the process far smoother and hassle-free than otherwise.

Once bulk consignments reach ports and are cleared, there is also the issue of transport. 40ft containers or even 20ft for that matter generally contain volumes not easily transportable by a single car or utility vehicle. Options are generally i) to use your own suitably-sized truck to pick up the goods; ii) pay for the delivery of goods by an appropriate container truck and unload the goods immediately on delivery (usually within 1 hr); or iii) pay for the delivery of goods via a container-loader truck that will place the container on your premises, enabling you to conveniently unload over a 24hr (or pre-specified) period. Each option will have its own set of pros and cons, so you must also consider these when planning.

As we hear word from our partners we will keep you posted with updates as to how this project is performing on the sale and distributions side, but to this end we believe the venture to be a success thus far; with all design, sourcing, manufacturing and sample delivery processes completed in under 2 months.