Below I’ve aimed to outline the process of starting from ground zero to actually having a paid-for product ready to import into Australia. Its a process that you must go through before you can involve all the other 3rd parties including freight forwarders, insurance companies, government departments, etc. Due to a distinct lack of guidance in navigating what I found can be a very tedious and difficult process, a number of people give up on pursuing imports. I like to colloquially call this stage ‘factory to free on board’ and its what I’ve managed to streamline for likeminded importers.

The steps involved included:

• Identifying a reputable and quality manufacturer (usually takes hours of research if you have no prior relationships)

•  Procuring the relevant technical drawings to send to the manufacturers engineers (if getting a product custom made)

• Taking your first trip across the sea to conduct initial Q&A assessments of the shortlisted manufacturers

• Negotiating a purchase price and terms of sale (usually over a 3 hour round table lunch or dinner) so you’d better brush up on those chopstick skills!

• Making subsequent trips during manufacturing to make sure no corners are being cut (suppliers can be notorious for saying one thing but then doing the cheapest alternative)

• Taking a final trip just before shipping to perform a final Q&A inspection and make sure that what you ordered is what’s actually being put into the container

• Arranging within China transport to move your plant/machinery from factory to port

• Procuring the relevant import permits, ROVA permits, advisory notices, quarantine declarations and manufacture declaration (to get your plant/machinery across the Australian boarder)

• Then and only then can you start to think about freight forwarding, insurances etc …

To reduce both the risk, time and complexity of the highlighted steps, I offer a host of services to assist small business and individuals alike, with bringing in their own plant, spare parts and machinery into Australia.