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Product sourcing from Eastern Europe

Anything related to sourcing or importing products.

Lescinsky

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Dear Fastlaners,

This is my first post so I would like to thank MJ for the fantastic book which lead me to this forum and for the forum and community it have made, I am reading it every day and finding so much great information to think for and to use it to develop my fastline lifestyle.

As I am getting so much from this community I would like to have opportunity to give back to it the way I am capable. I will try to write You short about my background and current business.

While I was working in my previous positions as export manager for large steel mill and for smaller steel frame structure producing and building companies, my basic task were to sell the company products with the highest possible return to the company which has made win position only for one side (somethimes for both if there were high need for the buyer side to come to decision fast and not take to account price level). I were losing one project after an other at the same time I knew that I could find a solution with acceptable conditions almost to every customer I have meeting if use different producers and suppliers for different projects. So I decided to leave the company and search for the solutions for my customers and partners with the most effective way where producers I am working with are able to fulfill their productions and construction companies can receive offer with much more competitive prices (local market normal price levels as I am negotiating prices to the levels I know the company can give while still work with the profit) and same high quality.

At the moment I have signed contracts with 2 Norwegian and 1 Iceland building companies for help with sourcing of their products from Eastern Europe (mainly Baltic and Poland) and by now my company have helped to win most of the tenders we have started together with my clients. By now I am trying to grow my customer base in Scandinavia as well develop supplier base (which have been developed in years of slowlane jobs and is quite large and competitive already).

However building materials and commodities are not the only products I have able to source, because I know the local markets and production capacities quite good and I would like to help You guys with sourcing some products You need. These will sure not be the products which are manufactured in China in large scale, but Eastern Europe production (especially Poland) also have competitive production costs while quality is much closer to Western consumer expectations.

With this post I would like to start discussion about possible products and opportunities which we could find together and see where it will lead us.
 
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Lescinsky

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Hi,

Can You please give some advises concerning the business model I am now developing? Have You had experience with similar type of services? Where You would suggest to pay most of attention?

Speaking about products from Eastern Europe, do You see potential here for Your existing or perspective businesses? Maybe You want to get some information about some specific products You are now searching and maybe they could be found here?

Also I am curios what are Your current associations about this region?

Your thoughts will help me a lot.

Thank You!
 

luka786

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"At the moment I have signed contracts with 2 Norwegian and 1 Iceland building companies for help with sourcing of their products from Eastern Europe" - so you are acting as representative for these companies? What is your provision?
 

amp0193

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Speaking about products from Eastern Europe, do You see potential here for Your existing or perspective businesses? Maybe You want to get some information about some specific products You are now searching and maybe they could be found here?

You've got me intrigued.

I love importing products from places other than China. I've actually imported products from eastern europe before.

The problem is, how can I know what products Eastern Europe has to offer, that can't be found other places, if I don't live there?


It seems like you're in the best position to share those thoughts/ideas.

Can you give some examples of products or commodities that you think are unique/special to your region, or that your region is known for?



-edit- damnit, I just replied to a 18 month old post. :bored:
 
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Lescinsky

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"At the moment I have signed contracts with 2 Norwegian and 1 Iceland building companies for help with sourcing of their products from Eastern Europe" - so you are acting as representative for these companies? What is your provision?
Yes, I were acting like a representative for these companies and were getting provision based on hours used for their inquiries according agreed hour rate. However I have moved forward a bit since my last post so I will go in more details in next post.
 

Lescinsky

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You've got me intrigued.

I love importing products from places other than China. I've actually imported products from eastern europe before.

The problem is, how can I know what products Eastern Europe has to offer, that can't be found other places, if I don't live there?


It seems like you're in the best position to share those thoughts/ideas.

Can you give some examples of products or commodities that you think are unique/special to your region, or that your region is known for?



-edit- damnit, I just replied to a 18 month old post. :bored:

No problem about post date, I am still here :)

I will start with some updated on what has been done since the first post! While I have been hustling on getting better deals for my customers from building industry, I have got a lot of new contacts and some of them are a part of my team at the work I am doing now, but about it later. While I was working like a purchasing agent I have the lack of time and as a profit came from worked hours it was hardly increase scale (increase amount of workers which has been done or agree on % from turnover were the options). But the good thing was that I got in touch with a variety of different products and fields and get the feeling how to source for the things I have heard for the first time or find solutions for different problems I was facing for the first time. This continued for a while and at some point I have change the strategy and offered my customers to change payment conditions from hourly based to turnover based, which they not wanted to confirm. At that time they were also got in touch with the suppliers of different products also directly so they not needed my service further on (don`t know is this the mistake or not as I have delivered the value to customers and that has gave results now when they are my customers but already in different situation).

So I still have got a lot of contacts in Scandinavia in construction industry, but now I also had a good contacts with the different suppliers. So I decided to offer some of the most trust-able and good quality producing suppliers to help with promotion of their products over my client base and agreed on provision based on % of turnover/profit. This has worked well and I have increased my business significantly, have hired first employee and made some profits. Over that period I have meet the owner of one production facility, we have talked a bit about what we are doing and as a result he told that his company have the financial problems and asked for a help to understand where is the problem and how to solve it (actually he asked to help find investor). The problem was quite easy to see, they did not have sales and had a problems with structure and procedures in company. After a while we I agreed to take over the production facility with their debts so they don`t have to proceed with the bankruptcy and I have the possibility to develop my business at the next level as a producer.

At the moment I have a base of customers over the Scandinavia (and now also in UK and Germany) + agents in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, have the production facility where I am producing steel structures for the different fields (mainly industrial and infrastructure buildings, but also offshore, shipbuilding and automotive industry), have a great team of technician, finance and building professionals and also the good relationship whit the suppliers I have worked with.

amp0193 - if to speak about the products from Europe, there is a lot of potential to find the right product almost for every field. For example timber products ( a lot of export of timer products go to China, also know the companies delivering firewood to USA in a large scale), different prefabricated modules or products (small houses, office containers), medicine drugs, steel products with added value, engineering products, people services (for example rope access workers which are highly professional here and work all over the world). Actually You can advise the sector and I can advise my view what I think could be reasonable to look over. Here is a lot of opportunities anyway.

Everyone welcome to ask if You are interested about some information You want to know about products or services over here. Or anything about my business development.
 

luka786

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Thank you for reply! So I have another question.
1. At beginning, how did you approach these companies (suppliers) and proposed to be their representative ie that you are going to find buyers for their products? Was it on your own initiative or were they looking for representatives on some website?
2. Did you source your client's product just to east Europe or maybe worldwide eg China or USA?

Thanks
 
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Lescinsky

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Thank you for reply! So I have another question.
1. At beginning, how did you approach these companies (suppliers) and proposed to be their representative ie that you are going to find buyers for their products? Was it on your own initiative or were they looking for representatives on some website?
2. Did you source your client's product just to east Europe or maybe worldwide eg China or USA?

Thanks

Actually I was not approaching suppliers to became their representative, I have approached my customers to help them with purchasing. At the process of purchasing for my customers, suppliers were offering to help them to move their product, which I was declining for some time while I was on the other side of the table. However when I found accountable suppliers who I can trust that their product will not broke my reputation, only then I started to think about changing the sides to the selling of products, not buying. However it is only my experience and decision how I wanted to do, it also could be a lot of other solutions how to proceed and develop.

I still have customers who ask them to find some product, but now I have offering them these products from my company (and source them form different places, like CIS countires - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, or other countries I have experience with like Iran, Egypt and others). So not only Eastern Europe, however I don`t have experience for sourcing products from China or USA.
 

luka786

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I appreciate your answers. I have big aspiration working something like you do, I am constantly educating myself and searching for good products to source somehow. What can you suggest, what steps should I take to take a plunge in that waters? Is it a good idea to start looking first for good supplier and then find a buyer or other way around?
How did you approach your customers to help them with purchasing? Did you called companies and offered your services, mailed them or did you see their announcement and then approached them?
I did something similar for sometime but I couldn't find a way to find right person in company and I came always like spam so they had tendency to ignore me and my services to source for them e.g. raw materials for producers. I assume you would have to get in touch with procurement manager but it was mission impossible :)
 

Lescinsky

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I appreciate your answers. I have big aspiration working something like you do, I am constantly educating myself and searching for good products to source somehow. What can you suggest, what steps should I take to take a plunge in that waters? Is it a good idea to start looking first for good supplier and then find a buyer or other way around?
How did you approach your customers to help them with purchasing? Did you called companies and offered your services, mailed them or did you see their announcement and then approached them?
I did something similar for sometime but I couldn't find a way to find right person in company and I came always like spam so they had tendency to ignore me and my services to source for them e.g. raw materials for producers. I assume you would have to get in touch with procurement manager but it was mission impossible :)

As You probably read in my previous post I already had a customers and had relationship with them from my previous work as a salesman. And at the start I was not switching the industry only offered to find them the products I have been already selling to them from the other sources with better price/quality deals. Only later I added products and services also from the same industry.

Anyway not depending who You want to reach You have to offer them solutions for their problems and You have to be sure You really do it. At the start of offering my services I already knew people from some of the supplier companies as well as purchasers at building companies, I understood the product and understood the problems purchasers have as well the process of delivering good service. With all that I still needed to put a lot of work to convince that all this is credible and still putting a lot of work moving products from the factory I am leading now (with direct communication with customers as well as my sales team).

Don`t know if this somehow help You, but I wish You good luck and a lot of patience!
 
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amp0193

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After a while we I agreed to take over the production facility with their debts so they don`t have to proceed with the bankruptcy and I have the possibility to develop my business at the next level as a producer.

Wonderful. It sounds like you are making some great progress!

also know the companies delivering firewood to USA in a large scale)

I never would have guessed that the USA imported firewood in any quantity. Very interesting.

different prefabricated modules or products (small houses, office containers), medicine drugs, steel products with added value, engineering products, people services (for example rope access workers which are highly professional here and work all over the world).

Awesome insight, thanks!
 

luka786

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Hey Lescinsky! If you could write what were the biggest challenges/problems you had while sourcing and how you dealt with them that would be great. Thanks.
 

Lescinsky

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Hey Lescinsky! If you could write what were the biggest challenges/problems you had while sourcing and how you dealt with them that would be great. Thanks.

Sorry for late answer. Were in a long trip meeting customers. It is always new challenges and problems. It is part of the process. You just have to start and do best You can, put Your effort and You will know the answers or somehow answers will find You!

Can`t comment any more specific. If You have more detailed challenge/problem I can offer my subjective opinion.
 
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Michał Kóska

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Hi! I'am based in Poland, Krakow. Let me know if you need something, I can get things done :)
 

FastNAwesome

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In my view, the very important things in this are:

a) Rigorous quality control

b) Insuring yourself effectively from getting the product of different quality than you specified.
(It's not even necessarily a lower quality - but even the product just being different quality can make it unfit for purpose).

Due to mindset I'll never understand, people seem to be willing to risk losing a long term buyer for a small one time gain.
This can manifest in trying to deliver goods of lower quality - sometimes in subsequent shipments, after the trust is established with first, good one.
 

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