What is Crowd Importing? | Import from India to Malaysia
What is Crowd Importing?
Definition of Crowd Importing:
Crowd Importing is defined as the process of selectively aggregating and organizing (“curating”) crowds of credible exporters and crowds of international SME* buyers to make importing and international sourcing faster, cheaper and more reliable.
*SME: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise, where a small-sized enterprise typically employs less than 50 people and has a turnover of less than US $10M, while a medium-sized enterprise employs between 50 to 250 people and has a turnover between US$10M to US$50M.
Ekimport.com - Crowd Importing Platform:
Ekimport.com is a crowd importing platform that curates two types of crowds:
- Crowd of Credible Exporters:The crowd of credible exporters for a given product is curated specifically to quickly provide multiple competitive B2B quotes (quotations) to importers who buy in large quantities.Such importers can send an RFQ (Request For Quote) to a crowd of credible exporters for a given product by going to the section “CROWD QUOTES” on Ekimport.com. The importers can then receive multiple competitive B2B quotes from the crowd of credible exporters quickly.
- Crowd of International SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) Buyers:The crowd of International SME buyers is curated specifically to help purchase of a product in small quantity at wholesale price and no MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) by an international SME buyer who is interested in a few samples, placing small trial orders or whose purchase size is smaller than a typical MOQ needed for receiving competitive wholesale pricing.The international SME buyer can join a crowd of other international SME buyers for a given product by booking a Crowd Import Deal in the section “CROWD IMPORTS” on Ekimport.com. In this way, the international SME buyer can take advantage of the crowd of other international SME buyers curated by Ekimport.com to buy in small quantities and yet be able to get low wholesale prices!
Who uses Crowd Importing and why?
Crowd Importing is ideal for importers (including their international sourcing agents and buying agents) who want to quickly receive multiple competitive B2B quotes from credible exporters from international markets.
This helps importers to discover current prices from exporters in a given country of supply. Importers can then assess competitive quotes and select the best quote in terms of product, product quality, quantity, timing / schedule, delivery term, payment term and the overall cost.
This is particularly useful for importers, when new market trends emerge and there are shocks to existing global supply chains and importers are suddenly hard pressed to find new exporters and international suppliers for sourcing raw materials as well as finished and unfinished goods and products quickly.
When such importers access the section “CROWD QUOTES” on Ekimport.com and send an RFQ (Request For Quote), there is a crowd of credible exporters eagerly waiting to prepare and send competitive quotes for fulfilling their requests.
Crowd Importing is perfect for those international SME buyers (including online sellers on marketplaces like Amazon / Etsy / Shopee etc, offline retailers, e-tailers selling via shopify / woocommerce stores as well as direct consumers) who want to buy from overseas / international markets but often would like to first try by sampling / placing small trial orders before buying in bulk.
An international SME buyer whose individual order size is not large enough to get a competitive low wholesale price, can still get it by joining a crowd of other international SME buyers of the same product. Booking a Crowd Import Deal in the section “CROWD IMPORTS” on Ekimport.com enables the international SME buyer to get a competitive low wholesale price without MOQ limitation.
An example of using “CROWD QUOTES” on Ekimport.com
Background: Due to various internal country specific factors in New Zealand, there was an increase in the price of dairy products being exported to GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. As a result, many importers from the UAE started searching for alternative sources of dairy products.
Curation of a crowd of dairy exporters from India by Ekimport.com: Based on market research and analysis of global supply chains, Ekimport.com team curated a crowd of credible Indian exporters of dairy products by reference checks and verification. These exporters were actively exporting dairy products and had the ability and readiness to take new orders and importers promptly.
Using “CROWD QUOTES”: Dairy importers from UAE came across Ekimport.com and realized that they could use “Crowd Quotes” to get multiple competitive B2B quotes from credible exporters from India quickly. They filled a detailed form called Request for Quote (RFQ) and within 24 - 48 hours started getting multiple B2B quotes from exporters in India who could meet their requirement. In this way, the dairy importers from UAE, could find their export partners in India and started working on a negotiated contract to move forward and source dairy products from India quickly.
An example of using “CROWD IMPORTS” on Ekimport.com
Background: Erica runs an online store for home decor products selling to customers in the USA and Canada. So far, she has been curating and sourcing products from China and selling them on her store, but now, she would like to bring more variety to her store by trying handmade home decor products from India. She plans to add 5 new products to her online store inventory, but she wants to first buy only 10 units for market testing and quality check. But sourcing only 10 units for a product internationally is turning out to be difficult for Erica as many international wholesale suppliers or manufacturers have an MOQ requirement of at least 50 pieces.
Curation of a crowd of International SME buyers of home decor by Ekimport.com: Ekimport.com team has various products in the home decor category that are being offered to international SME buyers via Crowd Import Deals. Ekimport.com attracts worldwide buyers who want to buy in small quantities and yet get a low wholesale price by joining the Crowd Import Deals in the “CROWD IMPORTS” section on Ekimport.com. In this way, Ekimport.com curates a crowd of international SME buyers of a given product via that product-specific Crowd Import Deals.
Using “CROWD IMPORTS”: Erica came across Ekimport.com and realized that she could use “Crowd Imports” to check out existing Crowd Import Deals in the home decor category. She appreciated the fact that she could order small quantities of products at wholesale prices and that there was no MOQ to be met. This was ideal for Erica and delighted, as she was, she decided to try out not just 5, but 10 different products by joining Crowd Import Deals for each of those products. She ordered only 5 units from each Crowd Import Deal, but that was perfect for Erica to try out sourcing new designs and SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) from India for her online home decor store in the USA.
RESOURCES RELATED TO IMPORTING IN Malaysia
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMC or JKDM) is the Malaysian Government agency responsible for administrating the nation's indirect tax policy, border enforcement and narcotic offences. KDRM administers 7 main & 39 subsidiary laws.
Includes a list of goods that are absolutely prohibited from importation. Also the list of goods that are prohibited except under an import licence or permit from relevant authorities. Import and export of illicit drugs are strictly prohibited.
The guidelines are based on the practices generally found at Port Kiang though it is the objective of MITI/MPC to standardize these processes in the various ports in Malaysia so that shippers will have good understanding on the processes.
Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement - Malaysia has 2 free trade agreements with Australia that are in force: Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) and Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).
Malaysia-Chile Free Trade Agreement (MCFTA) is the first bilateral FTA between Malaysia and a Latin American country. Malaysia & Chile commenced negotiations on the bilateral FTA in 2007. The MCFTA were concluded and signed in 2010.
The Japan-Malaysia FTA was signed in 2005 and implemented from 2006 that would further enhance the trade and investment relationship. Malaysia and Japan also established Malaysia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (MJEPA) in 2005.
The Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) was signed on February 2011 and came into force on July 2011. MICECA is a comprehensive agreement that covers trade in goods, trade in services, investments.
Free Trade Agreement Between the Government of Turkey and the Government of Malaysia” entered into force on 1 August 2015. The Agreement is Turkey's second FTA with an Asian country after South Korea and its first FTA with a Southeast Asian country.
New Zealand and Malaysia signed an FTA October 26, 2009 by both Ministers of Trade, which entered into force in January. Malaysia is New Zealand's eighth-largest export destination, reaching almost 8 billion dollars' worth of exports in 2008.
The Malaysia Pakistan FTA formally known as - Malaysia Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (MPCEPA) came into effect in 2008. It aims to promote bilateral trade between 2 countries by giving tariff preferences on various items.
SIRIM certification is an essential certification for regulated products sold in Malaysia. Prior to obtaining SIRIM certification, the item must be issued by applying for a Certificate of Approval (COA) to the Malaysian Energy Commission (ST).
As a regional grouping, the European Union remains Malaysia's largest source of foreign direct investment. Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Malaysia were launched in 2010 and put on hold after seven rounds in 2012.