Direct imports

Direct imports

Direct Imports are products imported directly into a country and not through the manufacturer's authorized agent/distributor. Since there is no factory-authorized middleman involved in the import of these products, the added costs are lower and the customer pays less. In addition, many items that are in short supply or are not imported at all by the manufacturer's authorized distributors can be procured as direct imports. There is no difference in the actual products. In most cases, they are manufactured in the same place by the same people and with the same materials. Occasionally, manufacturers will give them a different name.

It is perfectly legal to directly import and sell such products. The only caveat is that since they are not procured from a local factory-authorized middleman, the manufacturer's warranty may not be applicable. This type of business is fairly recent and follows the trends of the global economy.

In rapidly growing developing economies like India where the demand for international consumer products is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors, direct imports become the only way for consumers to procure a large set of products (especially long tail). In many cases, even if a particular product is available from an authorized middle-man, a direct import may cost much less since in-country middlemen use their exclusive territorial rights to price products much higher than in the country of origin. Perversely, in countries where such product and price arbitrage is the most obvious, the import process is typically very onerous and not easily navigated by the average consumer leaving the field open to predatory pricing from in-country middlemen.

Contents

Disintermediation by Technology

To help bridge this gap, a new breed of E-commerce companies acting as direct import facilitators [1] have developed sophisticated E-commerce and Supply Chain technology to create a cross-border supply chain that allows consumers to shop online for international products and have them delivered duty paid to their doorstep. The entire procurement, international shipping and import process is handled turnkey by the e-commerce providers and the consumer transaction is a simple online purchase.

This is a significant example of how Internet technology is a powerful force for disintermediation in commerce. To illustrate, a typical B2C supply chain involving imports is composed of five entities (in order):

  1. Foreign Supplier/Manufacturer
  2. In-country Importer
  3. In-country Distributor
  4. In-country Retailer (online or offline)
  5. In-country Buyer

With the advent of online direct imports that leverage the Internet, the supply chain is reduced to three entities:

  1. Foreign Supplier/Manufacturer
  2. Online Direct Import Facilitator
  3. In-country Buyer

As always, the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain i.e. "cutting out the middleman" results in high market transparency and efficient pricing.

See also

References

  1. ^ Direct imports into India

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • direct import — UK US noun [C] COMMERCE, ECONOMICS ► a situation in which a company, etc. buys products directly from someone in another country, without using another person or organization to make arrangements for them, or a product that is bought in this way …   Financial and business terms

  • direct importing — direct import UK US noun [C] COMMERCE, ECONOMICS ► a situation in which a company, etc. buys products directly from someone in another country, without using another person or organization to make arrangements for them, or a product that is… …   Financial and business terms

  • imports — [plural] ► the quantity of goods brought into one country from another during a particular period of time, or the value of these goods: »US imports of vehicles from Japan rose to $2.23 billion in March. »growth/increase/decline in imports → See… …   Financial and business terms

  • List of DC Direct action figures — The following is a list of the various action figures in the 7 8 inch scale that have been released by the company DC Direct. DC Direct is a manufactoring company owned by DC comics and it also produces statues, posters, prints, props, replicas,… …   Wikipedia

  • VAT-free imports from the Channel Islands — Many low valued exports of goods from the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom are exempt from value added tax (VAT) due to the operation of an EU tax relief called Low Value Consignment Relief (LVCR). LVCR is not limited to the Channel Islands… …   Wikipedia

  • Currencies Direct — Type Private Industry Financial Services Founded 1996 (1996) Headquarters City of London, UK …   Wikipedia

  • Center for the Promotion of Imports — The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (internationally known by its Dutch acronym CBI) was established in 1971. CBI is an Agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and part of the development cooperation… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethanol fuel in Brazil — Brazil is the world s second largest producer of ethanol and the world s largest exporter, and it is considered to have the world s first sustainable biofuels economy and the biofuel industry leader.cite… …   Wikipedia

  • Crate and Barrel — Infobox Company company name = Crate Barrel company company type = Private foundation = 1962 Chicago, Illinois, USA location = Northbrook, Illinois, USA industry = Retail products = Housewares, furniture. homepage =… …   Wikipedia

  • Crate & Barrel — Type Private Industry Retail Founded 1962 Chicago, Illinois, USA …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”