Direct sourcing: what your agent costs you

If you buy through an agent, a trading house or an intermediary, you are paying a margin to someone whose incentive is the opposite of yours. They are paid by the supplier, or on the value of what you buy. Neither of those makes you cheaper.

WHAT THIS CALL IS. Ninety minutes to work out whether going direct is actually worth it for your business, and roughly what it would save. Bring your current supplier quotes, your annual volumes, and your landed cost if you have it. If you do not have landed cost broken out, that is usually the first finding.

WHAT WE GO THROUGH. What you are paying now versus what the factory gate price should be. Where the invisible margin sits - unit price, payment terms, freight, duty classification, or QC you are being charged for and not getting. Whether your volumes are large enough to interest a manufacturer directly. What you would need in place to buy direct: payment security, inspection, incoterms, customs. And an honest estimate of the annual saving.

WHY ME. I have imported and exported over EUR 175,000 of goods negotiating directly with manufacturers in China and Vietnam. No agent, no trading company, and no commission from the other side. I cut my own landed costs by around 35% doing exactly this. I am based in Paris and I source from Asia, so I have run this from both ends.

YOU LEAVE WITH a written summary of where your money is going, an estimate of what direct buying would save annually, and a clear yes or no on whether it is worth doing.

IF IT IS NOT WORTH IT I WILL TELL YOU. If your volumes are small, an agent can genuinely be worth the margin. I would rather say that in the first twenty minutes than sell you an engagement you do not need.