How to Import Pet Supplies & Accessories from China?

Why choose China to supply your pet supplies business?

As you might know, China is now a reference and even a leader in the manufacturing market. In fact, even if the country suffered from a bad reputation because of the quality of products we can find, these pasts years are proof of change. Here are the reasons you should source from China. 

Quality

In fact, suppliers are now using new technologies and equipment and are training their workers, which allows them to manufacture high-quality products while staying competitive. 

Low cost 

That’s not a secret, if many people are sourcing in China, it’s because of the reduced costs compared to European and American countries, including cheaper labor costs and the attractive price of raw materials. When choosing a Chinese supplier, you ensure a very competitive price for your products, increasing your competitiveness in your target market. 

Variety of products 

Another attractive point is the fact that you can find a wide range of products produced by only one manufacturer. A particularity of Chinese suppliers is that they often propose catalogs with various products to give you many choices and possibilities. 

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the kind of products you’ll find in these catalogs : 

• Transport cage/box
• Grooming brush 
• Cat trees
• Food bowls 
• Toys for animals (balls, plush…)
• Blankets
• Animals beds 
• Pet care products (claw clippers, lawnmowers, toothbrushes)

How to find a pet product supplier in China?

By searching on the internet (not the best option)

The easiest way to find suppliers in China is to check on the internet. There are different websites referencing suppliers. Among them, is the famous Alibaba, the largest marketplace in the world, referencing thousands of suppliers. To find a Chinese supplier, you just have to add a country filter and check the list. The website also allows you to chat directly with the supplier. 

Another marketplace is Globalsource, the advantage of this platform is that it’s the only one providing as much information about suppliers. 

We cannot talk about marketplaces without talking about the American giant Amazon which obviously has Chinese suppliers. 

Finally, you can find directories such as DHGate, madeinchina, MFG.com, and many others regrouping a various list of suppliers, including pet product suppliers.

Trade fairs  

The most concrete way to find suppliers is just to visit China and its trade fairs. 

China has many manufacturers, if you want to save time during your journey, trade fairs are regrouping numbers of manufacturers in a unique place. Obviously, China is a huge country, so to facilitate your choice, here is a list of the biggest trade shows where you’ll find suppliers for your quality pet products. 

• Pet Fair Asia : Biggest exhibition for pet supplies in Asia, this trade show is taking place annually in Shanghai. 
• China Pet Expo : Another huge exhibition in Asia, this trade fair is taking place annually in Beijing. 
• China International Pet Show : A B2B International trade fair specializing in pet suppliers takes place in Guangzhou annually. 

Sourcing Agent 

Sourcing is an important step, choosing a supplier will have consequences on your business’s development, so you don’t have to make mistakes. That’s why relying on a sourcing agent could be the best solution for you if you’re not comfortable sourcing.

If you trust a sourcing agent such as DocShipper, experts will handle this step for you from the writing of your specification sheet to the negotiation, passing by quality control, and closing the deal. 

Select a supplier 

Before signing an agreement and launching the production of your quality pet products, you have to be sure you found the best supplier, fits your needs and budget. There are some steps to respect to control your supplier’s reliability.

Supplier Audit

The supplier audit is the first step when you want to make sure the supplier is honest and reliable. During this step, the agent in charge of the audit will verify documents such as : 

• The Business License 

• VAT Invoice

The advantage of relying on an audit expert is to be sure your supplier is a manufacturer and not a commercial and to verify its honesty and legitimacy, so it can avoid scams and a loss of time and money. 

Negotiation 

Once you ensure the reliability of your supplier, it’s time to negotiate. You have to be aware of the importance of negotiation in China, more than a practice, it’s a real tradition. Remember that even if you agree with the price and the conditions, you always have to negotiate, so you won’t lose credibility. 

In a contract, everything is negotiable : 

• The price
• The production time
• The payment condition 
• The shipment condition
• The MOQ’s
• The quality 
• The samples

Process of working 

Now, you are ready to launch the production and collaboration with your supplier. If you want to work with the same manufacturer for a long time, you’ll have to create a relationship with him by meeting him, eating, and even going to karaoke with him, everything you can do except talk about work. This relationship will help you to gain credibility and to negotiate again some terms and even prices for your next orders. 

How to ship the pet supplies from China?

Depending on the country you want to import Pet Products from China, you’ll need to choose between different methods of transport for the delivery and respect the Incoterm you selected with the supplier. 

As a freight forwarder, here are the freight solutions we can recommend to you.

Sea Freight

The most common solution selected by importers for their orders from China is sea freight. 

When you selected sea freight, you ensure a cost-effective delivery, no volume limit, and the most ecological transportation method.

Depending on the volume of your shipment, sea freight provides two solutions, which is LCL and FCL. 

• FCL (Full Container Load) will be useful if you have enough products to fill in an entire container
• LCL (Less than a Container Load) is used to share a container between different shipments to reduce costs

Obviously, Sea freight has limits, the main one being the delay. Sea freight is the slowest transport solution and could be slowed down by weather conditions. 

Air Freight 

Air freight will be the best solution for you if you don’t have time to wait for your order. 

Known as the faster method of transportation, air freight is also the most expensive and maybe the less ecological. 

We recommend you use air freight if you are in a hurry and if the volume of your order is limited. 

There are two different ways to use air freight : 

• Classic air freight: using conventional airlines and less expensive
• Express air freight: using courier companies such as TNT, DHL, FedEx and UPS. 

Finally, air freight could be one of the safest methods of transportation and the most punctual way to ship goods. It also reduces the geographic limits thanks to the number of airports in each country.

Cross-border freight

The past two methods of transport are not really ideal if you want to import pet products from China to a border country, because it will not be the most cost-effective way to deliver your goods. That’s why we’ll now introduce two others methods to you. 

Rail Freight

Being kind of obsolete in the last decade, rail freight is now expanding and developed these past years. In fact, rail freight is a good alternative to sea and air freight, because it’s cheaper than air freight and faster than sea freight. 

As with sea freight, you can choose between FCL and LCL, rail freight also allows delivery to a train station near your delivery point. 

Road Freight 

If you selected road freight as your only method of transport, you have to be next to China, because the geographical scope is limited by road, as well as the volume transported. As well as with rail and sea freight, it’s possible to adapt the load according to the volume of your cargo, it’s called FTL and LTL. 

Multimodal Freight 

Obviously, it’s rare to use only one method of transport from the manufacturer to your office, that’s why multimodal transport exists. You’ll combine sea and truck freight or air and rail freight, everything you need for a more comfortable delivery.

Procedures and customs regulations

Now you are ready to ship quality pet products, but you also have to be aware of rules and standards to ensure a safe and formal delivery. 

Standards

As every product imported from a foreign country, your item has to respect the standards, such as : 

• CE norm if you’re in the EU 
• ISO norms 
• Certificate of origine
• Laboratory tests
• Every other standard your country requires.

Customs Clearance 

The last step before the delivery of your goods at their final destination is customs clearance. It could be a feared step for people because it requires rigor. In fact, you’ll have to provide a number of documents to the authorities like : 

• B/L, bill of landing
• Certificate of origin 
• Packing list
• EORI (Economic Operator Registration Identification)
• HS codes
• Import license
• Customs declaration

If you have any doubt about what is allowed or on the required documents, don’t hesitate to contact the customs authority of your country.

Conclusion 

This is the end of our article about how to import pet products from China, you’re now an expert in the sector and are ready to make your first order and develop your company! If you still have some questions, you can write to our experts or call them, it will be a pleasure for them to help you!