Case
Lisa, who is engaged in LED lighting, after quoting the price to the customer, the customer asks if there is any CE. Lisa is a foreign trade company and has no certificate. She can only ask her supplier to send it, but if she provides the factory’s certificate, she is worried that the customer will directly contact the factory. What should she do?
This is a problem that many SOHO or foreign trade companies often encounter. Even some physical factories, because there are still export gaps in some markets, do not have relevant certificates, and when customers ask about qualification certificates, they cannot provide them for a while
So how should such situations be handled?
If you encounter a customer asking for a certificate, you must first find out whether the customer needs to go to the certificate for customs clearance because of the local compulsory certification; or whether it is just because of concerns about the quality of the company’s products, the certificate needs to be further verified and confirmed, or he is selling in the local market.
The former requires more post-communication and other evidence to dispel the customer’s concerns; the latter is a local regulation and an objective requirement.
The following are some suggested countermeasures for reference only:
1 Single stage
Like the CE certificate in the case, it is a technical barrier to enter the European market and is a compulsory certification.
If it is a European customer, you can reply: Sure. CE markings are placed on our products. And we will issue CE certificate for your custom clearance. .)
Look at the client’s response, if the client has been staring at the certificate and asked you to send it to him. Yes, use the art tool to erase the name of the factory and the serial number information on the certificate and send it to the customer.
2 Single stage
You can inform the certified product with the third-party certification agency, and issue the factory-related CE certificate to the certifier to confirm the certification instruction and confirm the filing fee.
Like CE covers a variety of directives for different products. For example, CE LVD (Low Voltage Directive) low voltage directive, the filing fee is about 800-1000RMB. The report is issued by the company’s own.
Similar to this type of test report, if the certificate holder agrees, a copy can be applied for. Under normal circumstances, the cost of backing up on a factory basis will be relatively much lower.
3 Scattered bills, it is not worthwhile to pay for reporting
When the value of the order placed by the customer is actually not much, the certification is temporarily not worth it.
Then you can say hello to the factory (it is best to cooperate with a trusted factory, and the factory preferably does not have a foreign trade department) and send the factory’s certificate directly to the customer.
If the customer doubts that the company name and the title on the certificate do not match, they can explain to the customer as follows:
We have products tested and certificated in the name of our factory. Factory name registered is for local audit. And we use current company name for trading (for foreign exchange). We are all in one.
He explained that the current factory name registration is used for auditing, and the company name registration is used for foreign exchange or trade. Actually it is one.
Most clients will accept such an explanation.
Some people are worried about revealing factory information, thinking that they should just change the name on the certificate to that of their own company. Don’t worry, there’s no end to the troubles that follow. Customers can also check the authenticity of the certificate by the number, especially European and American customers. Once verified, the credibility will be lost. If you have done this and the customer has not questioned it, it can only be considered lucky.
Extend it further:
Some product tests are not done in the factory itself, but the quality is guaranteed to meet customer requirements. For example, for wood-plastic floors, customers need fire test reports. A test like this costs nearly 10,000 yuan. How to deal with it so as to retain customers?
1
You can explain to your customers that your export markets are also oriented towards their countries/regions. There were also clients who asked for the same test report before, because they arranged the cost test by themselves, so the report did not have any backup.
If there are other relevant test reports, you can send them to him.
2
Or that you can share the cost of the test.
For example, the certification fee of 4k US dollars, the customer bears 2k, and you bear 2k. In the future, every time the customer returns an order, 200 US dollars will be deducted from the payment. It means that the customer only needs to place 10 orders, and the test fee will be borne by you.
You can’t guarantee that the customer will return the order later, but for some customers, it may be tempted. You are also equivalent to relying on a customer.
3
Or you can also judge the strength of the customer based on the communication with the customer and through the background analysis of the customer.
If the order quantity is good and the profit margin of the factory is ensured, you can advise the customer to arrange the test fee first, and you can report to him for confirmation. If you place an order, it will be deducted directly from the bulk payment.
4
For more basic testing fees, just testing the lead content of the product, or the formaldehyde testing report, things that can be done with a few hundred thousand RMB can be determined according to the customer’s order quantity.
If the amount is large, the factory can summarize these costs as the customer’s development cost, and not collect it from the customer separately. Anyway, it will come in handy in the future.
5
If it is SGS, SONCAP, SASO and other mandatory customs clearance certification from the Middle East and Africa, because such certification generally includes two parts: product testing charge + inspection charge.
Among them, the test fee depends on the export standard or sending samples to the laboratory to judge, generally ranging from 300-2000RMB, or even higher. If the factory itself has relevant test reports, such as the test report issued by ISO, this link may also be omitted and the inspection can be arranged directly.
The inspection fee is charged according to the FOB value of the goods, generally 0.35%-0.5% of the value of the goods. If it cannot be reached, the minimum charge is around USD235.
If the customer is a big buyer, the factory can also bear part of the cost or even all of it, and can also apply for a one-time certification, and just go through the simple procedures for the next export.
If the company can’t bear the cost, it can list the cost with the customer after confirming the cost with the third-party certification agency. You will assist him to complete the certification process, but the cost must be borne by him, and most customers will understand.
Post time: Oct-17-2022