INTRODUCTION

Many people who are dedicated to the manufacture of outdoor furniture often find it very difficult to acquire the materials they really need to carry out their activities. The journey to find a synthetic rattan supplier is full of many questions, distrust and insecurity since they do not It is just about finding a local or international supplier, what customers are looking for is comfort, tranquility and security when purchasing the materials that will be used in their furniture manufacturing projects. Based on the reactions and questions that customers often ask, it is logical to determine how difficult it sometimes is for them to purchase synthetic rattan because there are many factors that we must take into account, whether it is a local purchase or a buy internationally.

As we progress in this article, we will provide answers and alternative solutions to the different questions and difficulties that many people around the world go through when they look for the raw materials necessary to carry out their work activities.

THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN

The international materials distribution chain is mainly composed of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and individual users. Each component of this chain plays a very important role and sometimes a co-dependent relationship is created resulting in co-operation between the different members of the chain.

● Manufacturers

Most of the manufacturers of synthetic rattan are located in Asia, mainly in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, etc. The manufacturers of synthetic rattan offer the material at factory prices. However, the main customer is always the wholesale customer or distributor as many manufacturers set a certain minimum purchase quantity which is beyond the budget of many retailers if the import cost factor is taken into account.

● Wholesalers

These are usually large companies with large capital and experience in international trade operations. They often act as intermediaries between the factory, retailers and individuals who use rattan for the purpose of repairing a particular part of a piece of furniture. Wholesalers import thousands of tons of rattan and then distribute the material in local markets to meet the demand for the product.

● Retailers

The role of retailers in the international synthetic rattan supply chain is much more complex because many generally choose to work both with wholesalers who distribute locally and in turn deal directly with manufacturers. A retailer’s final choice of whether to buy synthetic rattan from a wholesaler or to go directly to the factory is determined by many factors: price, total spend, delivery time, warranty, versatility and experience in import operations.

● Individual users

These are generally people who need rattan in small quantities, often for the repair of a piece of furniture, which is why they usually order less than 10 kg. These components of the synthetic rattan distribution chain find it easy to find the product they are looking for, but it is very difficult to purchase it because many retailers and wholesalers set a minimum order quantity that is higher than the quantity they need.

PURCHASE ON THE DOMESTIC MARKET VS. IMPORTING

It is a big dilemma for many entrepreneurs to decide between buying rattan in the domestic market or importing this material, mainly due to several factors that must be taken into account in order to ensure the good management of the capital that each entity or user has:

● Purchase of rattan on the domestic market

Variety of rattan models, manufacturers and designers as customers, selling prices per kilo 3 or 4 times higher than the purchase price at the factory, and huge expenses in the import process are some of the characteristics that best define a rattan wholesaler. In Latin America, Europe and Africa, wholesalers are usually the main distributors in the domestic market, mainly because the main rattan factories are located in Asia. 

Many retailers and individual users choose to buy rattan in the domestic market mainly because they receive the goods in a short time, avoiding the import process.

● Import of rattan

Importing rattan has become the main way of acquiring this material for many wholesalers and retailers and this is mainly due to price, versatility, warranty and convenience.

The price offered by rattan manufacturers is three times lower than what you can find in a wholesaler’s shop. In general, rattan manufacturers offer a wide range of advantages including: customization service, more than 500 colours to choose from, warranties of up to 5 years and a shipping and delivery service even for international orders. However, it is also worth mentioning that it is not always as easy as it seems because if we look at the final cost and not just the price of the product itself, sometimes the total cost of transport can be much higher than the product itself, delivery times are almost always around 30 days when the goods are shipped by sea.

MOQ, PRICE AND WARRANTY

The MOQ of an order is one of the questions that many people ask when looking for rattan suppliers and that is because both factories and suppliers set a certain amount of kilos as MOQ, in factories it can be 200, 300 and 500 kg according to the model and colour, suppliers set this figure at 20 kg. Rattan can be bought at 2.8 USD per kilo from a factory and the same product can also be bought at 12.5 USD from a supplier, although it is a product that does not have a standard price. The warranty that factories and suppliers offer tends to vary according to the materials used in the manufacture of the product, i.e. whether recycled or new materials were used in the manufacturing process of the product.

FAQ

•  What is the shipping time for a rattan import operation?

The shipping time tends to vary according to the location of the final destination. However, it is always between 20 to 30 days.

• How is rattan sold by the metre or by the kilo?

In general, the metric unit used in the sale of rattan is the kilo.

• What is the product warranty?

The warranty provided by the vendors tends to vary according to the customer’s market needs, they offer the warranty between 2 to 5 years.

• Is the shipping price included in the sale price?

The shipping price is not included in the sale price as these are two completely different operations.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays thanks to social networks finding rattan suppliers has become a very easy task. However, the acquisition of this material is still an easy task for some entities and difficult for those companies and individuals who want to get into the furniture manufacturing industry. Rattan is a material that is available to everyone, it can be obtained both in the domestic market and through an importer, the difference is in the size of the project that each person wishes to carry out, so each individual must take into account many factors when going to a domestic supplier or make an import operation.