Misconceptions about imported goods

China and imported goods from China are popular topics of discussion. The age-old tendency of looking for an avenue to blame without thinking about where the actual problem lies is in human nature. Going with the crowd with changed negative words on social media during a discussion has become an easy way of gaining followers and digital popularity. By not blaming the actual culprit, we are motivating them to continue/increase their unethical practice.

Honest opinions and comments after sincere and time-spent thoughts result in society’s development and not become barriers to growth—real effort to identify where the actual problem lies and appropriate solutions for those is needed.

Goods made in this or that country are harmful. Before making this statement, we should check the reality and try to understand who the real culprit is and our contribution to this crime.

It is essential to understand the chain of supply and its role for clear accountability. It will also help us to identify who is the real culprit of this scenario. Holding an immediate source of supply in the chain is a much better, more accessible, and practical approach to this problem.

The suggested method is a sort of change indicated in lifestyle, which is painful initially but very fruitful in the future.

Above mentioned is a typical chain of supply, and to add to the profits link in the chain might jump/ignore the immediate link, which has its consequences in terms of accountability.

Consumer:

The consumer is the endpoint of the supply chain. There is an age-old saying, “consumer is the king” in reality, the consumer has become a slave of insufficient information and imposed quality of goods.

Let us make consumers the king again and improve standards of acceptable quality in the market.

King has the power, but along with the power comes responsibility and accountability.

The consumer’s primary responsibility is to accept the products only with an invoice and accurate description of the goods, both on the invoice and packaging of the goods. For the sake of cost-effective purchase by avoiding/ignoring to pay tax, the consumer loses his right to claim losses and enforce accountability.

Retailer:

The retailer is responsible for the society for the availability of goods and their quality. In the literal sense, it is the retailer who decides about the products to be made available to the consumer. Careful procurement and sense of responsibility towards the society can help curtail the problem of inferior quality of goods in the market. One should avoid dealings in Products with misguided information or no information at all. Proper knowledge on the packing about the product will help the consumer decide about the quality of goods and assess value for money. A product becomes costly if it does not deliver value for money, an expensive product is much cheaper than the less priced product when compared in terms of the value for money.

Remember, consistency in service and delivery of excellent quality goods has its benefit. Result is loyal clients, and such retailers are much sought-after medium for the companies to launch their new products.

Wholesaler:

A wholesaler takes the pain of procuring the goods and placing them with appropriate retailers. The wholesaler community can help at a significant level in filtering the quality of goods. A firm “no dealing” in inferior products or products with misguided information will help raise the quality standards of the goods in the market.

Importer:

Importers are the actual culprits of the society in the procurement of inferior goods. Importers are the ones who decide upon the quality parameters while procuring goods. To compete for prices, the manufacturer is ordered to process the inferior quality of products with misguided information. Importers must get themselves groomed and start behaving with a sense of responsibility.

Many times, inferior imports are due to a lack of knowledge and not due to dishonesty. One should deal with things only after gaining enough experience to do so.

Exporters/Agents:

The role of exporters/agents is to inspect the quality of goods based on the importer’s description. Exporters/agents help in sourcing the products, and many times they also propose products to the importer. Exporters/agents should realize and account for inferior supplies of products. They should not take orders/inquiries and help in the procurement of substandard goods.

Manufacturers:

Manufacturers are the source of supplies, and they are responsible for the delivery of goods as per the specifications. They should start doing business with an ethical sense of responsibility towards society. Manufacturers should not deliver goods without a complete actual description of the goods.

Improper labels on the product give the rest of the supply chain a chance to manipulate and pass over their responsibility on the manufacturer.

Responsibility of Government (Exports)

Mandatory Certificates and test reports are not particularly useful tools to restrict the export of inferior quality of goods. The most practical approach of restricting exports of inferior quality products would be to conduct 100% inspection of labels on the retail package of products accompanied by a copy of purchase order from the importer.

Export should be allowed using the license of the beneficiary of inward remittance.

Responsibility of Government (Imports)

Restricting imports, levying higher duties, imposing an anti-dumping duty, mandatory quality certificates are not highly useful tools to curb inferior quality imports or boost domestic industries.

Necessity is the mother of invention or innovation. For industries to grow or survive and to make presence felt in the international market, innovation and inventiveness are vital factors. Curbing or limiting imports gives domestic industries an unfair advantage leading to low-quality standards in the local market.

Let market demand (consumer based on purchasing power) determine standards of quality. Restrictive import policies add to the cost of the product, and certifications impose the quality of goods. Certificates and test reports are nothing more than Government endorsed marketing tools; they hardly help raise the real level of quality of products. Ultimately end-user (consumer) suffer by paying additional costs passed on by the manufacturers for fulfilling such criteria.

The departments and agencies established to implement mandatory measures add to the burden of the expenditure side of the budget, adding to the outflow of money of the consumer as a taxpayer. The same amount can be utilized to build infrastructure. A solid base for industries to develop and compete at a global platform.

Importers have become smugglers to avoid restrictive import compliances. In this age of technology, emphasis should be robust infrastructure, a secure environment, and technology-driven management/governance. The generation of employment depends on the growth of industries. A direct result of stable infrastructure and a healthy environment.

The Government should not be a significant source of employment but concentrate on the development of infrastructure and environment for entrepreneurs and innovators to build industries that can generate employment on a mass scale. Inappropriate labor laws should be altered, one must get paid as per his skills and performance. Not because of the Law.

The critical requirement of raising standards to quality is to make the consumer a king and not slave of enforced goods or inappropriate information about the products.

Click for high-quality imports.