Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Sourcing from India: A Guide for Global Buyers
Introduction
As India increasingly becomes a major strategic player in trade around the globe, sourcing from India seems to be gaining ground from a variety of industries, from apparel and home products to engineered products and packaging. As global buyers increasingly seek to invest in India’s diverse manufacturing landscape, intermediaries–especially Buying Houses–have become increasingly important.
However, choosing the proper Buying House in India is by no means a usual choice. The wrong partner can lead to late deliveries, compliance issues, poor quality, and damaged relationships with vendors. The right buying house provides value on many levels within sourcing, production, logistics—and communication all across the board.
Below are five repeatable, and avoidable, mistakes that global buying professionals make when choosing one,
1. Overlooking Sector-Specific Experience
One of the worst mistakes international buyers make is assuming that all sourcing companies operate in a similar way, across all product categories. This can be especially troubling in industries that require technical knowledge, regulatory knowledge, or understanding of fashion trends.
For example, apparel, leather goods and engineered parts use a completely different vendor network, quality metrics and compliance documentation. Selecting a buying house without relevant, sector-specific experience, can lead to waste, and expensive mistakes.
Buyers should rely on the previous client portfolio of potential buying houses, the supplier base categorized per category, and if the buying house understands certifications relevant to that product category. In short, not all sourcing companies are set up to handle all types of product.
2. Prioritising Cost Over Capability
When working in a competitive market like India, it is easy to choose the least expensive intermediary. While an emphasis on cost is important, putting fees ahead of capability can have unfortunate consequences. Some buying houses will offer commissions well below the standard, yet will not offer value-added services, such as: tracking your orders in real-time, performing independent quality checks, or auditing vendors.
A capable Buying House does more than facilitate crazy orders. They will act as your local representative, expecting that suppliers meet your design, timeline, and compliance needs. In the grand scheme of things, the dollar-a-hundred you might save in commission is minuscule compared to the time loss, rework, and risks to your reputation.
3. Ignoring Due Diligence on Compliance and Ethics
In an increasingly ESG-conscious world, it is no longer optional to explore transparency in your supply chains and ethically sourcing your goods. However, many buyers do not investigate how their buying houses vet their vendor base, including how they determine the labour conditions, environmental impact, and certifications with their vendor base.
In India’s case, buying houses are the first line of defense against non-compliance. Ask your buying house whether they are familiar with local labour laws and if they understand international frameworks such as SA8000, BSCI, or ISO. Ask whether they have documented processes when onboarding vendors, reporting audits, and corrective action plans.
By not asking these questions, your brand is exposed to regulatory risk and public outrage—the stakes are getting even higher in global markets.
4. Underestimating the Importance of Communication Infrastructure
Effective communication is an essential component of successful global sourcing. However, many buyers do not consider whether the buying house has a defined communication system, or a project and reporting management system with communication and escalation procedures.
A Buying House that is professional in India should have defined communication workflows with digital tools or platforms that provide real-time visibility of production timelines, quality report documentation and shipment tracking. A loosely defined coordinated system of phone calls and off handed e-mail communication does not work and allows for confusion, especially in high volumes or time sensitive orders.
As global teams operate across time zones, a transparent communication system creates less friction, aligns expectations and supports faster decision-making.
5. Not Evaluating Post-Shipment Support and Risk Management
Many buyers only think about the pre-production and manufacturing stage of their supply chain and forget the risk does not finish when the goods leave the factory. Logistics delays, customs problems, and disputes after delivery are the unfortunate and frequent realities of cross-border trade.
A reputable sourcing company provides continual support post-shipment, including working with freight forwarders, helping with documentation, and responding quickly when exceptions happen. In supply chains that are volatile, end-to-end accountability can make an important difference.
If a buyer is in an industry with stringent delivery cycles or custom regulatory requirements, there is value added in knowing that a buying house understands the supply chain management process from start to finish. The best way to prevent disruptions is to be proactive before the issues arise!
Conclusion: Making Informed Partnerships
India’s manufacturing ecosystem is characterized by scale, diversity, and innovation. But buyers will need to approach the sourcing process with care and clarity, and to think strategically. Avoidance of the five mistakes summarized above can enormously improve the probability of the success of your sourcing initiative.
Demonstrating a well-chosen Buying House in India is not a tactic for procurement purposes, but a long-term investment in your business. It affects the quality of your product, how quickly you can get it to market, and the reliability of your supply chain. When done appropriately, sourcing through the right Indian partner, brand owners and private labels can take advantage of lower sourcing costs, ethically produced product, and a more adaptive supply network.
