A few weeks ago, I was asked what a small importer can do to “keep his pipeline full”.

Many importers of general consumer goods need to renew their products regularly, for many reasons. But how to get new product ideas and develop them on the cheap?

Here is what I wrote back:

• Plan long in advance, start development with your suppliers, and then place orders in function of your sales forecasts. Be careful, many small shipments are good for keeping some cash in your hands, but they create a
  lot of freight expenses.
• Buy as many different products as possible, to decrease your commercial risk and to offer a wide choice to your customers. The factory’s minimum order quantities will be a defining factor.
• See what your suppliers are about to manufacture – they can make a few more for you, with your customized print/logo, and they won’t ask you to meet their MOQs (since they will buy materials and run production
  anyway for another of their customers).
• For very standard/basic products, consider partnering with another importer, if possible. In this case you can divide the development and shipping expenses.
• For very standard products again, it is usually easy to buy from other importers (in your country) for a good price. But you won’t be able to customize the product in any way—only its packaging, if you place the order long in advance.