The water in export agency is deeper than you think

Mr. Zhang recently received an overseas order, but he was in trouble when choosing an export agency - the various service types in the market made him dazzled. "Full-process agency", "purchasing documents for export", "tax rebate service"... What kind of mysteries are hidden behind these terms? Today we will uncover the classification mystery of export agency and help you find the most suitable "navigation device for going to sea".

Basic Agency is like a "customs clearance courier", only providing single-link services such as customs declaration and inspection. Ms. Li's handicraft company adopts this method. She frankly said: "Each shipment saves 800 yuan in agency fees, but I have to handle the tax rebate documents by myself, and it actually takes more time."

• Advantages: Cost is transparent, billed per ticket
• Limitations: Enterprises need to coordinate logistics and taxation by themselves

Full-process Agency is a "foreign trade butler". Judging from the cases of professional institutions such as Zhongshitong, this type of service can reduce the operation error rate of small and medium-sized enterprises by 37%. From document review to foreign exchange verification, it can even help customers avoid technical barriers in the destination country.

There is also a special form in the market called purchasing documents for export. A cross-border e-commerce seller revealed: "We solved the problem of not having import and export rights with this method, but we need to pay attention that the customs declaration amount must be consistent with the actual transaction."

• Applicable scenarios: Sample sending, small-scale trade
• Risk reminder: Be vigilant about the legal red line of false invoicing

And tax rebate agency is more like a "tax optimization expert", especially suitable for manufacturing enterprises with a profit margin of less than 5%. Through the management of special VAT invoices, it can win an additional profit margin of 3-13% for the enterprise.

In the field of special commodities, hazardous chemicals agency requires holding an MSDS certification, and its service quotation is often 2-3 times that of ordinary goods. A chemical industry practitioner said: "Without a professional agency, our lithium batteries can't even leave the EU customs."

For agricultural product exports, it involves quarantine agency, and complex documents such as fumigation certificates and origin identification need to be handled. Last year, the unsalable event of kiwifruit in a certain province was caused by the agency company lacking APEX certification, resulting in a delay in customs clearance.

When we spread out the service map of various agencies, we will find that there is no "best", only "most suitable". It is recommended that enterprises use the SWOT analysis method to evaluate: Look at costs in the short term, risk control in the medium term, and service extensibility in the long term. Which stage is your export business currently in? You might as well share your agency selection logic in the comment area.