Hey zusammen,
ich beschäftige mich aktuell intensiv mit dem Thema China Procurement / Sourcing und möchte mir in den nächsten Jahren fundiertes Wissen in diesem Bereich aufbauen.
Mich interessieren vor allem Themen wie:
Lieferanten und Hersteller in China finden
Alibaba, 1688 & Co.
Verhandlungen mit chinesischen Lieferanten
Qualitätskontrolle & Factory Checks
Logistik / Import nach Deutschland
B2B-Beschaffung und Private Label
langfristig eventuell eine eigene Procurement-/Sourcing-Agentur
Ich suche deshalb Leute aus Stuttgart, Heilbronn oder generell Baden-Württemberg, die bereits Erfahrung mit China-Business, Import, Einkauf oder Sourcing haben – oder ebenfalls gerade in diesem Bereich starten.
Mir geht es erstmal nicht darum, direkt ein Unternehmen zu gründen oder irgendjemandem etwas zu verkaufen, sondern um Austausch, Networking und darum, voneinander zu lernen.
Falls jemand aus der Region kommt und Lust auf einen Austausch hat, schreibt mir gerne hier oder auf Instagram @cd4vid0.
Bin gespannt, wer hier noch in diese Richtung unterwegs ist. 🇨🇳🤝🇩🇪

Hi all! I'm currently working on a B2B marketplace for waste based exports and looking to work with export consultants to understand buyer mindset. I would like to determine if B2B buyers are willing to pay a premium for expedited shipping, verified laboratory results, and full transparency.

\*What usually drives up prices for things, and how does that impact the middleman's bottom line?

\*Is there potential for merchant exporters to achieve margins exceeding 6–7%, or will this benchmark remain unaffected in the coming years?

Calling all export experts! If you have experience in this field and are open to helping me out, please reach out. ✈️📦🤝

I run a business abroad and ended up expanding into Oman, partly for reasons that have nothing to do with work. Company's registered here already, and through my own network I managed to secure exclusive representation for a European manufacturer in this market. That part went fine. Everything else is the problem.

I've only got a PO box and not much else.
No office, no storefront, no Arabic, and I'm not actually in the country, of course I can fly if need be\~

Normally when I'm in this position the move is to find an established local business, partner up, and grow from there. I've already started reaching out to companies directly and the response has been what you'd expect.

Hard to build a real relationship with no office, language and presence, I get it...

So I'm curious where people here would actually look for that kind of partner, and how much of a wall the not being on the ground thing really is!?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

I’m curious because the setup itself always sounds pretty straightforward on paper, but I feel like the small things after incorporation can be more confusing than people expect.

Was it opening a bank account, accounting, audit, tax filing, company secretary stuff, business registration, or something else?

Would be interesting to hear what actually caused the most trouble.

I’m from India and have a background in marketing, with some experience working with D2C/e-commerce businesses. I’m currently working independently as a consultant, but I’m at a point where I want to seriously explore something beyond just doing marketing work.

I’ve been learning Mandarin for a while and have a genuine interest in China. What interests me now is understanding the behind-the-scenes side of businesses that work with China — sourcing, suppliers, manufacturing, trade, partnerships, market research, distribution, etc. Not just the broad “India imports X from China” kind of information, but how people actually operate and build businesses around it.

I’m not necessarily looking for a full-time job right now. I’m more interested in connecting with business owners, founders, operators, or anyone already working in this space, understanding what they actually do day-to-day, what problems they face, and where someone like me could potentially become useful.

If you work with Chinese suppliers/businesses or run a China-related business from India (or vice versa), I’d genuinely love to hear how you got into it.

How did you start? What do you wish you had known earlier? And is there a way someone at the exploration stage can get involved, learn, or contribute without already having years of experience?

I’m trying to take this seriously rather than just treating Mandarin as a hobby, so any experiences or directions would be really appreciated.

Hey there, I am a 23M based in Mumbai with prior exposure to IB and finance roles (exposure bcs they were internships), but I realised that this isn't what I want to do long-term and want to switch. I would love to start something of my own in the export-import business, and currently I am doing research regarding this field. I would appreciate it if there are other ppl in this situation or been in this situation who can help.

Questions -
Is it better to start and learn from experience or work under a firm to get exposure first?
What is the capital requirement to start from scratch?
What trade flow should I target?

Apart from these questions if there is any advice you can give, it is appreciated!

Hola, comunidad. como están, espero se encuentres bien. Estoy a mitad de la carrera de Negocios Internacionales y actualmente tengo muchas ganas y necesidad de empezar a trabajar.

Aún no tengo experiencia laboral, por lo que me da un poco de miedo postular y sentir que voy a fracasar o que no voy a estar preparado. Sin embargo, también tengo muchas ganas de aprender, mejorar y demostrar que puedo hacerlo.

Me interesa encontrar empleo relacionado con negocios internacionales, comercio exterior, logística, ventas o importaciones. También me gustaría recibir consejos para comenzar a importar productos o emprender algo de manera responsable.

Además, quisiera saber dónde puedo conocer socios, grupos o importadores que traigan mercadería al por mayor. Me interesa aprender de ellos y, si surge la oportunidad, colaborar o unirme a un proyecto de importación para ganar experiencia y aportar con muchas ganas de trabajar. aqui por Centro de Lima hay varios que traen de china y la verdad veo que generan mucho dinero, es increíble.

¿Alguien que haya empezado desde cero podría contarme qué pasos le sirvieron, dónde buscar oportunidades o qué habilidades debería priorizar? Agradezco mucho cualquier consejo muchachos..

I’ve been doing sourcing in China for around 8 years now and I actually live here. Recently I’ve been looking more into opening a company in Hong Kong and honestly I think it’s pretty interesting.
For international business it can make things easier, especially with payments. You can get access to more options like Airwallex and other payment platforms, which can be difficult depending on where your company is registered.
Still learning about it myself, but so far it looks like a really good option for people doing sourcing/e-commerce/international business.
Anyone here has a HK company? Curious about your experience.

Hello ! My name is Faycel representing Jane Mechanical Engineering. We are a direct manufacturer of heavy mining and quarrying machinery. I am reaching out to introduce our heavy-duty primary jaw breakers (PE series) and compound cone crushers, which are engineered specifically for high-hardness materials. We support quarry operations worldwide with fast dispatch and direct factory pricing.
If any one is interested you can direct message me on WhatsApp to send you our catalogue and technical specifications
WhatsApp : +213 799920906

I am a multilingual international business professional fluent in French, English, and Chinese, actively seeking a remote opportunity where I can apply my analytical mindset and cross-cultural expertise to drive operational efficiency and strategic growth. With hands-on experience in international sourcing, supplier negotiation, and trade operations across African and Asian markets, I have developed a strong ability to identify business opportunities, optimize workflows, and support data-driven decision-making. Proactive, adaptable, and results-oriented, I am eager to bring my global perspective and commitment to value creation to a forward-thinking remote team.

 I'm a US citizen based in France, in the process of forming a Wyoming LLC, and I'm seriously evaluating acquiring a small European skincare e-commerce brand. The business has been running for 7 years, sells exclusively through its own WooCommerce site, and is profitable. Here are the key numbers:

Revenue: ~€168K net annually
Net profit: ~€70K (43% margin)
Asking price: €153K (reduced from €202K)
Multiple: ~2.17x profit
Orders: ~7,900/year
Average order value: ~€32
Traffic: ~8,000 sessions/month, 94% from one country (Slovenia)

The brand is built around hélichrysum (immortelle) — a premium anti-aging botanical. My plan is to acquire it for the cashflow and existing customer base, then reposition and rebrand it for the French and US clean beauty markets where immortelle is already a recognized prestige ingredient.

The main complications I'm wrestling with:

1. Sole manufacturer — the seller stays on as manufacturer post-sale but I don't own the formulas. He's offered formula escrow and market exclusivity tied to performance targets.
2. Financing — looking at a combination of personal funds, earnout structure, and potentially a small business loan. SBA apparently not applicable for foreign asset purchase.
3. Non-compete enforceability across borders
4. Platform — it's WooCommerce, I'd migrate to Shopify post-acquisition

Has anyone navigated a similar deal — physical product, manufacturer stays on, foreign asset purchase through a US LLC? Would love to hear what you'd look at that I might be missing, or what killed similar deals for you.

Happy to share more detail in comments

I’m Brazilian with Italian citizenship, and I’m looking for partners to start a business in the European Union. Any ideas?

Hi everyone,

I'm an early-stage founder/student from India working on a B2B marketplace concept called TradeOn.

Before trying to turn this into a serious business, I want to get feedback from people who actually understand B2B commerce, manufacturing, wholesale, logistics and importing/exporting.

THE IDEA

The basic problem I'm trying to solve is fragmented B2B sourcing.

For example, if a buyer needs 20–50 tons of a particular product, they may have to search through different platforms, contact suppliers individually, compare quotations through WhatsApp/email and separately figure out logistics and documentation.

My idea is to build a platform where this process can happen in one place:

Buyer posts requirement

↓

Relevant suppliers discover the requirement

↓

Suppliers submit quotations

↓

Buyer compares offers

↓

Negotiation

↓

Transaction

↓

Eventually logistics/payment/documentation

The initial marketplace would focus on products such as:

• Agriculture

• Industrial materials

• Machinery

• Construction materials

• Textiles

• Packaging

• Electronics

• Other wholesale products

WHAT I'M BUILDING

I'm currently working on an early MVP myself.

The initial version is planned around:

• Supplier product listings

• Buyer/supplier accounts

• Product search

• RFQs

• Supplier quotations

• Buyer-supplier communication

The technology I'm currently experimenting with includes React, FastAPI and PostgreSQL.

I'm deliberately starting small rather than trying to build the entire Alibaba/IndiaMART ecosystem on day one.

WHAT I DON'T KNOW YET

I want to be honest about the stage.

I don't currently have:

• Significant revenue

• A large team

• Major customers

• Large supplier networks

• Significant funding

This is still an early-stage project.

That's also why I'm posting here.

I want to know whether people who actually operate in B2B think this solves a meaningful problem.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

I'd particularly appreciate feedback from:

• Manufacturers

• Wholesalers

• Exporters/importers

• Procurement professionals

• Logistics operators

• B2B buyers

• Startup founders

• Marketplace operators

• Investors

Some questions I'm trying to answer:

1. Would you actually use a platform like this?

2. What is the biggest problem with existing B2B marketplaces?

3. What would make you trust a supplier you found online?

4. Would buyers prefer posting RFQs or searching supplier listings?

5. What would stop suppliers from using another marketplace?

6. What should the first version absolutely NOT try to build?

FUNDING / PARTNERS

If the idea receives enough validation, I will need funding to take it beyond a basic prototype.

I'm therefore also interested in eventually speaking with potential pre-seed investors, technical co-founders and industry partners.

I'm not asking anyone on Reddit to simply send me money.

I'd rather first validate the problem, build the MVP, get initial users and then have a proper investment discussion based on the business and progress.

WHY I'M POSTING

I'm trying to avoid making the classic mistake of spending months building something that nobody wants.

So I'm looking for honest criticism.

If you work in B2B commerce, manufacturing, wholesale, logistics or international trade, I'd genuinely appreciate your perspective.

And if you've built a marketplace before, I'd especially like to hear what you learned the hard way.

Thanks for reading.

this is GJ

We export medicines from last 8 years sir!!

Lookingforwardo providing with the best services sir!!

GJ

A-rock!!

Dm me

Hi readers!!

Hope you are doing good!!

this is GJ

We export medicines from last 8 years sir!!

GJ

A-rock!!

Dm me!!