How to import teak furniture from Indonesia, in this post, we will guide you step by step to buy furniture from Indonesia. Actually, this step is applied to all wooden furniture from Indonesia, but for the sake of keyword, let’s stay with teak furniture in this matter.
As we all know, teak is a gorgeous wood that can last a very very long time, and you know what? it is grown in our backyards…! So if you ask why You want to buy teak furniture from Indonesia? Well…we have the resources and we have the skill needed to make good quality furniture, that’s the answer.
You might get teak furniture from another country, but it might not be as good as what we have here…different soil produce different quality teak wood. Even in Indonesia, there are many quality options for teak wood because it comes from different types of soil.
The best quality wood comes from central and east java province, and some areas on Sulawesi island, other islands in Indonesia also have teak wood grow there, but because of the quality of the soil, its quality is not that good.
How to Import Teak Furniture From Indonesia
So, back to our topic today, how to import teak furniture from Indonesia, here are step by step on how to do it:
That’s about it, the 3 major steps to import teak furniture from Indonesia, but don’t get me wrong, they are more complicated than it looks. So here’s our suggestion and information based on our personal knowledge.
1. Find a Good and Reliable Supplier
The first and most important and difficult step to import teak furniture from Indonesia is to find a supplier. There are several ways to find suppliers, we’ll explain quite a bit about where and what to look for in a good Indonesian furniture supplier.
- Google / Search Engine
Google and other search engine is your best friend nowadays, they answer faster than God. But only if you got the basic knowledge of how they work.
The more you know what you want, the more likely you get a good answer from them. For example, you live in California, and you want a dining chair from Indonesia, and you just type “dining chair” on google, then you would NOT get a good answer from them, get specific…for example type “buy dining chair from Indonesia” instead of just dining chair.
Search engines work in organic and paid ways, after you type your query, The first result would be ads, which usually come from big manufacturers. Open all websites on 1-3 pages of google, contact them and select which one suits best for your needs.
- Social Media
Social media is your second option if you ask how to import teak furniture from Indonesia, all Indonesian furniture manufacturer uses social media as one of their marketing tools, so there is a good chance that you will find a good one there.
But social media is a place where everybody can easily signup and get an account approved, for free…so there is a big chance that you will find cheaters there.
Make sure the account is connected to an official website, they must have a landline phone/fax number, and make sure they have their business location show up on google maps. That’s the indication if they are truly an established business, not just some dude playing around with social media trying to cheat the fools.
- B2B Marketplace
B2B or business-to-business websites like Alibaba.com or Amazon is a good way to go because you will be sure that you are dealing with authentic buyers.
B2B membership is not free, as a matter of fact, we pay quite a money just to be registered as a premium Alibaba member, and we are sure other B2B memberships don’t come cheap. That is an indication of how your Indonesian furniture supplier is a well-established company.
- Portal Sites
Portal sites are a network of websites that promote another website, it’s almost the same as a B2B marketplace, the difference is that portal sites do not provide any transaction on site.
To become a member of a reputable portal site, we have to pay a pretty amount of money, this can be an indication that your supplier is a well-established business.
The downside of a portal website is that there are many crappy portal sites out there, most reputable Indonesian furniture portal site is Indonesia-furniture.com
2. Documents and Regulations
Now that you have found a good and reliable supplier, the next step on how to import teak furniture from Indonesia is to know the regulation and documents needed to import furniture from Indonesia.
On your part, you need to make sure that you have the document and meet your country’s regulations to do imports, we believe that every country has different rules that manage trading operations.
From Indonesia, the documents you need from your supplier are:
- NPE (Nota Pelayanan Export), this is an export service note, this is an export license issued by the Indonesian government, your supplier will provide this for you.
- SVLK (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu) or Timber Legality Verification System, is a certificate issued by the Indonesian government which ensures the wood that’s been used to manufacture your furniture is a legal wood, not an illegal logging product
- FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), is optional since not every country needs one. This provides credible confirmation for products with environmentally and socially responsible sources to access the market.
- FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade), this document is a must if you come from Europe. Some call it the V-Legal document, it is almost the same as an SVLK document which ensures the wood used to manufacture your furniture is a legal wood.
- BL (Bill of Lading) or sometimes call BoL, is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried. A bill of lading also serves as a shipment receipt when the carrier delivers the goods at a predetermined destination.
- COO (Country of Origin) represents the country or countries of manufacture, production, design, or brand origin where an article or product comes from
- Fumigation certificate, if your country requires fumigation for all products imported.
- An invoice packing list, is the list of goods you buy with the price
3. Payment and Shipping
So you have found a supplier and met all documents required, the next step on how to import teak furniture from Indonesia is you need to talk about payment and shipping.
First of all the payment. Every company has its own way of payment methods, the most common form of payment is a 40% downpayment, and full payment after BL is issued. You can negotiate this term of payment with your supplier.
When negotiating with your supplier, don’t forget to mention if the price is a FOB price or an ex-factory price. FOB (free on board) is the price that includes all Indonesian paperwork and your supplier pays the transportation from your manufacturer to the shipping vessel.
While ex-factory price is you as the buyer, taking care of all documents and transportation in Indonesia.
How to import teak furniture from Indonesia, let’s talk about shipping, there are 3 types of shipping, which are:
- LCL (Less Than Container Load) is ideal if you buy in small quantities, for example, one set of sofas for your living room. However, it may cost quite a bit of money compared to FCL.
- FCL (Full Container Load), is ideal for you if you want to buy in bulk or in big quantities.
- Airfreight is ideal if you’re in a hurry and just need a small quantity item, a sample item for example. The price is very expensive though.
We think that’s about it how to import teak furniture from Indonesia, hope that help and feel free to contact us if you have some question in mind. God Bless You All
