Generating business enquiries through trade magazines and showcasing products in some of the world’s biggest trade fairs, besides registration and display of product on e-commerce platform; and all these for just US $ 440/year!
That’s exactly what Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) Small Order Zone offers to suppliers who would like to trade in smaller quantities – ranging from 5 to 1,000 pieces. A statutory body established through ordinance in 1966, HKTDC promotes international trade in goods and services besides organising 30 trade fairs annually (including nine largest in Asia and three largest in world), to connect companies with Hong Kong as well as international markets. Recently in New Delhi, India, HKTDC organised a seminar to introduce, describe and communicate how best the buyers and suppliers can use their platform to trade directly over internet.
HKTDC’s Small Order Zone (established in 2012), unlike other e-commerce companies, is an out and out B2B platform which apart from its online transactional facility, offers its valued clients unique online to offline (physical market place like trade fairs) business model. “Every company that participates in our exhibitions automatically qualifies for one-year free online presence,” maintains Rajesh Bhagat, India ConsultantHKTDC who underlines that HKTDC not only registers and showcases the products on its site but also generates business enquiries through its more than 20 product publications, besides exhibiting the products in specially designated showcase pavilion in exhibitions and trade fairs organised by it.
A strong believer in connecting buyers with suppliers in a secure sourcing and payment environment irrespective of time and geographical constraints, HKTDC – with more than 40 years of trading legacy – strictly adheres to third-party authentication of suppliers that involves some renowned names like Dun & Bradstreet, Compliance Verified besides many others, who confirm and validate the antecedents of suppliers following stringent guidelines before a supplier is actually registered with HKTDC’s online platform. The company uses the services of PayPal to guarantee safe and secure payment gateway. “After such rigorous verification procedures, chances of fraud are almost negligible; nevertheless, not with standing all our best efforts if a fraud still happens, then in order to avoid that we have tied up with PayPal to ensure a very strong defence mechanism both for the buyer as well as the supplier. In such a scenario, PayPal will act virtually like an arbitrator and take a final call. In extreme situations if PayPal cannot arrive at a decision on a contentious issue, then it will stand guarantee for the payment made,” assures Bhagat.
“Small order zone works very well for the apparel industry too. The global economic slowdown has impacted garment manufactures considerably; in this scenario, the garment companies are not too keen on spending big or participate in trade fairs which again involve substantial cost. For them Small Order Zone online transactional platform is ideal to reach out to the global market,” observed Bradford Lee (Senior Marketing Manager – Publication & E-Commerce, HKTDC), while interacting with Apparel Online on the sidelines of the seminar. He also called upon the garment manufacturers from India and Bangladesh to take advantage of this unique opportunity offered by HKTDC.
