In an increasingly diverse world of manufacturing, the product you need at the price you want to pay, might be made by a company in Vietnam or Brazil. It’s all very well to talk about globalisation but how in practice, can you find what you need if you’re over here and they’re over there?

For just about every available product being produced in the world, the internet is the first port of call. There is no shortage of websites offering to help you find the goods you need wherever the manufacturer is based.

Operating for the most part in English, these online marketplaces exist to bring buyers and sellers together irrespective of their geographical location. But what if the product you want is being produced in Vietnam and Brazil? And how can you be sure of quality and reliability. These questions all form an essential part of Product Research, an essential element in the import/export business.