Direct import or via trading company: how to choose the right model for your business

Plenty of companies have been importing for years without ever truly deciding how they import.

They started with a trading company because it was easier, volumes were small and no one wanted to deal with customs bureaucracy. Time passed, volumes grew, and the model stayed the same — out of inertia, not choice.

The problem is not using a trading company. The problem is using one without clarity about what is being outsourced. Because outsourcing the operation does not mean outsourcing the responsibility for the decision. And when the model stops being a conscious choice, the company quietly loses control, cash and margin.

The models that exist (and what each changes)

Before comparing, it is worth separating what the law itself recognizes. There are three main paths:

Direct import

Your company is the importer. The operation runs under your CNPJ, with your Radar customs authorization, and you take on both the control and the obligations. More responsibility, more visibility.

Account-and-order import

A third party (the trading company) handles customs clearance on your behalf, but the goods and the business are yours. The trading company provides an operational service; you remain the buyer. The relationship must be formalized and linked in the Receita Federal systems.

Commission import

The trading company imports using its own resources to resell to you, the predetermined commissioning buyer. Here it is, in fact, the importer — and you are buying from the party that imported.

What a trading company delivers — and what it charges

A trading company is not the villain. It exists because it solves real problems: ready-to-use customs authorization, a customs team, established relationships with brokers, working capital and operational risk dilution. For companies that are starting out or import infrequently, that is concrete value.

The cost is not only in the service fee. It shows up in less visible places:

• Less visibility into the real cost of each item in the operation
• Dependence on an intermediary for information and timelines
• Supplier relationships often mediated by third parties
• Difficulty optimizing taxation and logistics you cannot see

None of this is necessarily bad. But it is a set of things you are giving up — and giving them up unknowingly is different from giving them up by decision.

What changes with direct import

Importing directly gives control back: you see the real cost, negotiate directly with the supplier, decide on logistics and taxation, and build your own track record and relationships. In exchange, you take on the Radar customs authorization, the structure, the team (or partners) and full responsibility for compliance.

It is not "better" by definition. It is more control in exchange for more responsibility. For companies with volume, recurrence and a need for predictability, that trade-off tends to pay off. For those who import sporadically, perhaps not.

The right question is not "which is better"

It is "which model makes more sense for where this company stands today." The answer depends on concrete factors:

• Volume and recurrence of imports
• Need for control over cost and supplier
• Capacity to absorb the operation in-house or with partners
• Exposure to risk and to foreign exchange
• Margin strategy and relationship strategy at origin

Outsourcing the operation is not outsourcing the responsibility for the decision.

— ComexAqui

Signs it is time to reassess the model

A few signs that the current model may be costing more than it delivers:

1. Volume has grown, but the way you import has never been revisited.
2. You cannot explain the cost, line by line, of your own operation.
3. Decisions and timelines always depend on an intermediary.
4. The supplier relationship is entirely mediated by third parties.
5. There is a sense that "it is expensive," but no one knows exactly where.

The main point

Direct or via trading company is not a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of intent. The model has to be a choice — made with volume, control, risk and cash in view — not a leftover from how the company first started out.

Reassessing does not mean breaking with the trading company tomorrow. It means understanding what you are outsourcing, what it costs, and whether it is still the best arrangement for where the company wants to go.