Export planning: a practical starting guide
Export planning becomes easier when you turn a broad ambition into a few specific decisions. This guide provides a working brief, a comparison method, and a product-enquiry template you can use before seeking training, consulting, or supplier quotations. It does not determine your legal eligibility to export or replace product-specific compliance advice.
Prepared for Start Export India • Updated 5 October 2026
1. Write a one-page export brief
Start with one product and one potential destination. A brief that says “I want to export everything worldwide” is difficult to research. A narrower brief lets you compare like-for-like requirements and see which questions remain unanswered.
- Product: Record the material, use, size, grade, packaging, and variants. “Cotton bags” is less useful than a description that also specifies dimensions, fabric weight, handles, and intended use.
- Business role: Explain whether you manufacture, source from suppliers, or want to learn before choosing a product. This changes the evidence and conversations you need.
- Destination: Name the country and intended customer type. A retailer, distributor, and end consumer may need different packaging and order sizes.
- Capacity: Record the quantity you can realistically supply and the time required. Separate confirmed capacity from an estimate that still needs supplier verification.
- Unknowns: List the questions that could stop the project, rather than hiding them behind an optimistic target date.
2. Compare markets using evidence
Do not choose a destination only because somebody says demand is high. Compare the same product in two or three markets and write down the source and date of each finding. Keep buyer interest, competitor pricing, transport assumptions, and compliance questions in separate columns so one attractive number does not conceal an important unknown.
| Question | Evidence to collect | Decision it supports |
|---|---|---|
| Who would buy this? | Examples of relevant buyers and how the product is sold | Whether your product fits the customer segment |
| What specification is expected? | Buyer specifications, packaging and labeling requests | Whether your supplier can meet the requirement |
| What must be verified? | Current information from relevant authorities and qualified advisers | Which questions need specialist confirmation |
| What affects the delivered cost? | Comparable written quotations with clearly stated scope | Whether offers can be compared fairly |
Use “not verified” where evidence is missing. An empty cell is a research task, not permission to assume the easiest answer. Prioritize the unknowns that would change your ability to supply the product or meet a buyer’s requirements.
3. Prepare a clear product enquiry
A useful enquiry helps the other party understand exactly what needs to be quoted. Keep it short enough to read, but specific enough that two suppliers can respond to the same request.
Product and intended use:
Material, size, grade, or model:
Required quantity and acceptable variation:
Packaging and labeling requirements:
Destination country and delivery location:
Requested delivery timing:
Sample requirements:
Documents or certificates requested by the buyer:
What the quotation should include:
Questions still awaiting confirmation:
Ask the supplier to identify exclusions and assumptions. If one quotation includes packaging and another excludes it, the unit prices are not directly comparable. Record the quotation date and validity period. Do not treat a supplier’s general statement about compliance as a substitute for checking the requirements applicable to your specific transaction.
4. Organize comparable quotations
Use a simple comparison sheet with one row per offer. Include product specification, quantity, currency, packaging, delivery scope, lead time, sample conditions, and exclusions. If an offer does not state a term, ask for clarification instead of filling it in yourself.
Keep estimated transport costs separate from confirmed quotations. Currency changes, packaging choices, and delivery scope can alter the comparison. This worksheet is for organizing information; it is not a prediction of profit or a recommendation to commit money.
5. Choose training or consulting with a clear goal
Training is appropriate when you need to build a structured understanding of the export process. Consulting is useful when you already have a business question and need help defining research and planning priorities. Before selecting either, ask what topics are covered, what deliverables you receive, what is excluded, and whether product-specific specialist support is needed.
A practical learning goal might be “understand the documents and roles I need to research for my chosen product.” A consulting goal might be “organize the unanswered questions in my market comparison.” Neither training nor consulting guarantees buyers, orders, regulatory approvals, or income.
6. Leave the first session with an action list
Turn each unknown into a task with an owner, source, and target date. For example: confirm supplier capacity with the supplier, verify labeling requirements with the relevant authority or qualified adviser, and request written delivery quotations from the appropriate provider. Record what was verified and keep the supporting material. Review the brief when a product specification or destination changes.
Further research
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade is an official starting point for Indian foreign-trade information. The International Trade Administration’s Country Commercial Guides provide market context, but are written for US exporters; do not apply US-specific procedures to an Indian exporter. Check destination-country authorities for the requirements applicable to your product. These resources do not imply any affiliation or endorsement of Start Export India.