If you buy goods from the United Kingdom, you may have seen the term "exporter of record". It sounds technical, but the idea is simple, and it can remove a lot of work from a requirement that involves several suppliers.
The short answer
The exporter of record is the party named as the exporter on the UK export declaration. It acts as the shipper on the formal export paperwork and is responsible for export compliance and the export documents. It is a separate question from who sells the goods, although the same company can do both.
Proqre can act as your UK exporter of record. We are also the seller: our name is on the commercial invoice, and we are your counterparty for the order, even when the goods come from several different manufacturers, in the UK or overseas.
With Proqre, it works like this: you buy from Proqre, and we buy from the suppliers. The commercial invoice is ours. The factories are not added to your vendor list for that requirement.
Why buyers use one
Most requirements draw on more than one plant. Buying direct from each one usually means a vendor account for every plant, a round of due diligence for each, separate terms and separate invoices. Nobody owns the documents or the movement as a whole.
Buying through Proqre, with Proqre as UK exporter of record, replaces that with one partner, one contract and one invoice. Your commercial relationship is with one UK company, not with every plant on the order. The goods keep the manufacturer's marks, and only the buying route changes.
Who sells, who exports, who imports
Clear roles matter, especially on exports.
Normally, Proqre is both the seller and the shipper, named as the exporter on the export declaration. You are the buyer and consignee. On an export, you are the importer at destination, and clearance and duty in your country remain yours.
Options are flexible, though. If you prefer EXW and have an approved forwarder, Proqre remains the seller of the goods, and because we still buy from the suppliers, Proqre can still act as your UK exporter of record. Your forwarder collects and ships, so we do not handle the transport. The condition is that we receive confirmation of departure and the export declaration, so we can check that all our information has been declared correctly and that the shipment has left the UK. That is evidence we need for compliance, so it is worth agreeing with your forwarder before collection.
For UK businesses the picture is slightly different. Where goods come from overseas, Proqre is the importer of record into the United Kingdom and then sells to you. You get UK supply, imported supply, or both, on one invoice.
What an exporter of record does not change
An exporter of record handles the UK side of the export. It does not take over responsibilities that sit with you as the importer abroad. Destination clearance and duty stay with the buyer on every export. The movement is available as part of a requirement we are buying for.
Can you appoint only this part?
Yes. You can appoint sourcing on its own, with Proqre as the seller on one invoice, and arrange the export yourself, for example under EXW. Under EXW you can also appoint Proqre as UK exporter of record without the movement. You can also add consolidation and the movement. Tell us which parts you want and we will say plainly what we can take on. Our What we handle page (https://www.proqre.co.uk/what-we-do) sets out each option.
How it fits with sourcing
Acting as exporter of record is often paired with sourcing. We place orders with the plants you name, or find UK and overseas supply to the specification, and many requirements use a mix of both. Where you appoint it, goods are checked in the United Kingdom, then crated, boxed or palletised and combined where that is the sensible way to move the order. The full sequence is on our How we work page (https://www.proqre.co.uk/how-we-work).
There is no catalogue and no minimum order. The brief decides the suppliers and the scope.
Is it right for you?
Buying through a UK partner that acts as exporter of record tends to suit:
Overseas businesses that need goods from the UK and elsewhere without building a UK purchasing desk.
UK businesses that need UK and imported supply on one invoice.
Requirements that cross several suppliers, where onboarding each one would be slow.
If you already buy regularly from a single UK supplier with an open account, buying direct may still be simpler. Common questions are answered in our FAQ (https://www.proqre.co.uk/faq).
Next step
A description is enough to start. Specification, quantity, destination and date help, as do drawings, OEM numbers, HS codes and known suppliers. If the requirement is one we can take, we come back with a sourcing plan and an estimate together, with no obligation to proceed.
Request a proposal through our Contact us page (https://www.proqre.co.uk/contact-us).