Sourcing agent · Indonesia
Sourcing agent for Indonesia: from supplier search to shipment
Indonesia is a large and spread-out supply base — Java, Sumatra and the islands beyond — and the supplier you need may ship from a port far from Jakarta. We act as your sourcing agent for Indonesia from our office in Ho Chi Minh City: suppliers found and checked, samples and inspection managed, and the goods shipped with the certificate of origin your destination needs.
- Indonesian supplier search
- OSS and AHU registry check
- Samples and inspection
- SKA certificate of origin
Buyers often ask us about furniture, rattan and wood products, coffee and spices, textiles and other products made from natural materials in Indonesia. Those are examples, not limits — whatever you want to buy from Indonesia, we look for the suppliers that make it.
What makes Indonesian sourcing different is the paperwork chain. A company’s registration is checked through the OSS (Online Single Submission) system and the AHU business-entity registry. The certificate of origin, the Surat Keterangan Asal (SKA), is issued through the Ministry of Trade’s e-SKA system by an issuing agency the Ministry has designated, usually a regional trade office. And products in categories where an SNI national standard has been made mandatory need certification by an accredited body before they are sold in Indonesia.
We run the work in writing and by video, and where a supplier has to be seen or a lot inspected on the spot, we agree with you beforehand whether we travel or appoint an independent inspector in Indonesia. Because the loading port depends on the island and the region, we confirm it with the supplier and the carrier before quotations are compared.
What is specific to Indonesia
| Often sourced (examples, not limits) | Furniture, rattan and wood products, coffee and spices, textiles, natural-material goods |
|---|---|
| Checking a supplier exists | OSS (Online Single Submission) and the AHU business-entity registry |
| Product standards | SNI, set by the National Standardization Agency (BSN); made mandatory for a category by the responsible ministry’s regulation, and certified by accredited product certification bodies (LSPro) |
| Certificate of origin | Surat Keterangan Asal (SKA), issued through the Ministry of Trade’s e-SKA system by a designated issuing agency (IPSKA) |
| Main container ports | Tanjung Priok (Jakarta); Tanjung Perak (Surabaya); other regional ports by island |
Checked against the issuing authorities’ own published pages on 17 October 2026. Rules and lists change; we confirm the current position for your product before an order is placed.
Sourcing from Indonesia — the step-by-step buyer guideWhat this includes
Shortlist of Indonesian suppliers
Candidates from the Ministry of Trade’s export-promotion channels and from direct enquiry, filtered for your product and volume.
Registry check through OSS and AHU
Each candidate confirmed against Indonesia’s business licensing and business-entity registries.
Natural-material products
Moisture, finish, species or grade and packing agreed on a physical sample, because natural materials vary from lot to lot.
Loading port confirmed early
Which port the goods leave from, confirmed before the quotation comparison, since it changes inland and ocean cost.
SKA certificate of origin
The SKA requested under the agreement your destination uses, from the issuing agency the supplier’s region uses.
How a sourcing request for Indonesia runs
- 01 Brief The product, specification or reference sample, quantity, destination and date — and the finish, grade or material you expect.
- 02 Supplier search A shortlist of Indonesian suppliers checked through OSS and AHU, with the region and loading port of each identified.
- 03 Quotations compared on the same terms The same specification, quantity and Incoterm for every supplier, with inland transport to the port and your destination’s duty included.
- 04 Samples Samples sent to you or to us, and the approved sample kept as the reference for later lots.
- 05 Inspection Pre-shipment inspection against the approved sample and the agreed criteria, by us or by an independent inspector in Indonesia.
- 06 Shipping Export documents, the SKA certificate of origin, and handover to your forwarder at the confirmed port.
What we handle, and what you decide
A sourcing agent does the legwork; the decisions stay with you.
We handle
- Searching for suppliers that actually make your kind of product, and shortlisting them
- Checking each candidate against its company registry, and any certificate it shows with the body that issued it
- Carrying your specification to the supplier and its questions back to you, in writing
- Collecting quotations on the same specification, quantity and Incoterm
- Moving samples, recording your comments and following production
- Inspection before shipment, export documents and the certificate of origin
- Confirming the loading port and inland transport for each supplier
You decide
- The specification, and what counts as a defect
- Your target price, quantity and delivery date
- Which supplier gets the order
- Whether a sample is approved
- Whether the goods ship once you have read the inspection report
- The Incoterm, the forwarder and the payment terms
How our fee is worked out
We do not publish a rate card, because the work behind a sourcing request varies too much for a single number to mean anything. What we can tell you is what the quotation for our work depends on, and we put it in writing before anything starts.
- How we are paid
- Either we act as the trading party and invoice you for the goods, with our margin inside the price, or we act as your buying agent and invoice a service fee while you pay the supplier directly. We agree which model applies before the supplier search begins.
- How much searching the product needs
- A complete drawing or specification with one target country is a different job from a loose description that needs suppliers compared across several countries.
- Samples and visits
- How many sample rounds the product is likely to need, and whether a factory has to be seen in person or checked by an independent inspector.
- Inspection, documents and delivery
- Who inspects and how many lots ship, which certificates and origin documents the destination asks for, the Incoterm you buy on, and whether goods from several suppliers are consolidated into one shipment.
Before you write to us
You do not need all of this to start a conversation — but the more of it you have, the faster we can give you a real answer instead of a range.
- Specification, reference sample or clear photographs of the product
- Material, grade or finish you expect
- Quantity per order and per year
- Destination country and preferred Incoterm
- Certificates or test reports your market requires
- Your current supplier and price, if you are switching
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Indonesia?
No. We run Indonesian sourcing from our office in Ho Chi Minh City. Suppliers are found, checked and managed in writing and by video; where a supplier has to be seen or goods inspected on the spot, we agree with you beforehand whether we travel or appoint an independent inspector in Indonesia.
How do I know an Indonesian supplier is a registered company?
Its registration can be checked through the OSS business licensing system and the AHU business-entity registry. We do that check for every shortlisted supplier before samples are requested.
Who issues the certificate of origin in Indonesia?
The SKA is issued through the Ministry of Trade’s e-SKA system by an issuing agency (IPSKA) the Ministry has designated, commonly a regional trade office. We make sure it is issued under the agreement your destination uses.
Does my product need SNI certification?
Only to be sold in Indonesia, and only if the responsible ministry has made the SNI for that category mandatory. Goods bought for export follow your destination’s rules. Our Indonesia buyer guide explains how the mandatory list works.
Can you consolidate Indonesian goods with goods from other countries?
Yes, where the routing makes sense. We compare shipping each supplier’s goods separately with consolidating them, and show you both before you decide.
Regulatory information on this page is general and is not legal advice. Requirements depend on the product and change over time; we confirm the current position for your product before an order.
Guides for sourcing from Indonesia
Practical, step-by-step notes written from Ho Chi Minh City, with sources and the date we checked them.
Contact
Tell us what you want to buy or sell — in Vietnam or Japan
Selling into Vietnam or Japan, sourcing from either, or a product made under your own brand. One Japanese-managed team in Ho Chi Minh City, working in English, Japanese and Vietnamese.