Broker
From Supply Chain Management Encyclopedia
Broker or, in the context of international logistics, an import/export broker [1]is the individual or organization who brings together buyer and seller for a fee, eventually withdrawing from any transaction. The chief function of a broker is to bring a buyer and seller together. Thus the broker is a specialist in performing the contractual function, and does not actually handle the products sold or bought. For its services the broker is paid a commission by the principal (client) – sometimes, there is a monthly fee plus the commission depending on a total sum of the deal done. The broker commonly specializes in particular products or classes of products, usually staple primary commodities such as grains, lumber, rubber, fibers. Being a commodity specialist, there is a tendency to concentrate on just one or two products. Because the broker deals primarily in basic commodities, for many potential export marketers this type of agent does not represent a practical alternative channel of distribution.
See also Agent and Pure International Commercial Middlemen
References
- ↑ Zoldac, A. How to Become an Import/Export Broker - http://www.ehow.com/how_6976589_become-import_export-broker.html
