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In our series of online competitive tool reviews, ImportExportBook.com takes a closer look at an Arizona startup, ImportGenius, founded in 2008 by brothers Ryan Petersen (One of the Principal of Faculty Imports), David Petersen and Michael Kanko. It was launched as a tool that is deemed to be far more comprehensive than the US custom database with more relevant data points.
Introduction & Background
ImportGenius.com offers a competitive intelligence tool for small businesses to search international trade records. As importers and exporters, you can use their data to answer these questions:
- What and where your competitors import their products from and export their products to?
- Which oversea suppliers, factories, manufacturers, wholesalers import to USA?
- Which suppliers, factories, manufacturers, wholesalers are infringing your intellectual property rights?
- What is the overall demand for a given product?
- What are publicly traded companies ordering from overseas? When are they having major product launches?
However, the company is prudent enough to give me a tongue-in-cheek response when I ask ‘What about dangerous goods like rifles?’. This is Ryan’s verbatim reply:
‘Until September 11, 2001, it was actually possible to access data on the imports entering the country before they arrived. However, as a security measure customs no longer allows access to the records until after the goods have cleared and been removed from the port. This makes it much harder for somebody to attempt to intercept shipments. Anyway, if you want a rifle just go down to K-Mart and I think you can get one for like $200.’
Of course, this tool is launched with certain level of controversy, which can possibly lead to lawsuits. For example, Michael S.Cooke, a US custom broker, aptly pointed out that:
I find it strange that Import Genius is allowed to sell confidential information on the Internet without the importer of records consent. Customs Brokers are required to keep strict confidentiality of importer records which may only be shared with 1) CBP 2) The Customs Broker 3) The Importer. Yet Import Genius sells this information in the public domain? Importers will go to great lengths making sure this information (the information Import Genius provides) does not reach the buyer or ultimate consignee. And rightfully so because they have a right to privacy; not to mention the buyer will ‘cut them out’ and go direct to the supplier. I wonder how many importers and middleman distributors have been put out of business by Import Genius?
User Experience
ImportGenius targets this list of users. Being a non-US user, I believe that these users are the main winners (if they know how to analyze the data – which I’ll explain further in the importance of having a ‘911 mindset’):
- Major importers and exporters can pre-empt competitor’s shipping cycle, and enforce copyright protection, and of course, this will lead to more:
- sourcing diversification
- sour lawsuits
- or secretive collusive agreement (to prevent the leak of their trade secret)
- Major investors, economists, stock brokers and business analysts can perform trading estimates with their ‘crystal ball’ as they establish a trend between revenues and imports among publicly traded companies. This can help them to estimate a company’s earnings long before its quarterly press release (which could turn the stock market on its head)
- US manufacturers can reduce cost when they:
- Research and monitor overseas suppliers for companies selling knock-off versions of their products with lawsuit wins
- Identify sourcing companies (potential partners) who are importing products or components similar to the ones they sell
- US importers can use it to find suppliers, monitor competitors, and enforce exclusivity contracts
- US and non-US importers and exporters can use it to:
- track new product launches and investment
- analyse the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of import-export shipping trend with the creative use of various ‘search’ parameters
- engage in more ‘exciting’ conversations and negotiations with existing suppliers on such data to remove the barrier of trade
Pricing
There is no free trial, so the monthly subscription $99/per month price tag can be slightly steep for budding importers or exporters. I have not thoroughly test the system but some users found that there are too many duplicates data. So, it’s hard to come to a conclusion on whether the cheaper price, in comparison to other paid tools like Datamyne or Zepol, justifies your margin to buy the limited data that is only available since January 2006.
Figure 1. ImportGenius Pricing Plan
Core Functionality
Database
ImportGenius boasts that the company’s database contains every shipment data entering the United States (AFTER the product enter US), allowing businesses to access contact information for each of their competitor’s overseas suppliers, or each of their overseas supplier’s U.S. customers. The Freedom of Information Act gives the company the right to organize, and republish the publicly available US Custom and Border Protection database available on a ‘nice interface’ (rarely found in government system). In essence, their database dump is fed by an Automated Broker Interface (ABI) made available for free by CBP.gov! So, it’s simply an act of ingenious marketing when ImportGenius put those data to effective use when they hype about the Apple iPhone prelaunch story resonated in repetitive media circles!
To protect its data integrity, ImportGenius have made it clear that they will not accept payment for removing company’s information from their database.
Competitive Intelligence – ImportScan
ImportGenius has a flexible and powerful searchable index called ImportScan to identify key Bill of Lading information for your industry vertical like date range, consignee, products, shippers, Bill of Lading numbers, port information, weights and measures.
Figure 2. Sort Your Data in ImportGenius by Consignee
Figure 3. Sort Your Data in ImportGenius by Date Range
Market Research – SupplySpy
This feature allows you to further sort and filter your search for further product and transit details to get more in-depth information of your competitor’s trade mission.
Figure 4. Sort Your Data in ImportGenius by Product Details/Transit Details
Then, you can detect your supplier’s location with the Google Maps feature. For instance, you can spy on a shipper from China with all the transit details to find out how big is the order from China to your competitor’s warehouse or office in USA. How cool is that?
Figure 5. Spy your Competitor in ImportGenius GoogleMap
Exportable data files
When you are done, you can format your report as CSV, Excel file and share it with your import export team members.
Value-added Features
Visual Mapping
It’s a very powerful tool for quickly identifying related companies in the database. Sadly, the visual mapping doesn’t work for me.
Figure 6. Visual Mapping Beta Feature in ImportGenius
Saved Searches
A nifty way to review my search results is to save all my previous searches before downloading the report but sadly, this feature doesn’t work for me either.
Figure 7. Saved Search Feature in ImportGenius
API Access
ImportGenius is open to discussing API access on a case-by-case basis as sensitive data has to be handled carefully.
The Stress Test
ImportGenius website claims that:
By collecting the ocean freight bill of lading for all U.S. imports in our database, ImportGenius provides unprecedented access to near real-time information on virtually every industry and company importing goods into the country.
P/S: My testing account accidentally got suspended twice while trying out to verify this claim. So, I’m waiting for ImportGenius customer service team to get back to me.
Summary
ImportGenius database certainly have some interesting features but its reliability is questionable. Although it is easy to use, it is tricky for users to document and verify the flow of its data point. For example, company ABC in US which import goods from Australia, may have their goods docked in China for few days prior to being shipped to the US. This means that the data can only be justified with on the ground trade logistics experience. Besides, the manufacturer’s name may be fabricated with third party names (especially for consumer packaged goods), and it will not be reveal by most trading or export companies. The only question is whether it is worth to spend such effort and money to conceal their trade identity with shell companies or importing through third parties for the sake of ‘avoiding spies’.
I believe that ImportGenius can add more value by offering initial data analysis support service, so that new users can gain actionable insights for their own use. If not, it would be easy for users to get addicted to the minute details of each generated reports, which defeats the purpose of gaining a competitive edge in the global trade market.
However, if shipping volume can impact your import-export business bottom line and you have the analytical ability to understand Bill of Lading reports, then this tool is definitely worth a look.
Have you try it yourself? What are the creative ways that you can suggest in making good use of such tools?
If you have heard of any import genius lawsuit or import genius scam, please comment here.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Sad to know that they over promise and under deliver in their service!
I am not a business owner however i used a shipping company to ship a few barrels to my family members. Import Genius posted 3 shipping transaction with my personal information on their website without my knowledge or consent. To make matters worse the items they claimed i shipped is incorrect!
I emailed the company and they appologized stating it was an error and will remove my name from their database. It has now been 8 months and my data is still 2 transaction is available to the public.
They offer a service that was not up to my expectations, and though I chose the monthly option of payment, apparently you enter into a “1-year agreement” with them. When I wanted to cancel my account due to my dissatisfaction, they told me I would have to pay $500 to do so. Do not use this service! I don’t believe that a legitimate company would force unhappy clients to use a product that they don’t desire.
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