What Does a Trade Consultant Actually Do?

Define the decision and the work it requires

Most businesses arrive with a goal rather than a plan: sell into East Africa, source from Kenya, expand across the region. A trade consultant converts that into a sequence of decisions with costs and timelines attached, so the business can judge whether it is worth doing before committing capital.

In practice the work covers:

• Demand assessment, establishing whether real buyers exist at a viable price
• Product classification and landed cost modelling, including duty, taxes, levies and inland transport
• Regulatory mapping, covering licences, standards, certification and permits
• Partner identification and vetting, whether distributors, agents or suppliers
• Contract and payment structuring to allocate risk sensibly
• Logistics design, choosing routes, terms and clearance approach

Begin with the choice the business must make. “Understand Kenya” is broad; “decide whether this product can be sold through a distributor at the required margin” is testable. Supply the product specification, origin, intended customer, volume and constraints. Identify decisions already fixed, such as a launch deadline, and those the adviser is expected to challenge.

Agree the boundaries of the engagement. A market assessment, partner introduction and full transaction review are different assignments. Specify countries, product lines, interviews, verification depth and implementation meetings. Establish what information the client must provide and when. This prevents a useful research project being mistaken for a completed regulatory approval or an unconditional recommendation to invest.

Require evidence behind costs and regulatory conclusions

The scope should name decisions, evidence and outputs. Typical deliverables include an HS-code and landed-cost model; regulatory and standards map; route-to-market recommendation; qualified partner longlist and shortlist; counterparty checks; logistics plan; risk register; and an implementation schedule showing owners and dependencies. Each assumption should be traceable to an official source, market evidence or a clearly labelled estimate.

Ask how the consultant handles conflicts, validates local partners, protects confidential information and distinguishes advice from regulated legal or tax work. Duara’s trade consultation service can be combined with market research where demand is still unproven.

A useful cost model separates official rates, supplier quotations and assumptions. Ask to see the classification rationale, delivery scope, quote validity and treatment of uncertain charges. If a rate depends on an exemption or preferential origin, the conditions should be explicit. The adviser should explain what would change the recommendation rather than present a spreadsheet whose apparent precision hides unresolved inputs.

For regulatory work, expect a dated source and identification of the authority responsible. Operational experience can help anticipate questions, but it does not override the applicable rule. Where legal, tax or licensed customs advice is required, agree who provides it and how it feeds the overall report. Duara’s market research can address demand questions that a compliance review alone cannot resolve.

Evaluate partner work and professional boundaries

Ask how a proposed longlist was assembled and what “qualified” means. A name and contact address demonstrate neither interest nor capability. Useful partner work distinguishes identified companies, contacted prospects, interested candidates and independently checked counterparties. Request the criteria, evidence and outstanding gaps for each shortlisted business. If introductions or referrals generate commissions, those interests should be disclosed before recommendations are accepted.

Define what the consultant is authorized to do on your behalf. Arranging a meeting is different from negotiating terms or making a commitment. Set limits for sharing confidential information, contacting existing partners and representing the company to authorities. Keep approval of price, credit and contractual obligations with named decision-makers unless another arrangement is expressly agreed.

Check credentials and scope for specialist work. A customs broker handles declarations under the relevant authorization; a lawyer or tax adviser may be needed for legal opinions and structuring. The consultant can coordinate these inputs, but a general report should not imply professional assurance that nobody was engaged to provide.

Use the report to implement and review the decision

• Target country and customer segment.
• Product description, HS code if known, specification and origin.
• Expected volume, price and Incoterm.
• Current partners, licences and constraints.
• Decision deadline, budget and internal decision-makers.
• The exact decision the work must support.

A good brief prevents a broad report that describes a market but cannot guide action. Agree how facts will be updated if a tariff, rule or partner status changes during the engagement.

Agree acceptance criteria before work starts. A useful handover includes the recommended option, alternatives considered, evidence, limitations, costs, dependencies and next decisions. Someone reading it should be able to trace a significant recommendation to its supporting information. Unresolved questions should be visible with an owner and a plan to resolve them, not hidden in a vague caveat at the end.

Set a review meeting with the people who will implement the recommendation. Check whether operations, finance and sales interpret the plan consistently and whether the assumptions remain current. Decide how changed tariffs, partner status or customer evidence will be handled after the engagement. Management should approve the residual risk explicitly and retain the source records needed to update the decision later.

Frequently asked questions