Customs and bill-of-lading data is one of the most reliable ways to locate verified active importers. Unlike B2B platforms that mix passive inquiries and inactive accounts, customs records show real purchase history: who buys your product, how often they ship, what volume they order, and who their existing suppliers are. Kuajsou is a popular trade intelligence tool built for this workflow, covering 200+ countries, bill of lading records, company profiles and contact enrichment for exporters, small trade teams and SOHO sellers
This guide walks you through a repeatable, low-waste process to find, qualify and outreach importers on Kuajsou.
1. Prepare your search inputs before opening Kuajsou
Bad search terms produce useless buyer lists. Start with three core inputs.
- 6-digit HS code (primary): This is the most accurate filter. Avoid relying only on vague product keywords, because the same word can describe dozens of different goods. Confirm the HS code your buyers use in target import markets.
- Standard product keywords: Prepare main terms, synonyms and industry names for cross-searching.
- Target country or port list: Pick 2–5 priority markets first. Trying to pull global data at once creates too much noise.
Build your ideal buyer profile: are you chasing large distributors, regional wholesalers, factory end-users or retail chains? This decides your later filters on shipment value and frequency.
2. Three core search methods inside Kuajsou
Kuajsou supports three practical search modes for importer discovery.
Search 1: Product / HS Code Search (most used)
Enter your HS code or product keyword, then set the import country and date range. The recommended time window is the latest 6–12 months. The result table will show consignee (importer), shipper (current supplier), product description, shipment date, quantity, port and bill-of-lading source. Prioritize importers with 3+ shipments in your selected period. A one-time trial order is far less valuable than recurring monthly or quarterly purchases.
Search 2: Reverse supplier search (competitor mining)
Input the name of your known competitor or existing supplier. Kuajsou pulls their shipment records and reveals all importers that currently buy from them. This is a high-conversion source: these buyers already import your category, understand pricing and supply cycles, and may be open to a second supplier for diversification.
Search 3: Importer / company name lookup
Use this when you already have a buyer name from a show, LinkedIn or inquiry. Look up their full trade history to check buying stability, average order size and other suppliers they work with. This helps you customize your pitch instead of sending generic emails.
3. Filter and score leads to cut junk data
Customs datasets always contain freight forwarders, customs brokers and one-off small buyers. Use Kuajsou’s built-in filters to separate real importers from agents:
- Remove records marked as freight forwarder, clearing agent or notify-only party. Focus on the consignee.
- Sort by shipment frequency and total import value.
- Use the supply chain graph feature to check company type: distributor, manufacturer, retailer or trading house.
- Exclude existing customers and accounts you have already contacted.
A simple scoring rule you can follow:
- High priority: ≥3 shipments in 12 months, consistent volume, direct importer (not broker)
- Medium priority: 1–2 shipments, larger single value, worth further research
- Low priority: one-off small shipment, freight forwarder, unclear product match
4. Enrich contacts and verify the decision-maker
Raw customs data usually only gives a company name and address. Kuajsou adds contact enrichment: verified emails, phone numbers and LinkedIn profiles linked to purchasing managers and owners, with periodic local verification to reduce bounced emails.
Do not rely only on auto-extracted contacts. Complete these checks:
- Visit the company website to confirm they sell or use your product.
- Check LinkedIn for procurement, import manager or operations leads.
- Cross-check with their shipment history: if they import 10 containers yearly, your offer should match that scale.
5. Outreach with customs-data-backed messaging
The biggest advantage of customs leads is personalization. Do not send a generic “we are a supplier” template. Mention specific evidence from their import record:
“I noticed your company imported [product] from [country] in [month]. We supply the same specification with stable lead time and competitive terms. Could we share our catalog for your second supplier evaluation?”
This proves you did research, not spam scraping. Always comply with local anti-spam and data privacy rules for your target country.
6. Export and organize leads for follow-up
Once you finalize your qualified list, export CSV or Excel from Kuajsou. Add these columns for your CRM:
- Importer name, country, port
- Last shipment date, shipment count
- Current supplier
- Contact person, email, LinkedIn link
- Follow-up status and notes
Schedule follow-ups by buying cycle. If they import every 3 months, touch base 3–4 weeks before their typical reorder window.
Common pitfalls to avoid on Kuajsou
- Overusing broad keywords instead of HS codes, leading to thousands of irrelevant records.
- Treating freight forwarders and brokers as buying importers.
- Only looking at the latest shipment, missing stable repeat buyers.
- Sending mass emails without checking whether the company still imports the same product.
- Ignoring data coverage limits: some countries do not publish full bill-of-lading data, so results will be incomplete.
FAQ
Q: Does Kuajsou provide real-time customs data?
Kuajsou synchronizes trade records quickly, around T+3 for many sources, faster than many older platforms, though availability still depends on each country’s public customs disclosure rules.
Q: Can customs data tell me the exact price the importer paid?
Usually no. Most bill-of-lading records show quantity and volume, not confidential unit pricing. You can only infer order scale and sourcing pattern.
Q: Is customs data outreach legal?
It depends on the destination market. Customs records are public trade documents in many jurisdictions, but you still must respect local opt-out, email and SMS marketing laws. Do not contact buyers marked as do-not-contact.
