Pricing Your Imported Equipment as a Distributor

A distributor’s price is not the factory price plus a flat markup. It is the sum of landed cost, service obligation and working capital, and each of those has to be recovered in the quote. This guide breaks down how experienced medical equipment distributors build a price that survives the first warranty claim and the first restock, using a real landed-cost structure rather than a guess.

Start from landed cost, not ex-works price

Landed cost has four components: the equipment price, the freight, the duty, and the cost of capital tied up between payment and sale. Import duty is the component distributors most often get wrong, because medical furniture and electronic devices can fall under different tariff headings with different rates. Before quoting a hospital, look up the classification in the official Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which is searchable online; the US schedule is published at hts.usitc.gov. Do the same lookup for your own market before you commit to a resale price.

Build in the service you promised

Every price should carry a service reserve: spare parts stock, installation labor and the hours you will spend on warranty calls. If the factory supplies parts and video support, your reserve covers local labor and consumables; if not, it covers parts shipping too. This is why the terms of supply matter as much as the unit price. Sanyang supplies hospitals and distributors with five product lines from one order, 7×24 video diagnosis support and a long-term spare parts supply, which compresses the service reserve a distributor has to price in. For what the factory terms typically look like, see our guide to MOQ, lead time and price.

Price the payment terms into the deal

Working capital is a real cost. Under typical factory terms in this industry, a 30% T/T deposit is paid at order and 70% before shipment, with letters of credit accepted for large orders. That means your cash is committed weeks before the container leaves, and months before the hospital pays. A distributor who quotes a 20% margin but finances the deal on a bank line at a higher effective rate is losing money on every unit. Match your markup to your actual cash cycle, and read our import lessons article for how first-container budgets go wrong.

Account for lead time in your pricing calendar

Standard products in this industry ship in days; customized equipment takes weeks. From our own production, standard items leave in 3-7 days and custom builds in 15-20 days. A distributor pricing a tender with a fixed delivery date should quote longer-lead custom items with the freight and buffer time already inside the price, not as a later surprise. The same logic applies to restocks: our inventory planning guide explains how reorder points change the price you can afford to offer on repeat orders.

Quote the full package, not the box

Hospitals compare quotes on more than hardware. Installation, training and a defined warranty response are part of what they are buying, and they are part of your cost. As a hospital equipment medical equipment manufacturer partner, we encourage distributors to quote installation and training as visible line items, which raises quote credibility and protects margin; our budgeting guide for installation and training gives the line-item structure.

FAQs about medical equipment distributor pricing

How should a distributor price imported medical equipment?

Start from landed cost: equipment price, freight, duty and cost of capital. Then add a service reserve for parts and installation labor, and size the markup to your real cash cycle rather than a flat percentage.

What is landed cost for medical equipment?

The equipment price plus freight, import duty under the correct tariff heading, and the financing cost of the cash tied up between paying the factory and getting paid by the hospital.

Why do payment terms affect distributor pricing?

Because typical factory terms take 30% deposit at order and 70% before shipment, so a distributor’s cash is committed long before revenue arrives. The financing cost has to be recovered in the quote.

Should installation and training be in the quote?

Yes, as visible line items. Hospitals buy the package, not the box, and quoting installation and training openly protects margin and credibility.

Build the quote from the ground up

Landed cost, service reserve, working capital and lead time: price all four, and your quote survives both the tender comparison and the first warranty call. If you are distributing hospital equipment and want factory terms you can plan around, our team will walk you through the cost structure before your first container.