Should drinks suppliers quote ex works or all-in pricing (including shipping) when selling to international distributors?

Members strongly recommend quoting **ex works pricing** to international distributors. This keeps suppliers focused on their core manufacturing business rather than logistics, and shifts the organisational burden to importers who are better positioned to handle it.

Key principles: - **Quote ex works as your standard** — this is your baseline position and avoids you taking on logistics complexity - **Price list with ~15% variance acceptable** — some regional pricing adjustment is normal - **Be prepared to help occasionally** — in practice, you may end up assisting inexperienced or smaller importers with shipping arrangements to close deals, but this should be charged as an add-on on top of the ex works price, not built in - **Use pro forma invoices** — for at least the first 3 orders, then consider moving to formal payment terms (though this depends on importer size and reliability)

The underlying logic: "We are in the manufacturing business not the logistics business" and "Let the importer do the legwork." As you grow, outsource non-core activities and focus on your brand edge and main skill.