Trading companies are the largest category of small and medium-sized enterprises in Beijing, and one of the largest groups among our clients. This page explains what trading companies (foreign trade, import/export, agencies, wholesale) actually need from IT, what to look for when choosing an outsourcing provider, and what we can and cannot do. We are Siwenlide in Beijing, based in the Shunyi Airport Economic Core Area. We have been providing IT Operations Outsourcing for SMEs for 14 years, and this page does not pretend to be neutral.
For a trading company, the hard part of IT isn’t the technology, it’s the fragmentation
| Characteristic | The problem it creates |
|---|---|
| Scattered people | Sales reps are on the road year-round, at trade shows, overseas; the company has three or four locations: office, warehouse, and out-of-town offices. Wherever anyone is, they need to write orders, check inventory, and review contracts |
| Scattered systems | ERP or inventory management, accounting software, corporate email, CRM, customs clearance and logistics platforms, each bought separately, a pile of accounts, and no one knows who to call when something breaks |
| Email is the lifeline | Foreign trade orders run on email. A hacked mailbox or a tampered payment account number is the most common and most damaging loss for a trading company |
| No IT role | At a trading company of a few dozen people, IT often has no one specifically responsible for it, and who to call when a computer breaks comes down to luck |
Five questions a trading company should ask before hiring an IT outsourcing provider
- How do sales reps in other cities or overseas access the ERP and files? The correct answer is remote access that does not expose the public internet, authorized per person and fully logged. If they answer “set up port forwarding,” do not sign.
- Who manages corporate email, and what happens if it gets hacked? You need enforced two-factor login, alerts for logins from unusual locations, and monitoring of forwarding rules. For a trading company, this matters more than anything else.
- If the ERP or inventory software has problems, do you handle it? The software vendor handles the software itself; the outsourcing provider must handle the servers, network, backups, and accounts it runs on, and coordinate with the vendor on your behalf. The division of responsibilities must be spelled out.
- How is the network for the warehouse and out-of-town offices built? Multiple sites need to interconnect, without relying entirely on the public internet.
- Does the support package cap the number of visits? Trading companies file frequent, fragmented repair requests, and a contract with a visit limit gets expensive later on.
The types of service providers a Beijing trading company can choose from
- Services from ERP or inventory software vendors: they manage the software, not the computers or the network. Suitable for companies that already have a system in place and can handle everything else themselves.
- Mid-to-large IT outsourcing firms (Tongchuang Shuangzi, Xiaonuo IT, and others): billed per seat, standardized processes, suitable for organizations of 50 or more.
- All-in-one SME IT service providers: our category. One contract covers operations, network equipment, multi-site networking, email security, backup, and remote access, paid monthly. Suitable for trading companies with 10 to 100 people that have a warehouse or out-of-town locations.
What we actually do for trading companies
- Multi-site networking: office, warehouse, and out-of-town offices interconnect, and everyone shares one ERP.
- Remote access for sales reps: using sTrust, our in-house zero trust remote access solution, the ERP and file servers stay invisible to the public internet. Sales reps overseas access them from their own laptops according to their permissions, every access is logged, and access is disabled the day they leave the company.
- Email security: two-factor login, alerts for logins from unusual locations, monitoring of forwarding rules, and alerts on changes to payment account numbers so employees verify by phone.
- Backup: ERP databases, contracts, and trade documents, on-site plus off-site, daily.
- Full day-to-day coverage: computers, printers, Wi-Fi, email, and video conferencing, with unlimited support visits, remote first and on-site as the fallback. For companies around Shunyi Airport and the Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Zone, we arrive the same day.
- Network equipment: firewalls, switches, and APs are provided by us and covered by warranty during the contract term; the ownership rules at contract end are written into the contract.
What we don’t do:
- Selection and implementation of ERP, inventory, or CRM systems: that’s for the software vendor. Our job is to keep them running reliably and backed up.
- Tools and accounts for running cross-border e-commerce storefronts: outside the scope of IT operations.
- Unified IT governance for groups of several hundred people or multinational branches: that’s for mid-to-large outsourcing firms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: For a 40-person trading company with one office and one warehouse, how much does IT outsourcing cost per month?
A: A full monthly package (including network equipment, backup, and remote access for two sites) typically runs RMB 4,000–6,000/month. (September 2026 market reference, not a quotation or a commitment.)
Q: If sales reps are overseas, will access to the domestic ERP be very slow?
A: It goes through the remote access channel, so speed depends on the local network. Checking and writing orders is generally fine; for large files, we recommend syncing them locally in advance.
Q: If the mailbox is hacked and the payment account number is changed, can IT prevent that?
A: Technically we can block most of it (two-factor, alerts for unusual locations, forwarding monitoring). The rest depends on process: any change to payment account details is always verified by phone. We help you put both in place.
Want to talk through your trading company’s situation first?
Siwenlide has been providing all-in-one IT for SMEs for 14 years, and our office is right next to Shunyi Airport. We can start with a free IT and email security health check. Call 400-686-2011.
Further reading:How to securely access internal company systems from outside · IT Operations companies in Shunyi · IT Operations Outsourcing companies in Beijing
