You do not need to get on a plane to get something done in France or Germany. You stay where you are; I go, look, ask, check and report back. One person, based in Alsace, working on both sides of the Rhine.
Who you deal with
My name is Elena Melikhova. I run MELEKHOFF & FILS, an entrepreneur individuel registered in Alsace under SIRET 842 069 510 00019, and I work with a small team around me. When you write, you get me — not an account manager, not a ticket number, not a chain of agencies each taking a margin on the way through.
Alsace is a practical place to be based for this kind of work. Factories in Alsace and in Baden-Württemberg are a normal day rather than an expedition: I can be at a plant gate in the morning and at my desk with photographs the same evening.
I work in French, English and Russian. German I cover together with a partner, which means a plant manager in Baden-Württemberg gets his questions in German and you get the answers in yours. The catalogue I work from holds 1,208 manufacturers and 7,352 products across Alsace and Baden-Württemberg, and both the catalogue and the manufacturer contacts are free — whether or not you hire me for anything.
Phone, WhatsApp or email all reach me. Describe the job in plain words: a factory to visit, a supplier who has stopped answering, a document that has to be handed over in person. You get an answer from the person who will actually do the work.
What I can do for you in a week
These are ordinary weeks, not showcase projects. Any one of them can be the whole job, or one line in a longer list.
- Visit a factory. Walk the shop floor in Alsace or Baden-Württemberg, photograph the line and the stock, talk to the people who run it, and send you a written report with photos and video — 390–590 €.
- Ask what you cannot ask yourself. Tolerances, lead times, minimum order quantities, who actually owns the machines and who actually does the work — put to the manufacturer in his own language.
- Run a round of requests for quotation with up to five producers, translated in both directions, so the offers you compare actually mean the same thing — 90–190 €.
- Check a shipment before it leaves. Quantity, labelling, packaging, and whether what is in the boxes matches what is on the invoice. Report within 24 hours — 350–490 €.
- Hand over documents. Signed papers, samples, a bank letter: delivered to a factory, a notary or an office, with proof that it arrived.
- Sit in a meeting for you. A trade fair, a supplier’s office, a first introduction. I listen, translate, take notes, and tell you afterwards what was actually said — 420 € per day.
- Chase the administration. An appointment, a file that has gone quiet, a form that needs a person standing at a counter — 50–60 € per hour.
- Open doors that need a local face. A bank appointment, a first meeting with a manufacturer who ignores emails from abroad, a delivery received and checked against the paperwork.
When this makes sense
- You have no company in the EU. You want to buy, sell or meet someone in France or Germany without setting up an entity first. You stay where you are; I act locally.
- You do not speak the language. French or German, spoken and written, is often the difference between a reply and silence.
- It is a one-off purchase. One machine, one batch, one shipment. You do not need a permanent presence — you need a few days of somebody else’s time, bought as you need it.
- You need a factory checked before you pay. Before the deposit, before the balance, before the container is loaded: someone standing in the hall, looking at what you are about to buy.
- The deal is in reach but the distance is not. You could close it if somebody local sat in the room, and you cannot fly in for every meeting.
When it does not
- You need legal or tax advice. I do not give it. Registration, domiciliation and legal or tax questions are handled by independent licensed partner lawyers and accountants; my part is to coordinate them and make sure the file reaches the right desk.
- You need a licensed agent for a regulated activity. Customs representation, financial services, medical or pharmaceutical matters: these need a licence, and I do not hold one.
- You expect a full market study. I do not produce one. What I do is narrower and more concrete: a short list of companies, a visit, a round of quotations, a check before goods move.
How it works
- Step 1 — Tell me the job. One message with the product, the place and what you want to know. No forms to fill in.
- Step 2 — Get a short list. Three to seven companies, with the first contact already made, so you are not the stranger writing from abroad — 190–390 €.
- Step 3 — Go and see. A factory visit with a photo and video report, or an inspection before shipment with a report in 24 hours — 390–590 € and 350–490 €. A working day in the field is 420 €.
- Step 4 — Finish the job. Negotiation, documents, export papers, transport, or a delivery received and checked. Then an invoice, net in EUR, paid by bank transfer. Travel beyond one day is re-invoiced at cost.
Prices are launch-year indicative and net in EUR; the full list is on the pricing page. For a whole deal rather than a task, I can carry it end to end for a commission on the contract value instead: 10% up to 20,000 €, 7% to 100,000 €, 5% to 500,000 €, 3–4% above, with fixed minimums.
Questions buyers actually ask
Do I need a company in France to work with you?
No. You can instruct me from outside the EU and stay outside it. The work happens here, the invoice is in EUR, and nothing requires registering a company first.
How fast can you visit a factory?
Alsace and Baden-Württemberg are both within a day’s travel of my desk, and I confirm a date with you before you commit to anything. The factory’s own availability is the part nobody controls.
Can you act as my representative at a trade fair?
Yes. Business accompaniment at meetings and trade fairs is 420 € per day: I attend, translate, take notes and report back to you afterwards.
Do you sign contracts on my behalf?
No. Contracts are concluded between you and the manufacturer or partner. I negotiate, translate and check the paperwork, and you sign.
What languages do you work in?
French, English and Russian directly, German through a partner. Document translation covers English, French, German and Russian.
How do I pay?
By bank transfer against an invoice, in EUR, net. Travel over one day is re-invoiced at cost.
Do you work with buyers from Kazakhstan, the Gulf or the US?
Yes. The work is done from Alsace, and most of it travels by message and report, so where you are registered changes very little. Russian covers part of it, English the rest.
What can you not do?
Legal and tax advice, anything that requires a licence, and full market studies. For the first, licensed partner lawyers and accountants handle the substance and I coordinate.
Start with one task. Send the product, the place and the question — tell me what you need done on the ground — and look at the prices before you decide. For the neighbouring services, see sourcing, supplier audit, negotiation and representation and market entry.