I will show you how to import goods from China in this article.
China is known as the world factory.
It is the largest manufacturing country in the world.
You can find Chinese products everywhere.
You can source any product in China.
Because of The pandemic, consumer purchasing habits have changed a lot.
More and more buyers are sourcing products for Amazon FBA.
They sold them on Shopify and Amazon accordingly. They made big money.
Whether it is OEM or ODM, you can find the right factory to make your products and bring your ideal into reality.
When you enter your keyword on Google, thousands of suppliers will appear.
Those buyers without sourcing products sourcing in China will be mad when they face thousands of suppliers. They do not know how to work on them efficiently.
Products sourcing is a complicated process, from looking for a supplier to finally receiving the goods.
As we know, the first order is essential.
It plays a significant role in the success of your business. On the contrary, it will destroy it.
If you have a good guide, it will powerfully support your business.
This article is the ultimate guide on products sourcing from China.
Let’s get started!
It is the most challenging part of product sourcing process.
Before the pandemic, we could find suppliers online or offline.
After the epidemic, we rely on online to find suppliers.
In this section, I will introduce more about how to find suppliers online.
When you enter the keyword on Google, you can find many suppliers.
For example, you search suppliers of water cups in China.
You will see many Chinese suppliers if you enter the keyword “water bottles suppliers china” on Google.
Please be patient if you do not find the expected supplier on the first page.
Go through more pages; sometimes, good suppliers are not on the first page.
Alibaba and Made in China (MIC) are the two largest B2B platforms for products sourcing in China.
Alibaba is the B2B platform that connects suppliers and buyers from all over the world.
Alibaba sourcing is the largest B2B platform in China. There are tons of sellers, manufacturers, and traders.
On Alibaba, you can find any product and supplier if you want.
You can place your order through the platform. The seller will ship it through the platform and deliver it to your place.
Because of Alibaba, many buyers can successfully source products from China and start their international trade.
For example, you visit the Alibaba website.
When you enter the keyword “water bottles” on Alibaba, you can also find tons of suppliers.
Alibaba website：www.alibaba.com
Here are tips when you search for suppliers from Alibaba.
Made in China (MIC) is a big B2B platform as well in China besides Alibaba.
It connects buyers in the world with Chinese suppliers.
It helps small and medium-sized enterprises sourcing products.
For example, you can visit the MIC website. You can see many suppliers when you enter the keyword “water bottles” on MIC.
MIC (Made in China) website: www.made-in-china.com
If tons of sellers from the B2B platform make you crazy, you can find a Products Sourcing Agency to support your business.
Communication and coordination will be smoother and more efficient because the products sourcing agency knows Chinese culture well.
No one wants to source products from bad suppliers.
The products sourcing agency can verify the vendor’s background on the official government website.
Buyers without product sourcing experience from China have a big challenge in products sourcing procedure.
Many roles will be involved, from looking for a supplier to receiving goods.
Hiring a products sourcing agency is a good way. It will support your business.
When you work with the products sourcing agency, please supply your requirement as clearly as possible. It will be more efficient on both sides.
The only thing you can do is sit back if you hire the products sourcing agency. The product sourcing agency will update you regularly on the progress of the project.
The cost is essential to you if you are a start-up business.
And you had import goods experience from China before.
Congratulations!
You can contact your Chinese business partner. They will recommend suitable suppliers if they can.
You will get the benefit of utilizing your resources as much as possible.
If this guy you worked with is reliable, I believe the supplier he recommends should be reliable.
Please contact them and ask them to support you.
Not only does it save time, but it also reduces potential risks.
For example, I supported one of my customers before. He increased new categories and searched for suppliers.
It took me some time to work on it. But eventually, a good supplier was founded.
Before the pandemic, many trade shows were held in China every year.
Buyers from all over the world tripped to China. They met suppliers and worked together to grow their business.
Some of them were looking for new suppliers to expand new business.
It is a great choice to visit a large trade show in China. At trade shows, you can meet many suppliers.
Face-to-face Communication can assist in building a good business relationship.
There are many trade shows in China. They are different in size and scope.
You can choose one of them, and you will get many benefits from visiting different suppliers.
I will briefly introduce two of these famous fairs. They are Canton Fair & Yiwu International Commodity Fair.
Canton Fair is the most famous among all the trade fairs in China and is called the “No.1 Fair in China.”
It was established in 1957 in China. It is the largest fair with a multitude of product categories.
It is held twice a year in Guangzhou. Until January 2022, it had been held for 65 years and had 130 sessions.
Its official name is China Import and Export Fair.
In China, there is a saying that no matter where you buy handicrafts, most of them are from Yiwu.
Handicrafts made in Yiwu have spread all over the country and the world.
It said more than 60% of the Christmas decorations worldwide were from Yiwu.
Unlike other Chinese trade fairs, Yiwu fairs are always going on.
It represents a showroom of handicrafts, stationery, toys, decorations, accessories, and others.
It is huge. When you spend a day there, you only visit some of the goods.
If you can not find the right one. Please remember to ask the seller if there are other styles. A lot of goods the seller will not show.
The variety of merchandise is more than you can imagine.
Its official name is China Yiwu International Commodities Fair.
Whether online or offline, you should have some supplier lists on hand.
Now it is time to evaluate them.
Without a clear checklist, evaluating suppliers can be very inefficient and challenging.
Here is a checklist. It has 11 tips to evaluate your supplier.
A bad supplier will hold your business development. Sometimes it is a disaster.
A good supplier will support your business.
Suppliers like your employee. You will work together and support each other to build a long-term relationship.
How to evaluate suppliers?
It is essential to check the company’s credit first.
We need to avoid this kind of situation.
For example, I heard of this kind of case in the past. When the buyer finished the payment, the supplier factory was closed and disappeared.
An experienced vendor will utilize their expertise to supply a good solution for your project.
You will get the best value at a low cost.
On the contrary, it is a potential risk to screw up your project if it is an inexperienced vendor.
Quality products will create a good shopping experience for your customers.
It is crucial to keep the stable quality of products.
If it is your first order, I will recommend ordering samples first. When the samples are approved, you can place a large order.
Evaluating the supplier’s capabilities in the sample stage is a good opportunity.
The suppliers can better know your requirement as well in the sample stage.
On-time delivery is important in the supply chain management system.
It is a bad experience if your customer does not receive their goods on time.
It is most important to review costs.
Most buyers usually only focus on price. It is not the right way.
In the long term, we need to focus on the total cost instead of the purchase price.
Communication is soft competence. It plays an important role in the products sourcing.
It can support understanding information more accurately and efficiently.
Bad Communication will cause misunderstanding and frustration.
Service like air.
It is throughout your full cooperation.
Good service can attract and keep our customers.
We can find every product in the market. But it is not easy to find high-quality service.
Reliable suppliers are really important. Reliability is one of the evaluation criteria.
Without it, you can not build long-term relationships. Your business can not grow.
I had been in supply chain management for more than 15 years. I am grateful for this experience, which made me deeply understand the importance of a reliable supplier.
When you search for suppliers from the B2B platform, you can find tons of suppliers. But it is not easy to find a reliable supplier.
Good suppliers are happy to share their experiences and answer your question. Welcome to visit their company.
The factory tour is a vital action to see a real factory. You can organize a factory tour online if you can not travel to China.
For example, in the past, I would take time to visit critical suppliers every year.
It is part of my yearly plan because it is a very critical job.
By visiting the factory, I can learn how the factory manages and how they control the quality of the products.
Sometimes, we noted the news about famous brands’ social compliance violations in their supply chain. It affected the value of their brands.
Now more and more companies realize the importance of branding.
For example, yearly supplier audits were made in my previous company. One of them was social compliance.
In general, there has an EHS team in the company. They are responsible for environmental, health, and safety compliance.
The goal of the EHS department is to manage compliance with a large number of environmental laws and to protect ecological resources for all citizens. It also protects employees from workplace hazards.
EHS is also very important and has become a significant player in sustainability and corporate responsibility for many companies.
I am sure you can find a reliable supplier based on this checklist.
It is a good start.
I often saw bad views from buyers on Amazon.
Why did this happen?
In this section, I will introduce how to source products in China.
The reason is that there is a big difference between the physical product and the product image seller took.
For example, I had this kind of experience when I purchased online.
It was a bad experience. Everyone does not want to have this experience. Right?
The pre-production sample is a vital part of the whole products sourcing.
In the new media age, sellers spend a lot of time on product pictures, videos, and copywriting.
These beautiful marketing materials will make you stop. Eventually, you order it.
After payment, you feel that these beauties will belong to you.
For good things, we will all be more patient than usual, willing to spend more time waiting.
However, there are always surprises in life.
Open the box. The goods are not the same as what you saw in the picture. It is a frustrating experience.
It is an excellent way to make a pre-production sample to avoid it.
For example, I worked on my house decoration project in 2020.
To control costs as much as possible. I searched for suppliers by myself.
I was very impression one of the orders.
The tile color in the bathroom had a big difference from the picture. I was very frustrated when I opened the box.
The location of the supplier is far from my city.
Because the distance was very far and the tiles were heavy, returning them would be big trouble. And I would have to pay a lot of extra costs.
It was a lesson learned.
After that, I requested the supplier to deliver samples first. When the sample was approved, I officially placed mass order.
When the samples are approved, the next step is mass production.
It is the first official order. During the products sourcing process, keeping communication information with the supplier is better.
Both parties need more Communication to ensure order fulfillment smoothly.
For example, you can estimate when you will receive your goods.
Your stock will be reviewed to see if it is enough before receiving them.
When will your safety stock be used out?
For example, this product will be used to launch new products. Its launch time will be reviewed if the goods receiving date can fit with it.
If time is tight, delivery needs to be early as possible. The product can be launched as scheduled.
It is necessary to have regular video conferences with suppliers. Supplier updates order status timely.
If you are very strict with product quality, you can hire a product sourcing agency to inspect your goods in the factory. It includes material inspection, inspection in process, shipping checking, etc.
Packaging is also essential, not only to protect the product.
In this section, if you learn more, let’s continue.
Packaging not only protects the goods from being damaged during transportation.
We also need to take into account its storage, movement, shipping, and others.
Both sides put in a lot of effort. The product was finished as planned.
For example, I would like to share my experience with you. At the end of 2020, It is about a new project from my customer.
In the beginning phase, we spent a lot of time discussing how to make the product at the lowest cost.
The packaging specification is the last part. I asked the customer if there was any requirement.
The customer confirmed packaging specifications would be implemented as factory standards. The only purpose is to protect the product during transportation.
It is easy to fulfill the order when the customer requests standard specifications.
I still sent an email asking the customer about the current warehouse situation, such as racks, storage space, location, etc.
How will the goods move into the warehouse? Is there any packaging requirement when the goods delivered to consumers?
The customer responded that she never consider these packaging details before.
Eventually, we discussed further packaging specifications. It avoided some risks as well.
Here is a checklist when you work on packaging.
Right packing specification can help you save costs and avoid damage risk in transit.
The label will be stuck on the packaging when the goods are packaged.
Many buyers ignore the importance of labeling.
Labels play an essential role in the marketing strategy.
Basic product information will be printed on the label. You can identify the product by the label even if you do not open the package.
All labels need to be consistent. It can support brand building.
For example, I worked in supply chain management before.
Customers would provide the specific labels to our planner when the order was placed.
Customers will define label format, and different suppliers will fill in item information on a specific label.
When all products label is consistent, it will keep the brand building.
From pick up to receipt of goods, there will be many details involved in this products sourcing process.
And in this chapter, I will show you a simple example of why it is important.
A reliable freight forwarder will save a lot of time. You will not get surprised and will pay extra costs.
The freight forwarder must be reliable enough to transport your goods to your warehouse safely.
The shipping cost is part of the total cost.
For example, if your product cost is not high, it is paper boxes. Its shipping cost will be a considerable proportion.
In general, you will get a reasonable cost from a reliable supplier.
The delivery process differs from domestic products sourcing if your goods are imported from abroad.
This chapter is about export customs declaration.
Your goods need to export customs declaration at the country of departure first.
When the goods are packed and waiting for dispatch.
The supplier will prepare the goods information and make customs declaration documentation.
Before customs clearance, you need to know the customs regulations.
I recommend that you should know customs regulations before placing orders.
For example, for some particular goods, such as batteries and chemical products, Airlines and vessel companies have strict transportation rules for dangerous goods.
Before shipping, you need to confirm with the freight forwarder to ensure that the goods can be shipped smoothly.
The supplier is very familiar with the product. They should be well aware of the customs regulations.
The delivery process differs from domestic products sourcing if your goods are imported from abroad.
This chapter is about import customs declaration.
When goods arrive at the destination port, the goods need to import customs declaration before you can receive them.
When the goods finally arrive in your country after long-distance transportation.
The goods need to be cleared, and relevant fees will be paid, such as import taxes, handling fees, documentation fees, etc.
After payment, your goods are released. Finally, the forwarder will deliver to your place.
Last but not least, I made a checklist of when your goods are delivered to your place.
In the chapter, I will guide you on how to goods receiving.
When customs release your goods, the forwarder will deliver them to your place. You will check the goods situation, such as quantity, quality, package, etc., when you receive it.
Forwarder informs that your goods plan delivery to your warehouse.
It is exciting.
You will get your products soon.
Here is my experience to share with you.
For example, today you will attend a party.
You put on the dress you received some days ago, but unfortunately, you found that its size does not fit well.
After checking, the supplier sent the wrong size before.
You have to choose another dress. It wastes your time and affects your mood.
When the goods finally arrived, we were excited. All the hard work and effort we made is worth it.
But, we have to do the last step.
We should check goods timely when we receive the shipment. Here is a checklist.
And in this chapter, I will show why it is important to cooperate further in the long term.
Our main goal is to develop our business and build a long-term relationship with the supplier.
From looking for a supplier to receiving the goods, you experienced how to import goods from China.
No matter the supplier competence, the sales negotiation, the product quality, communication skills, the product price, etc., the whole products sourcing is smooth.
It would help if you considered building a long-term business relationship with the supplier and exploring more business opportunities in the future, which benefits both sides.
You can discuss this deeply with the technical team of the supplier.
For example, it is about cost reduction solutions.
Stainless steel materials are 304 and 316.
Without affecting the product function, you can use 304 material instead of 316 material. Your cost will be less than before.
If you do not communicate deeply with the technical team, the supplier will produce according to your requirements.
When you establish a long-term business relationship, the supplier will provide better service and spend more effort.
They are more willing to spend time supporting you and listening to your voice.
The supplier will create value as much as possible for you.
Products sourcing from China is not as easy as you imagine and the process will not be easy.
You may face big challenges and pay more money if you do not follow these steps.
Follow these tips, and I am sure you will get the benefit.
This article is just a list of frequently encountered problems.
If this article is helpful, please help to forward it so that more buyers can see it.
Thanks.
