Over the past few decades, China has been booming as a manufacturing country. It has become the world’s largest manufacturing center.
In the future, it will continue to play a vital role in the world economy.
With technology developing, China’s manufacturing industry is growing even faster. It is increasing the endless options available to customers.
Chinese products seem to be everywhere, and when you travel around the world, you often see products with labels like “Made in China.”
Foreign consumers may wonder why so many goods are from China.
Most believe China is known as the “factory of the world.” Its main reason is cheap labor.
It is not the case. With so many years of development, China’s strong business ecosystem has developed.
As a result, buyers from all over the world are looking for suppliers in China.
If you are sourcing products for Amazon FBA from China now,
If you are planning to source products for Amazon FBA from China,
If you are likely to source goods from China in the future,
Products Sourcing from China requires an amount of effort and time. Learning some tips will help your business succeed.
I made nine tips in this article to help you handle your products sourcing business in China more effectively.
All information is valuable, so please be patient and read this article!
Whether you search from google or B2B platforms, you can find thousand of suppliers in China.
The truth is that there are not many reliable suppliers and not many suppliers who are willing to assist your business in growing.
Why are reliable suppliers so important?
Suppliers play a critical part in the overall products sourcing procedure.
A reliable supplier can help your business succeed and contribute a lot to reducing costs, improving product quality, etc.
Choosing a supplier is not as easy as shopping online.
When you shop online, you receive products.
If you are dissatisfied with this product, you will throw away this product at most.
If you work with an unreliable supplier, there will be various problems you did not expect, such as late delivery, late information, product quality problems, etc.
Finally, you spend a lot of time dealing with these problems. It may even cause you to lose your customers.
The potential loss is not measurable.
For example, one of my customers shared a case with me.
The shipment was stuck at the destination port because she didn’t receive customs declaration documents in time.
Finally, she did not get the goods as planned and pay additional costs.
For example, the supplier did not execute the packing specification.
When the goods arrive at the freight forwarder’s warehouse, the freight forwarder notifies that the packaging needs to be changed.
Eventually, the additional cost has to pay.
Even if the supplier eventually bears the extra cost, it wastes your communication time.
Finally, the cargo has to wait for the next ship.
For example, it can be a very frustrating experience as well. When you need updated status of your orders, it is hard to contact the sales guy.
When you make a payment, the salesman is hard to be reached. You are eager to know the latest status of your order, but you always have to wait.
For example, when you finished the payment, the supplier informed your order could not be exactly made as requested.
Before you make the payment, the supplier promises that he can execute your order as requested.
When you pay, the supplier will inform you that some requirements cannot be executed.
A reliable supplier will carefully check all the details of the order requirements and confirm them in the beginning.
A reliable supplier, she will take the initiative to update the order status during the procedure.
You will be able to contact the supplier in time.
In short, a reliable supplier who can help your business grow.
A reliable supplier can save you a lot of time. He can supply solutions when you meet any problems.
A reliable supplier can avoid many risks and ensure products are delivered to your place safely and on time.
When we visit a new platform, it is always a habit to look at the supplier ratings, badges, and customers’ views.
It is a good habit. It can support us when we make a decision.
When you visit Alibaba sourcing platform, you will see suppliers with a “Verified” badge. They are named “Gold Suppliers.”
As long as you open a store in Alibaba and pay some money to the Alibaba platform, the platform will give you this badge.
The following is a case I experienced in the past.
In the past, I was interviewed. The company owner introduced “gold supplier” on Alibaba. It has been one month since joining Alibaba.
At that time, I was not familiar with the Alibaba platform. When I heard this information, I was puzzled.
Why can they achieve a gold supplier in one month?
Afterward, I learned that many suppliers on Alibaba are gold suppliers.
As long as you pay a sum of money to the Alibaba platform, you can get the title of Gold Supplier.
This means that anyone can pay to get it.
“Gold Suppliers” is never a criterion to judge the quality of suppliers.
Don’t rely on this information; you need to learn more through other aspects.
Time is cost!
In China, not all suppliers can speak English.
Due to language and cultural differences, many problems arise due to a lack of effective communication.
Because there is no effective communication, it ultimately affects the business.
If you learn more, let’s continue.
With language and cultural differences, good communication skills become especially important.
Good communication skills can improve the efficiency of both parties and create a pleasant cooperation atmosphere, which is better for future cooperation development.
For example, you and the supplier established a new business relationship. You do not know each other well.
Your order requirements are described in as much detail as possible. It is better to have drawings, photos, and videos to help the supplier understand your needs.
Because of cultural differences, some Chinese people are shy and introverted.
They are not good at asking questions. You can encourage them to ask questions.
This will eliminate their doubts and make sure you have the same page.
In general, the email will be used for business communication.
This is risky if you only rely on email for communication and have no other communication tools.
For example, when you have urgent questions that need to be confirmed.
You can not get feedback by email. It will make you crazy.
Backup communication tools such as WeChat, Whatsapp, and Skype are essential.
If you often source goods in China, you can install WeChat as a communication tool.
WeChat is the most popular communication tool in China, and almost every Chinese person uses it frequently.
Even if it is a child or an older person, they have a WeChat application on their phone.
They use it as a daily communication tool.
When you contact a supplier for an urgent case, you don’t get a timely response by email.
You will get a quick response via Wechat.
Especially when you follow up on order status, check samples or production, you can get clear information by using the video and voice function of WeChat.
It is very convenient. It can not work by email.
If you haven’t installed WeChat yet, install it now.
When products are labeled “Made in China,” they are always associated with low prices.
We need to change this way of thinking. You should have heard of the phrase apply to apply.
On the Alibaba sourcing platform, you see that you can buy a nice mug by paying $0.1.
This is not the real price.
The seller is trying to attract buyers to send inquiries and set the price so low.
Why do many buyers search for goods from China every day? One of the main reasons is the low purchasing price.
Even with all the other costs, such as shipping rates, taxes, order handling fees, etc., the total price is lower than if you were to purchase domestically.
Have you ever experienced something like this?
You send an inquiry to several suppliers for the same product, and you get excited by the low prices from a few of them.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Low-priced goods mean more problems and risks.
For example, many importers must have experienced this situation in the past.
To save costs, you work with a low-priced supplier. It may be the beginning of a nightmare.
The whole products sourcing procedure is full of surprises.
Eventually, you pay a lot of extra costs and time.
Don’t only focus on the purchase price.
It is careful to evaluate suppliers to find the right one to fit your needs.
When you find suppliers, you need to know if the suppliers are reliable. Whether the samples provided can be met your requirements.
Pre-production sample evaluation is a vital part of your entire products sourcing.
Because it is a cross-border business, all information relies on online. You cannot touch the physical product.
To avoid receiving a product that does not match your requirements. It is better to evaluate samples before placing a mass production order.
You must have experienced something like this.
When you receive the sample, you find that the sample does not meet your requirements.
So you give feedback to the supplier that the sample cannot be approved.
The supplier promises that it will be improved by mass production.
Don’t easily believe that mass-produced goods will be better than your samples.
When the sample has problems, you should ask the supplier to re-send it until it meets your requirements.
If the supplier refuses your requirement, they highlight they will make the product exactly as you want it in mass production.
You need to consider if you work with this supplier carefully.
If the time is limited and cost controlled, the sample will not be made again.
You can hire a third-party inspection agency or product sourcing agency to visit the factory regularly.
They will inspect the goods during the production process.
If you find defective parts in production, you must stop production immediately and find a way to solve it first.
The product is improved until it meets your requirements before continuing.
Sometimes it needs to be reworked or scrapped, which can greatly reduce the risk of receiving non-conforming goods.
For those products with very strict quality requirements, it is necessary to know the supplier quality control system first.
You will be grateful that you did not skip this part when you received the goods.
A quality control system is to avoid producing defective products.
It is to avoid failing to meet the needs of your customers.
Understanding the supplier quality control system will help you source products in China.
Your time is valuable. You are usually very busy. Something you have to keep your time to handle it.
Please take a little time to learn about supplier quality systems, process controls, etc.
Years of supply chain experience taught me that a messy factory could not produce high-quality goods.
They have no quality control in the process. Goods are only inspected before shipping.
For example, it is necessary to check the quality regularly, especially for large orders.
No one wants to receive defective goods.
You can hire a product sourcing agency to regularly inspect the goods, such as material inspection, process inspection, and finished product inspection.
If you don’t plan to hire a product sourcing agency, you can make a video meeting to inspect goods online.
All this is to avoid the risk of defective products when you receive the goods.
Have you ever hired a sourcing agent?
A good sourcing agent will get you far more value than you pay for.
If you learn more, let’s continue.
Have you ever hired a product sourcing agency?
A good product sourcing agency will get you far more value than you pay for.
If you learn more, let’s continue.
A product sourcing agency is a bridge between you and your suppliers. It plays a vital role in international trade.
The service of China product sourcing agency supplied is quite simple in the beginning.
Now, product sourcing agency service is more diverse and personalized.
It included marketing research, supplier selection, price negotiation, quality inspection, supplier financial checks, warehouse storage, shipping, and other services.
Hiring a product sourcing agency can increase the efficiency of your procurement.
A product sourcing agency understands the local culture, communication, and coordination will be smoother and save you time.
Due to poor business management, many companies close down every year in China.
Due to more competition, many companies struggle to survive each year, and many are not in a good financial situation.
Have you done a background check to ensure you work with a reliable supplier?
No one expects to buy products from bad suppliers.
A product sourcing agency can help you verify a supplier’s reputation on the government’s official website.
For example, you need to source multiple product categories.
You need to spend very much time communicating with different suppliers.
Some suppliers don’t speak English well. It takes a lot of time for communication to clear products specification.
Hiring a product sourcing agency is a smart way.
You just tell the product sourcing agency your requirements (e.g., product list), and she will communicate with different suppliers.
The product sourcing agency will provide regular updates on the progress of the project, so your time will be greatly saved.
When The goods are ready, She will coordinate with different suppliers to consolidate all items to be shipped together.
Shipping costs will be greatly saved.
It is a big challenge for buyers who have no products sourcing experience.
Too many jobs are involved in the supply chain, from searching for suppliers to receiving the goods.
It’s a huge job.
Hire a product sourcing agency to start your journey.
You can refer to the article Everything You Need to Know China product sourcing agency.
The goods have been finished as planned. A reliable freight forwarder will handle goods transportation.
A reliable freight forwarder will secure that goods will be delivered to your place.
The forwarder will be responsible for delivering your goods from China to your country.
It includes customs documentation, bill of lading, and other documentation from the carrier or airline.
It handles transportation, including ships, airplanes, trucks, and railroads.
We often hear stories about unreliable forwarders. Eventually, you must pay any extra fees before getting the goods.
Don’t easily trust those freight forwarders with very low costs and short shipping times.
SO It is very critical to work with a reliable forwarder.
To have enough time to deal with surprises, please keep more time.
Keeping more time can support handling some unexpected cases happened.
Helping you manage your orders smoothly. It will support your business’s success.
It is the first time establishing a new business relationship with suppliers. It takes more time to know each other.
Time is an essential factor in the entire products sourcing.
If it is a new project, keep more time as much time as possible.
It has enough time to handle a case such as poor communication, supplier quality issue, and material shortage.
It can avoid delaying the delivery of products to your customers.
It is necessary to keep more time if it is a custom product.
If you are a new buyer, choosing one from the millions of goods in China is a challenge.
If you are a first-time entrepreneur or an SME business owner. You don’t have a professional products sourcing team.
You need to find suppliers, negotiate with suppliers, confirm samples, handle orders, arrange shipping, etc.
I believe this article can give you some valuable information.
Wish your business is THRIVING!
