To find manufacturer in China can be a frustrating and difficult task. The task becomes even more difficult when you are conducting your business in China for the first time. You must be positive and start working on the thing, which is under your control. Things will fall into place. The best product sourcing strategy is to break the big task into smaller stems and then focus on one step at a time.
By following these steps, you will successfully conduct your business without even noticing it. Chinese markets can be intimidating for the ones who are not natives of China. If you are from a western nation, then finding yourself in an alien land where no one speaks your tongue is in itself very weird to imagine. Let alone, doing business in such an environment.
If you do not get the required guidance when conducting business in Chinese markets, then you are more likely to get duped. In this article, we will discuss the step-by-step process and the various factors that you must keep in mind before your China sourcing process. Treat this read as your green book to Chinese markets.
The first step is to find the manufacturer who does the business of manufacturing the products that you are interested in.
Find a Chinese manufacturer
Today, unlike in the olden days, information is available very easily to us. The Internet is the best tool to find China factories online because many manufacturers are present on the internet. Internet must be your default and first option while searching for a manufacturer. Now don’t limit yourself to a simple search conducted on Google, Bing or so.
You must refer to B2B platforms to find China factories online because this is the environment where Chinese manufacturers are present. Some of the best online sourcing websites are Alibaba, Global Sources and Made in China, etc. these platforms are great because they connect you with the Chinese manufacturer directly.
These websites make it easy to get in touch with the manufacturers and China factories online so that you can do business with them. One pro tip is that you should be more specific when you search in the search bar. For example, as a substitute of “brass locks”, you can look for especially for “brass die cabinet locks and cast drawer”.
There are several of suppliers in China who are ready to deliver the task that you require. This gives you an edge while bargaining. You can filter the suppliers depending on multiple factors like reviews and platform rating, etc. take, for instance, Alibaba. Those suppliers who are trustworthy are given a gold rating on the platform. This means that the supplier is more reliable.
This also means that customers in the past have conducted business with that supplier and they found his services to be up to the mark. Other platforms like Global Sources have a tag called the “verified supplier” which is a testament to the reliability and trustworthiness of the partner. You must be cautious and always make sure that the supplier is a manufacturer and not a reseller.
These platforms provide you with a good head start. You should create a shortlist from these search results but do not finalize the manufacturer just yet. There are more things to be looked into. For example, one of the most encountered issues is a reseller posing as a manufacturer. It is not bad to deal with the resellers but in certain cases, it is not advisable.
For example, when you are in the business of beauty products, toys, kitchen utensils, electronics etc. then you might have a certain set of specifications in your mind to meet. If you buy the goods from a reseller, then these goods will not meet your specific requirements. When you deal with a manufacturer, then he will listen to your requirements.
Then the manufactured materials will accord to your needs and desires. This would ensure that you are getting the result that you desire and that you are not making any adjustments to the expectations. Die casting, metal stamping and branding and plastic moulding are some of the technical specifications, which are required according to the requirement of the company.
Furthermore, this process also weeds out the resellers and reduces the cost at which you procure the products. The “gold’ and “verified” ratings are not the final testaments of the quality and trustworthiness of the seller. You must be aware that if a seller pays Alibaba annual subscription fees, then he too gets the gold tag which increases his visibility.
Further, the verified tag can simply be proof of the existence of the company and may have no bearing on its quality and trustworthiness of it. It also has no credibility when we talk about the status of the listing being a reseller or a manufacturer. The conclusion that we can draw is that these tags are good for filtering China factories online but they are not the sole parameters.
Industry network
One of the useful tools is the network of your industry. This includes the recommendations of different trade bodies and the business contacts which are built. Since word of the mouth is the most reliable source of recommendation, these references and networks can be trusted. Another good way of sourcing the manufacturers is the trade fair.
Trade fairs
These trade fairs are an alternative to fishing the China factories because they allow serving as a big pool of manufacturers for you. You can freely contact and choose among these choices. Your potential to spend the resources in these trade fairs will be determined by the size of your business. When you go to such fairs, only then will you realize why China is called the factory of the world.
It will also hint to you what all types of products are available in the market. Many big brands drop a visit to these trade fairs only to ensure that their IPR is protected. They go to these trade fairs and then they take action against the ones who are counterfeiting their products. If they find that there is some IPR infringement going on, then they take action against these sellers.
A few caveats with trade fairs are that the manufacturers and almost everyone speaks mandarin here. If you are not proficient in mandarin, then you will face difficulty operating here. The best and safest option in such cases is to get in touch with the procurement agents. Some of the biggest fairs are organized in the Guangzhou region. These trade fairs are organized twice a year.
Almost 180,000 buyers across the world are attracted to these fairs and almost 26000 exhibitors come to showcase what they have to offer to the buyers. These trade fairs are a great market for resellers who are willing to fill their shops and warehouses with new products. The canton fair is also called the trade show of everything. This makes it one of the best locations to start your search.
There are some smaller fairs also that are organized in China. For example, the diecasting fair in Shanghai is an exhibition of manufacturers of die-casting foundries, and suppliers of materials, equipment and accessories. All these are present under the same roof and this is why it attracts 19,000 visitors.
Sourcing companies
Those businesses which are new to trading in the Chinese markets often outsource their job to sourcing companies in China. These sourcing companies are experts who are natives of China. They help businesses to identify the suppliers and guide them in each step of their journey of getting the right products for their local markets.
Many sourcing companies have been helping western companies source goods from China for a long time. A good sourcing company will guide the purchasers throughout the whole procedure of acquiring quotes from a supplier, analysing the quotes, assessing factories in China, settling any problems that crop up, drawing up payment terms, etc.
Further, they help you manage the complications of communicating your producing needs. These complications arise because the manufacturers know and speak only mandarin and hence the language barrier is broken by the sourcing company who is proficient in both Mandarin and English.
The sourcing company is also responsible for quality control inspections, transportation, administration and ensuring that the goods turn up at the location when scheduled. China is such a huge country that it should be considered as a group of multiple units. Different units or provinces are known for different markets.
For example, you will find more variety and good quality electronics producers in Guangdong province while the widest range of plastic moulding and die casting manufacturers are found in Zhejiang province.
Conclusion
Different provinces in China are famous for different markets. If you are new to China, then you must explore these markets as they are the repositories of the widest range of goods in China.