The key responsibility for buyers is to purchase goods at the appropriate quality, within a given time frame and at suitable price. First of all, you should make a factory database and establish strategic partnerships with the right factories.

How should you establish a favorable relationship with the factory? Proper communication is the most important factor, it can help develop a good supplier system and solidify cooperation. Let’s discuss the

things you should and should not say to the factories when communicating.

THINGS YOU SHOULD SAY TO FACTORIES.

1. Prepare a professional company presentation to share.

A company presentation is an important part of ‘selling’ yourself to the prospective factories. In many cases, this will be the first meeting with the factory, and first impressions are critical. A proper presentation is vital to help the factory to get to know you better in a short time.

When meeting with the factory, do remember to bring a paper or electronic catalog with detailed company information like company background, staffing levels, turnover, product range, major markets, sales strategy, etc. The objective of the presentation can be different depending upon the target factories and the presentation should be adjusted accordingly. It is important for the factory to have a good impression of your company and see your potential as a buyer so that they will cooperate with you more closely and place your shipments as a high priority.

2. Describe your company’s advantages.

Show that your company has many advantages compared to other rivals’, e.g. accredited enterprise, selling through different distribution channels, dealing with famous chain stores, paying on time, being able to communicate easily as you have Chinese speaking staff or agent, etc….

3. You have focused on this product area for years.

Besides the company introduction, another main part is to introduce your product and mention the product area you focus on. If you have focused on this product for many years, it is a good opportunity to mention how many years’ experience you have in this product and share some of your experience. Also you should bring samples if possible, which would more easily convince the factory that you are a high potential buyer.

4. You will have many orders in the near future.

This will be most attractive to the factory. It is a customer oriented market, factories can only survive with orders and if they produce what customers want. Don’t forget to mention your order prospect and market requirements, try to get the factory’s confirmation for production plans, or at least get their commitment to support you.

5. You are cooperating with several suppliers simultaneously.

As business expansion is needed, you would like to find more suppliers to support your order capacity. You are looking for more qualified and cooperative partners. Let the factory feel that you are a serious buyer and looking for the factory’s active support.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT SAY TO FACTORIES.

1. You are a small company.

Don’t mention that you are a small company, you only have a few staff, your office is small, and you don’t have enough resources and so on. Otherwise, the factory would feel that there is no chance to get big orders from you, and will not be willing to provide necessary support, instead they will wait until the last minute to produce your goods. And they would not accept your payment terms to pay less deposit, but only start production after they receive the whole payment as they may worry about the financial ability of a small company.

2. You are new to this market.

Don’t mention you are a new company, or a new buyer for this product. Avoid passing the feeling that you don’t know the industrial materials, factories may use different (cheap, low quality, impure, etc.) materials to produce your order; or give higher quotation to you.

3. You are suffering financial difficulties.

Don’t mention you have financial difficulties when talking with the factory. It will put you in an embarrassing situation. The factory will be scared to cooperate with you and would have no interests in communicating with you. If you have paid some deposit, the production will be put on hold and it will be difficult to get the deposit back.

4. The factory’s price is low.

Even if the factory’s price is very low, don’t mention that it is cheap, but you can ask more detail like what kind of material are used, minimum order quantity, payment terms, delivery time, etc. You may find some differences compared to other companies. If it is the same but really with low price, you may ask the factory to make samples for reference first. If you find that the sample is not ideal, you can have a chance to ask the factory how much an improved product will cost.

5. Don’t threaten the factories.

If some factories are not cooperative, for example, they don’t answer phone calls or reply to e-mails timely, do not provide good quotations, and so on, you can contact their manager instead of quarrelling with them or threatening them. Due to some cultural differences or language barriers, sometimes people may not understand your requirements well. So, keep communicating in a patient and friendly way.

Generally, in order to get the support from factories and get their utmost attention for your orders, it is better to express yourself positively, explain that you are a good potential buyer and look forward to a long term business relationship based on mutual benefit. Take care of what you say and express yourself well.

China Sourcing Agent

Elksourcing：How to Plan Your First Meeting with Your Target Client?

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, meeting by 露露

You’ve finally scheduled that meeting you’ve been trying to get with a good target client. You know that first impressions are critical and you want to make sure you get it right and don’t fall at the first hurdle. If you ask yourself these seven questions they will help you make the meeting a resounding success:

1. Are you meeting the right person?

This is really a question you should be asking before you schedule the meeting.

If it’s your first meeting with your potential important client, you should be aiming for the highest level executive you can reach.

The best way to do that is to define your business value proposition for that specific company and, depending on the company you’re targeting, approach the CEO or other senior executive.

Tell them you’d like to discuss how you can help them to achieve a specific business goal that they really care about. If they do care about it, they will either see you or refer you to the person who has responsibility for that area.

It’s critical to enter a major account at the right level. If you start at the top and you’re referred down, you go to a meeting with the imprimatur of the person who referred you.

2. What do you know about the company and person you’re meeting?

It’s no longer enough to go into a meeting with a senior executive and say “tell me about your business” or “what keeps you awake at night?” Senior executives expect you to have done your research before they meet you.

You need to understand what the company does, who its key customers are, its offerings, its history and its business challenges – and how you can help them.

You also need to know as much about the person you’re meeting as possible – what other positions they have held, what they care about in their current role, any articles they have written and so on.

By doing effective research using the company web site, their annual report, newspaper articles, industry research, LinkedIn profiles, articles the
executive has published and so on you should be able to get a good picture of the company and executive you’re meeting with.

3. What is your key objective?

It’s important to know what your objectives for the meeting are – and not
to have too many.

If it’s your first meeting it’s too early to sell. They aren’t interested in your company, your offering, your brochures, your presentations and your case studies. They are interested in themselves, their business issues and the possibility you might be able to help them.

The objectives of a first meeting are usually:

· To discuss the business issue, you can help them solve, its implications and the impact of solving it (or failing to solve it)

· To show you understand the issue and are an equal in this area

· To develop credibility as a person and an organization that can help them

· To agree there’s potential for you to help them

· To agree on the next step

The first meeting should be almost all about them and very little about you. You should encourage them to do the talking by asking intelligent questions (see below) then listening to (and taking notes of) the answers.

You shouldn’t take presentations, brochures and other marketing aids to the meeting and under no circumstances should you even consider demonstrations during a first exploratory meeting.

My strong recommendation is that the only props you should take to a first meeting are your brain, your research and either a pen and paper or a laptop/table for taking notes.

4. What is their key objective?

You know what you want from the meeting. But what do they want? Senior executives are very busy and they have many demands on their time. They rarely meet anyone without a specific objective in mind – so what is it?

You should be able to make an intelligent assumption about their objective based on the reason they accepted the meeting and what was said to get them to agree to the meeting.

However, the best way to validate your assumption is to ask them. Two questions you can ask are;

“I know you’re very busy – what was your motivation to accepting this meeting?” or “What objective do you want to get out of this meeting?”

Then make sure you address those objectives as a priority and at the end of the meeting ask them if you’ve done so to their satisfaction.

5. What intelligent questions can you ask?

The quality of the questions you ask will determine how they view you. The statement “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” is in fact a stupid statement (if there’s no such thing as stupid question, what sorts of
questions do stupid people ask? – to quote Dilbert).

Generic questions such as “Tell me about your business” or “What are the top three business issues you’re facing?” simply show you haven’t done your research. If you’re talking to an important target client and you believe you can help them with a key business issue you need to know all about that issue and its impact on them.

By asking intelligent questions you not only get the detailed responses that allow you to understand more but you show that you understand their issues in the first place, you’re just clarifying how they view of them.

If you’re meeting to discuss a specific business issue, then the questions should be related to that issue and should demonstrate your familiarity with the issues and its impact.

6. What questions are they likely to ask?

At some stage, they are going to ask you a question. The better you’ve prepared the better your answer will be and the more professional you’ll look.

Ask yourself: “What questions are they likely to ask and how will I respond?” – remembering you want them to do most of the talking.

So prepare answers that are accurate, honest – and ideally fairly short. If they ask: “What do you do?” resist the temptation to launch into your company or product pitch. They don’t really want to know what you do. They want to know what you can do for them.

The correct answer is: “We help companies like you to insert the business problem you’re there to discuss>”.

And if they ask a question you can’t answer, rather than prevaricating it’s best to say: “I don’t know but I’ll find out.”

7. What is the next step?

You should have a next step clearly in mind. It may be to get a referral to another executive, it may be to organize an investigation, arrange a presentation or schedule a demonstration.

Whatever it is, know where you want to go, understand where they want to go and agree on the next step at the end of the meeting.

Then once the meeting is over send the executive a summary of what you discussed, what you agreed and what the next step is.

Summary

Like anything, implementing these ideas depends on many factors and circumstances. The main things to remember are:

· Initial meetings are to develop credibility, not to sell

· Make it about them first, you second

· Understand what they are trying to achieve

· Understand them and their business issues

· If you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get a meeting at the right level, you need to prepare and research thoroughly

Your objective isn’t to qualify an opportunity – this should be a by-product of the meeting, not the rationale for having it.

Shopify Tutorial

Elksourcing：Why a Supplier Might Refuse Your Business?

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, supplier by 露露

Importers are often careful about which suppliers they trust with order fulfillment. But many neglect to consider why a potential supplier might refuse their business. Fortunately, if you’re aware of the kinds of factors that tend to give suppliers “cold feet”, you’re in a better position to avoid that resistance and get to working together.

Here are three reasons a supplier might refuse your business:

1. Small order quantities

If someone asked you to choose between working an hour for $100 or an hour for $15, which would you choose? Most people would prefer the first option. And although this is a highly simplified example, factory owners and trading companies tend to have a similar mindset. A supplier might refuse your business if the order quantity is insignificant.

Any order that a supplier accepts comes at an opportunity cost. The factory producing the goods will have to allocate various resources for:

Creating, and typically revising, product samples;
Working with any sub-suppliers to acquire necessary raw materials, parts and packaging for production;
Preparing and calibrating any equipment needed for production;
Mass production of the goods;
Any product rework or repairs requested by the importer; and
Working with a shipping company to safely load the finished goods

A trading company or vendor has to factor in these plus their own resources needed to coordinate everything and any QC staff they might hire to inspect the products before shipping.

Understandably, most suppliers would prefer to go through this process once on a larger scale than to take on many smaller orders. You can try to assure a potential supplier that you intend to increase volume in the future and work with them long-term. But it can be difficult to persuade a supplier that has plenty of better offers elsewhere.

Consider working with a smaller supplier

A larger supplier might reject an order if they find the quantity too insignificant. But you might find success working with a small to medium-sized supplier that isn’t yet well-established or equipped to handle larger orders.

A smaller factory typically has less developed quality management systems. But managers of smaller factories are more likely to want to work with customers long-term. They’re also known to be more cooperative in meeting product requirements and deadlines because their success depends more upon retaining existing customers than looking for larger ones.

You may want to seek out a smaller supplier if you find larger suppliers are refusing your business because of low quantities.

2. High costs & low margins

High costs can deter potential suppliers just as much as small order quantities. The difference here usually involves the cost of materials or components needed to manufacture the goods an importer orders.

A factory that manufactures low-margin items usually relies on production of a large enough scale in order to bring costs down and turn a profit. A supplier might refuse your business if high costs can’t be justified by high margins or large order quantities.

For example, imagine the following scenario:

You approach a bag manufacturer about an order of 1,200 leather bags.
You’re very particular about using a high quality, expensive leather hide for your product.
The supplier will need to order a quantity of leather much greater than that needed in order to get a reasonable price.
And since this supplier normally manufactures bag with other materials, they’re not likely to use the excess material on production for other customers.

In short, the high cost of materials and waste created are going to push the factory’s margin very low. And believe it or not, refusing this order is actually in both parties’ best interests. Less ethical suppliers are likely to accept the order and agree to your expectations only to disappoint when you receive finished goods made with low quality materials.

Be reasonable in negotiations with a supplier

It’s worth stressing here that many importers make mistakes when negotiating with suppliers. They’ll often push too hard on lowering the price. And the supplier is forced to compensate for the price cut by—you guessed it—cutting costs elsewhere, often by using lower quality materials or parts.

Consider the cost of raw materials and parts in your dealings with prospective suppliers. It’s often helpful to ask multiple suppliers for price quotes for an order or request a sample bill of materials (BOM) to get an idea of the supplier’s costs. Just remember the old proverb, “you get what you pay for”. It’s as true here as it is anywhere else

3. Insufficient production capability or capacity

You can’t expect a factory that specializes in wall-mounted LED signs to also be capable of manufacturing the larger signs installed in a professional sports stadium. Nor could you expect a small, 20-worker facility to be able to supply hamburger patties for all the McDonald’s stores in California.

Some suppliers simply aren’t able to fulfill orders of certain products or quantities.

Investing in new technology or equipment

A supplier might refuse your business if it means needing to seriously upgrade their facility orequipment. Giant companies like Adidas are moving ahead with plans to make “speed factories” capable of producing shoes with lightning-fast speed and remarkable efficiency. But you shouldn’t expect that your new supplier is ready and willing to do the same.

Upgrades to a factory can come at a major expense. A supplier may need to purchase a lot of new machinery, invest in new training or even outsource major processes of production. In their eyes, such a major investment isn’t worth making if it doesn’t lead to more business. And those suppliers who are short-sighted will see even less sense in upgrading their facility.

Of course, there are some suppliers that will claim they can do everything for you, even when they can’t. What often results is heavy use of sub-contractors, problems, production and other undesirable outcomes.

So what’s the best way to know if you’re supplier is telling the truth about their capabilities?

Verify a potential supplier with an audit

The best way to be sure about a potential supplier’s production capability and capacity is to visit the factory. Few methods offer more insight than taking a walk through a facility to see production and other areas first hand.

You can avoid the confusion that many importers experience when trying to communicate by back and forth emails and phone calls alone. Visiting the factory also gives you the opportunity to clarify your product specifications and requirements face-to-face. Instant feedback from the factory manager or representative will give you a better indication of whether or not they can meet your needs.

Lastly, if you’re unable to personally travel to the supplier’s facility, you may find it helpful to hire a third-party to conduct an audit for you. Such an audit typically looks at most areas of a factory and issues a rating based on compliance with the internationally accepted ISO 9001 standard.

An audit doesn’t just help you decide if a supplier might refuse your business. It can also help you determine if a supplier is right for you. It’s recommended that you avoid any supplier that refuses to allow access to you or a professional third-party auditor.

Conclusion

Suppliers are aplenty. And just because one supplier might refuse your business, doesn’t mean others will refuse it as well.

But always consider their perspective with regard to order size and price. And remember that an honest supplier will not agree to undertake fulfillment of an order with requirements they cannot meet. It rarely hurts to do some digging and verify whether a potential supplier really can deliver on their promises.

And when you do find a supplier that meets your expectations, you’re much more likely to experienced long-term success and growth.

Shopify dropshipping

Elksourcing：3 Ways to Find Chinese Suppliers

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, shopify dropshipping from 1688 by 露露

Let’s talk about where to look and what questions to ask when finding reliable Chinese suppliers. There’s also a really helpful checklist included.

The rewards from doing business can be great but if things go wrong you end up at the opposite end of that great scale. This is why I continue to promote that buyers, especially those new to sourcing from China take time to make an informed decision before making a financial commitment. Hopefully this topic can assist you in finding reliable Chinese suppliers.

What sources can I use to find reliable Chinese suppliers?

B2B

Websites such as the ever popular Alibaba, Global Sources & Made in China tend to dominate this side of things and the accessibility for the services here make it really appealing. Sitting anywhere in the world communicating in real time with someone at a factory in China is pretty cool. So that bit is relatively easy BUT It’s not a sure fire way to reliability as there are lots of con artists on there too. Don’t follow generic information, only follow real information even if it’s a bit rough around the edges. The crooks never post anything of much substance or anything that’s traceable.

Major Pro: Good companies will be happy to display a lot of information for you to weigh up. The convenience and speed of communication is a massive pro. Get images, videos, business licenses, test reports and product certificates quickly. Legitimate operations won’t have an issue sharing these things. In fact, they will be glad to.

Exhibitions

The bi-annual Canton Fair usually tops the bill and is an absolute must visit – watch out for a new unmissable blog (this week) from us on the Canton Fair. There are a lot of other tradeshows out there and you can find some more details in this post I wrote on 2,500 exhibitions in China. The Canton Fair is very good for new product ranges, idea generation and add on’s to existing products. If you are operating in a competitive market it is questionable how you can differentiate your business when accessing the same suppliers that your competition can BUT it must be said the benefit of this being the most economical way to meet multiple suppliers trumps the other arguments. The possibilities to find reliable suppliers at tradeshows like the Canton Fair are higher than online and you will gain the reliability we crave faster. Reasoning for that comes from the fact you have been able to meet people face to face. Just beware that you speak to a manager at least sales level and not just staff hired for the show!

Major Pro: The face time is hugely important as it allows you to leave an impression on suppliers as someone they want to work with and gain as a repeat client. You can also touch the products, get a feel for the company and talk through various details which increases your ability to weigh up important details when finding reliable Chinese suppliers.

Sourcing Companies in China

There are now plenty of great options in this area. These companies bring western management and local knowledge to the table. If you are struggling to satisfy a requirement or prefer to spend more time servicing customers, then utilizing the valuable resources of a list of verified sourcing companies. When finding reliable Chinese suppliers, it can be a great option to leverage experience gained by your fellow countrymen and women. The reliability factor should be already built in here but that’s not to suggest these sourcing companies are above the law. They should be able to satisfy the same questions who have raised to a random supplier on Alibaba.

Major Pro: These companies do this for a living. The mass experience built up within a sourcing company operating in China for 5-10 years can be of huge benefit. They rely on connections and trusted relationships instead of B2B platforms.

These are the 3 most popular routes to take, social media sites like LinkedIn are also becoming viable options. For the more traditional types among us always be on the lookout for an introduction from a trusted source, that could be someone you know already doing business in China, the local chamber of commerce, etc. To really help you on your way to finding reliable Chinese suppliers here is a great checklist which asks key questions to help you choose the right supplier.

Covering topics such as:

Online Information

Paperwork

The Factory

Relationship

Background Checks.

Shopify Tutorial

Elksourcing：6 Tips About Doing Business Internationally

Apr 4, 2021 Business Internationally, Elksourcing by 露露

Here are 6 Tips About Doing Business Internationally I have learned from my 20-year work in China sourcing business:

1.) Be patient:
It is critical to understand and appreciate cultural differences when you are doing business in a foreign country. This approach will be deeply appreciated by senior executives and members of large organizations such as governments.

2.) Socialize and enjoy:
One of the best ways to earn trust and understand a foreign culture is to take the time to go to events with your foreign colleagues and associates. Not only will you meet other people that could open new doors, but also you will build a reputation in their community.

3.) Respect customs and try new things:
When getting to know people and earning their trust it can be a great sign of respect to learn about their culture, and try things your new colleagues share with you. This can be anything from the banal, to the outright thrilling and dangerous. Food and the way in which people dine is one good example.

4.) Reciprocate:
Its a wise idea is to invite your colleagues from abroad back to your home city and show them a good time. Give them a chance to get to know your culture, both locally and generally. You will find your hospitality and personal background will not be lost on them.

5.) Stay in touch:
Take advantage of how easy it is with modern technology to stay in routine touch with your contacts abroad.

6.) Travel well:
There are many detailed tips you can find on the internet about how to travel long distances well. If you have had little experience on long haul flights it can make very big difference in your health, your timing and performance when you arrive at your destination.

Understanding the culture is vital. If trading with a country appearing to be very different to your own, such as China, my advice would be to initially work through a Sourcing Agent.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：5 Easy Steps to Sourcing from China

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, Sourcing from China by 露露

Many people have learned a lot from magazines offering advice or a commentary about the do’s and don’ts of sourcing products from China. Some of them are effective, some of them are simply based on generalizations that may or may not be true across the board.

As a Chinese working with different factories and with importing companies around the world, I’d like to share some inputs based on my real experience on solving problems for both suppliers and customers. I believe it’s quite useful no matter you’re a China sourcing veteran or a freshman.

Step 1- Search from the internet, sourcing magazines or trade fairs

There are many potential suppliers from the biggest search engines such as Google. You can also get good resources from the sourcing platforms like Alibaba, Global Sources, Made-in-China, etc. Short list a few suppliers for the items you’re going to source. There are so many big international trade fairs in both Asia and your local countries. This is not difficult to understand so I go to step 2.

Step 2- Clean your mind

You may have the question, clean my mind? Yes. From tons of my conversations with customers from all around the world, many western people have more or less some prejudice about China, Chinese culture and Chinese products! The western media are keen to bring explosive and bad news to the public to catch people’s eyeballs. They see more broken bridges, explosion and corruption than any other news, a lot of journalists have never been to China and give their thoughts from the views written on the books which had been published 10 or 20 years before!

Many people believe “Made in China” represents poor quality, low price, and China is always cheap, cheap, and cheapest around the whole world!

This makes a lot of problems, because a lot of people who come to China to buy products cannot easily change this from their mind, they just try to be the best price killers. This gives chances to some companies that are not so honest or even scammers. So you’ll see incredibly cheap price sometimes, and when you bargain with them, they try to promise you everything—just to get your order!

Yes, there does exist many low quality manufacturers, but there are many high quality suppliers as well, like Foxconn (it produces for Apple) and Huawei. There are always medium quality producers as well. In my word, China is a place of manufacturers with mixed quality levels.

So, as a professional sourcing personnel, always try to get the first hand information by yourself, do adequate homework about the products, technologies and whole industry and supply chain.

Step 3- Visit and check the suppliers and factories

When you finish step 2, you’ll have a general idea about the products you’re going to source, but probably you’re tangled with a lot of clues.

Now, it’s time for you to clear them all. Make a plan to meet the short-listed suppliers. It’s always important to meet the people face to face when dealing with them. Seeing is believing. This is the most efficient way to understand your suppliers. By talking with them, looking into their facilities and equipment, you can understand if you’re going to work with the most professional people or not. If you don’t have the time and budget to check the suppliers by yourself, at least you should get a trusted local company or individual to visit on your behalf. This is quite important to reduce the risk of being scammed.

Step 4- Get samples for testing from suppliers

Get samples from verified suppliers to test. Don’t rely on the reports from the factories—many of them are faked, or made by Photoshop. Do the testing by yourself or send to a trusted third-party lab.

Step 5- Track the process and inspect the goods before paying

Make sure to keep an eye on what you’ve ordered. Many medium- small business operators, for whatever reason, don’t always pay adequate attention on this, they simply sign a contract with the supplier, then go to the beach enjoying sunshine, but at the end, they find out their goods are delayed, and quality is not satisfied, etc.

Besides of the process control, always do your due diligence when you choose a supplier, and inspect the goods by a trusted QC inspector, before making the payment. I’ve been hearing quite some customers tell me they receive a full container of rubbish or something that is not what they asked for at all.

How To Import From China

Elksourcing：Why China Suppliers Often Give You Wrong Quotes?

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, quotes by 露露

If you have ever requested for quotes for your enquiries from Chinese suppliers, you have probably guessed why they often give you wrong or unreasonable prices. Here are 4 simple reasons:

1. They don’t read your emails carefully

Often we see suppliers that reply half of client’s questions and most of the time they answer something completely different than what it’s asked. Language barriers help to develop even more misunderstandings as I have seen people using Google translating to know what’s that email about. This happens more often than you think. Therefore, there will be misleading in price and production as well. Usually people go quickly through your email and think they got it all correct because they think this is just another enquiry of the product they deal everyday.

Action point: if you don’t have someone in China taking care of your order, when selecting the suppliers, you can try a Skype video call where you can see the person and go through important details about your order and make sure they really understand it. Have a bill of materials and all other necessary details to be discussed with them, have them showing you samples during the call.

2. They can’t make your product

Often they can’t make your product, or part of it but they won’t tell you. Instead they will quote it with some other company that will do it for them. It’s very common in China the cross trading business. Someone knows someone that knows someone that has a friend that knows someone. Be very careful with suppliers you chose to do business with.

Action point: do a company verification that will provide you with full information about that company, main products, machine pictures and other necessary important details for you to know if that company is capable of manufacturing your product.

3. Correct quotes take much more time

Especially if you are a new client, not from a famous company and your order is not that big, they won’t feel like taking the time to go carefully over your requests to quote you correctly. They also believe that, this first quote won’t close the deal, so they just send you anything to get rid of work faster. It’s important not to ask for the prices right away.

Action point: you need to first understand here and there if the supplier can make your product, how the communication goes and how fast and how nice they are willing to answer all your questions; and it’s ok for you not to understand everything, so ask questions as much as you need to have a good feeling about the supplier. You can prepare an excel file with pictures, details and let them fill in the spots with all necessary information that you need for that project, this way, you can easily spot what their answers are and they can see clear your request. Once I have sent a file to a supplier of a project about logo options, where in the picture you could see clearly that the logo was embroidered and they filled it as a silk print logo, something completely different. I found this more efficient and time saving than sending emails over and over again.

4. They are a trading company but their website shows as a manufacturer

Trading companies in China are very common. Some companies do label themselves as that but more prefer to hide that and shows they are a manufacturer to get a chance to win your order. Because they get quote from several suppliers, they can’t develop your own design very well as they do not have skills in manufacturing, as they are only used to buy and sell existing products but cannot control the whole process of producing a new product.

Action point: you need to identify if your supplier is a trading company or a manufacturer via company verification, or you can hire a sourcing agent to do the work, as sourcing agents will only work with direct manufacturers so they can save your money and time, and monitor the quality.

Shopify Tutorial

Elksourcing：Is It Possible to Get Good Quality Products in China?

Apr 4, 2021 Elksourcing, quality by 露露

Products with the “Made in China” label have always been perceived as having one meaning: “Price, good! Quality, Not good!”. A quote from a piece of wide-published news in July clearly states the embarrassing status of “Made in China” in the eyes of people overseas. Even though they still continue to buy Chinese-made products.

Is it possible to get good quality products from China?

In reality, due to the increasing cost of production in western countries, most of big brands like: Apple, Samsung, BMW, Nike etc. have already turned to China for their manufacturing needs.

These companies usually open their own factory in China or setup joint venture with local factories, or OEM to China factories, and no matter which method they adopt, their products are still produced to the same quality standard as before. In fact, no matter where the products are made, be it China, America or Europe, as long as they undergo a strict quality control, they will meet same high standards.

So, it is possible to get good quality products from China.

What is good quality control?

As a professional third party inspection company, we suggest that clients make use of quality control throughout the production process, from the very beginning to the end.

The priority of every order is to select a good supplier, who is qualified and reliable. Signing an official contract is also important, as it should cover all potential risks and solutions, especially regarding quality control during production. You should carefully check the samples before production starts and arrange inspections throughout the manufacturing process; during production inspection, pre-shipment inspection and container loading supervision.

Having quality control will increase your expenditure compared to having no quality control. However, the benefits by far outstrip the costs. It is common for people to skip the inspection process for a repeat order to try and save money. But it happens a lot that after a few good shipments, one batch of goods arrive at the customer’s warehouse with serious defects.

What does pricing have to do with quality?

Another important factor to take into account is fairness. By being fair with your supplier and by paying a reasonable price for the product, which is mutually beneficial for you both, the factory will be more likely to take better care with your order. Hence you are more likely to receive good quality products.

All in all, it is highly advisable that people buying from China should arrange quality control, even if the factory they are using, has been their long term partner. It is also important to reach a contractual agreement that takes into account the quality control aspect. As always, last but not least, be fair with your supplier, the more you push down the price, the more chances of the supplier taking less care with your order. Doing these three things can help you assure that your products are good quality, so that your “made in China” products can mean “well made in China”.

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