Sourcing products from China provides you with a new marketing edge. After going through the product analysis, finding the right suppliers may require sufficient time and effort. Particularly, when it comes to finding suppliers in China, keep the huge cultural, business and language gap between you and the Chinese suppliers in mind.
Building a constant person-to-person relationship can be termed as the key to victory as far as business relationships are concerned in Chinese culture. Outlined below are some tips to nail the method of sourcing various products from China.
1) Find the Right Supplier
Finding the right supplier is the key to start hunting for the right products. When you begin looking for a supplier, the web is preferably the best platform to look for. There are some great Chinese marketplaces in the world that can come in handy to you. Moreover, when it comes to suppliers, there is a huge number of them in Chinese marketplaces. But, finding quality suppliers is a big deal in China. Furthermore, additional options like global sources can also be used to find reliable suppliers as each individual need to pre-quality to join the platform.
The best thing to do – visit the nearest industry-related trade shows and get in touch with Chinese suppliers in person. This is one of the best ways to get the chance to build a strong relationship with them.
Figure out whether you are dealing with manufacturing or a trading company. This can help you negotiate the best deal for you. Consider asking them directly about their credentials or take a look at their catalog. The manufacturer and the supplier can be the same person if the goods belong to the same niche. For instance, a supplier supplying rubber products sells everything related to rubber. Alternatively, if multiple products of different niches are being sold by one supplier then the chance of that supplier being a trading company is obvious.
2) Bargain and Banter
Culturally, procurement professionals from progressed countries are inexperienced with bargaining through business consultations and sourcing products from China. Certainly, you might open up and click with specific conditions in a lawful agreement. Nevertheless, haggling over costs is not something that is universally followed in those nations.
In Western countries, a seller ordinarily sets up a charge and a customer come forward to buy it at that amount if they are satisfied with it. Contrarily, the consumer simply moves on to a different seller to get the best price.
Therefore, do not simply pick and buy. If you think of solely cherry-picking among various merchants to get the best price that you are happy with, then you are not getting the advantages of bartering a lower cost in exchange for big, long-term orders.
Likewise, this is likely to be displayed in your additional expensive costs while coming back home when you compare it with your competitors; therefore, defeating your attempts to source affordable products from China to enjoy a greater profit margin.
3) Negotiate with Your Supplier
While negotiating or bargaining with the merchant, keep in mind that there are various things to negotiate other than only the cost of the merchandise like payment terms, quality, delivery time, etc.
If you happen to be a powerful negotiator and are likely to push the value below the rate level of the supplier, you can expect to get less quality, cheaper packaging, delay in delivery or some additional problem. Therefore, establishing a long-term relationship is only possible by negotiating the most favorable rate for either of the parties.
Negotiation implies an open-ended method with Chinese merchants and it even comes under the part of their tradition. At the start, you may give a higher rate although, for the next order, you are likely to get discounts by lightly increasing order volume.
Getting a fair amount concerning your initial order can signify as a great start when it comes to negotiation. To obtain the most favorable price and build a long-term connection you need to deal in person. Meet the management or the business owner in a factory or trade show in China. With this approach, way you can effortlessly solve any difficulty easily and additionally create a business relationship by sourcing products from China.
4) Quality Control
Keeping control of the product quality is important while looking forward to product sourcing from China. Make sure you protect yourself from a number of issues by making a contract in the first place. Do not forget to mention all the aspects like material, design, packaging, dimensions, shipment terms and quality in the contract. Assessing the quality of the product throughout the production process can help you maintain the cost. This is because the price can significantly increase if the manufactured products are shipped with faults.
While choosing the suppliers or merchants, you can quickly identify the best producers who are generally producing various countries. This can provide you with an idea of the quality of the products. Make sure to always request samples before you make a deal with the suppliers. Make a contract, as already mentioned, and ask for the pre-production sample to assess the entire production quality.
The method of sourcing goods can be time-consuming if you do not carry it out properly. Furthermore, you might sometimes end up with high-priced and low-quality products that can take all your profit. Therefore, choosing a sourcing agent for sourcing products in China can additionally help you manage the maximum of these problems and provide you with peace of mind.
