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To source goods from China and resell online is proven successful for many entrepreneurs. Why more and more online sellers choose sourcing from China? There are many reasons, on top of them, the following reason are recognized by many business owners. 1) Cheap cost Most of China products are available at a cheaper cost. If you source your product from a distributor or wholesaler in the USA, you are like to pay 2 or 3-time higher prices than sourcing from China. The cost savings are achieved via cheaper labor cost, faster production speed with moulds, and less marginal cost at high order QTY. Cheap cost can sharp your business’ competitiveness. 2) Supplier options China is known as a manufacturing hub for its business ecosystem, labor pool and low production costs. Numerous industrial clusters are a distinctive feature of the Chinese economy.  China has a long list of producers, thereby leaving you…

One of the most common dilemmas of business start-ups is choosing the best products to sell. Aside from that, another challenge is finding the right supplier to get the products from. With a lot of suppliers all over the world, it can be hard to select a reliable and trustworthy one with whom you can have a great business relationship in the long run. China is top of mind as far as product importation is concerned. Through the years, the mega-country has positioned itself as the world’s largest manufacturing hub. China is indeed a great country to source items to sell. However, there are several things you should consider before choosing the best items your business can sell.  In this article, I’d like to share with you the common risks of sourcing products in China while embracing the opportunities that come with it.  1. Lack of well-defined strategy When sourcing products in China,…

China is such a huge manufacturing base, for a product, there are hundreds or even thousands of suppliers. In reality, looking for good Chinese suppliers can be a tedious task. During our sourcing practices, we have learned the following ways to find good Chinese suppliers and complete successful sourcing tasks.  1. Search Engines and B2B Platforms Internet is a huge virtual place where you can search for anything you need, including good Chinese suppliers. Whether it’s Google, Bing, Yahoo, or other search engines there is, these can surely help with your search for potential product suppliers. There are also B2B sourcing platforms that can help you find Chinese suppliers, such as Alibaba, Global Sources, Made-in-China. You can filter the results so you can determine whether the supplier is a suitable one.  2. Trade Shows Another avenue to search for legitimate Chinese suppliers is through trade shows. Among popular supplier trade shows…

Not like sourcing stock products, sourcing bespoke products is more complicated and you may meet face more challenges. Having custom parts manufactured involves locating and building a relationship with a factory, unless you use a sourcing company, which is highly recommended.  The followings are some notes I have learned from my 20-year experience of sourcing from China. 1) Develop Your Product The first step to getting your product sourced is to, not surprisingly, develop your product. This involves going from conceptual ideas and artwork to having engineer drawings designed and then prototyped. Sometimes this can take one or few tries before your product has taken shape in the way you envision. It is not likely that an engineer can get your design perfectly designed in the first iteration of files and prototypes, so don’t be shocked if the first prototype is a little rough. If this is a new groundbreaking product,…

China is factory of the world, so, when we speak global sourcing, China is on the top of list. Once you find a Chinese supplier and decide to work with it, it’s essential to build and maintain a strong and healthy relationship. We believe below aspects are critical for building good relationship between you and your Chinese supplier. 1. Capability The supplier has to be able to do what you need them to do. Can they make your product out of the material you need? But the next step is also crucial. Can they grow with you?  Do they have multiple manufacturing capabilities?  Can they scale up? Do they want to? 2. Communication  Responsiveness is an important attribute in any relationship. You want to be able to get in touch with your supplier when you need them, and you want them to communicate with you as well. If your supplier…

China has become one of the largest manufacturing hubs in the world. However, if you are a new importer, there are certain details that you need to pay close attention to as these may make or break your import from China. The followings are common mistakes made by new importers. 1. Not understanding Chinese business culture You can’t do business without proper communication. This applies to any businessman from any country trying to strike a business deal. China is such a vast country that it’s home to very different cultures. If you’re looking to establish a long-term relationship with Chinese businessman, going beyond the basic introductory phrases will be handy. Also keep in mind the Chinese way of doing business. What may appear polite to you may come off as rude to the Chinese, and vice versa, and you definitely wouldn’t want to lose a deal just because of an easily avoidable misinterpretation….

Global sourcing products requires careful consideration, it’s a tough decision for any organization. You must determine whether it’s best to gain cost advantages at the expense of some control of your organization’s core activities, or if globally sourcing would be too costly to be practical. Below are key things you need to consider during global sourcing. 1. Monetary Risk  Although the use of foreign suppliers can save costs due to factors such as lower costs of labor and proximity to raw materials, there are also risks that can impact costs including:  Unanticipated and rising shipping costs.  Cost of delays or loss of goods in transit.  Rising costs of transactions, such as documentation fees, contract management fees and third-party supplier audit fees.  Costs related to time zone differences, extra time for storage or transport delays, e.g. approval is given in one country, but the time difference or traditional days off mean…

Most importers set quality tolerance level by use of an AQL table used in an acceptable quality level sampling method, such as Level II, AQL 0/1.5/4.0. Quality control experts categorize quality defects into three categories: Critical, Major, Minor. Defect classification is a crucial step because it determines if the goods pass or fail the test. To help you make better decisions, we provide you with a complete guide on the types of defects.  1) Critical Defects They are the most serious type of defects and do render a product unusable or even capable of causing harm to someone near it. Critical defects can put the business at huge risk or product recalls lawsuits and liability issues. Most importers usually have a zero-tolerance policy on orders that have critical defects. Any product will automatically fail inspection when a critical defect is found. 2) Major Defects The major defects are those who are capable…