Elksourcing

After hard work for some while, you have verified a few manufacturers when sourcing from China. One of them will be your first choice, and hopefully you will have a couple of “backups”. What is the best way to handle them? And what about the unfortunate situation where your “first choice” disappoints you? 1. Cultivate your “second choice” With a bit of luck, you have found and verified a supplier that seems quite promising. If you want to reduce your risks of long delays, I strongly encourage you to keep communication open with a few more suppliers. I even believe you should spend the time and the money to verify at least one more supplier, and to start working on pre-production samples with that supplier, even though they are not your first choice. 2. Those “never again” suppliers Some suppliers will prove to be untrustworthy. The worst scenario, which happens every day,…

It has been over 15 years since millions of companies around the world have taken the opportunities of sourcing in China and outsourcing partial of their production to China. In theory, the profits expected are huge but on the ground, it is not as easy. Many companies will have difficulties in dealing with Chinese suppliers. Sourcing is an English term that refers to practices aimed at finding, evaluating and contracting with suppliers of goods and services. The main tasks are: A. To increase competition in the panel of existing suppliers for lower prices. B. To identify new suppliers in the international market. C. To discover innovation offered by new suppliers. Here are a few things to notice for sourcing in China: 1. Use a local representative Quality control will be a key factor of success for your sourcing activities in China. Then having a local person who anticipates problems in China is…

China today is full of incredible business opportunities for American entrepreneurs and business owners, but like any country in the West, it is not a perfect paradise. You must accept the risks of sourcing goods in China while embracing the opportunities that come with it. The good news is that you can manage and reduce these risks with a methodical approach to sourcing in China. 1. Lack of a Well-Defined Strategy When sourcing goods in China, you must have a well-defined sourcing strategy or “road map,” including locating the best supplier for your particular needs. Too few small companies do the proper due diligence when shopping for goods in China. As a result, they may not get the best deal in terms of price, quality, functionality, or timely delivery. 2. No Well-Defined Standards for Suppliers Before searching for suppliers, it is important to have defined standards. Well-defined standards can determine whether…

Sourcing From China is not a new thing, but in this post, we want to focus on providing China sourcing beginners some valuable tips on what is a very challenging but often very rewarding journey. So, by definition a source is “a place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained”. It makes sense to start there. Spending time and energy on getting the best sources is a worthwhile venture. In relation to having products manufactured and importing them from China it’s an incredibly important part. A good beginning really is half the work where choosing wisely is very important in lowering your risk. 1. Finding supplier Start by signing up as a free member to alibaba.com, globalsources.com and made in china. Familiarize yourself with these platforms which are user friendly but do contain a few more bells and whistles than before. The number 1 important thing to learn about…

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 always promote that buyers, especially those new to sourcing from China take time to make an informed decision before making a financial commitment. What sources can I use to find reliable Chinese suppliers? 1. B2B Websites such as the 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….

If you are starting to buy from China, your first decision will be: should I manage this by myself? If your team can’t dedicate 1-3 hours a day (per supplier) to follow what happens in China, you might need help from a sourcing company that can handle these tasks: Identifying new suppliers that can make your products at the right price and quality levels; Helping develop new products/styles with these suppliers; On-going management of the supplier relationships (communication, quality control, shipments follow-up, quality problems, and so on). You may have 3 options: 1. Purchase direct This is what 80% of importers try to do. They want to control the whole process, and avoid paying commissions to any middleman or agent. If you are organized enough to manage suppliers, and if you can satisfy the minimum order quantities (MOQs) of suppliers, this is probably the best option for you. 2. Purchase from…

Are you looking to importing products from China? Before you proceed with an order and pay the bill, pls look at below 4 aspects, they will help you get into serious sourcing business. 1.Product specifications Why do you need to figure out the product specifications? 1). Your potential suppliers will have to make an official quotation based on your required product details. 2). In China, there are many quality levels: basic quality, okay quality, good quality, excellent quality etc. You won’t like too much surprise especially on price and quality because of misunderstanding on product specifications. 3). The supplier might want to cut corners where the product requirement is “blurring”. If you don’t confirm with them as much detail as possible, they can be too lazy to mention OR they are more willingly to just let it go. 4). Most suppliers only have the initiative to make an offer if you know…

When you have spent time to find and verify the good suppliers, and decided to actually start sourcing from China, pls do remember an important process: Sampling. You will need to request samples and manage the samples properly. In this article, I will share you some good practices.1. Sample types A. Prototype sample After getting your design, before actually invest to cut moulds, it makes sense to make a prototype sample first. Usually, the sample is made by laser cutter, or by 3D printer. B. Pre-production sample Before starting mass production, it’s better to ask factory to make a few samples with actual moulds and machines. You can check the sample details, workmanship, specifications and much more. If the pre-production sample works well, you will be confident to approve mass production. In case it doesn’t meet some of your requirements, you may ask for adjustment to the moulds and remaking pre-production…