Elksourcing

It happens often that you send enquiries to the China suppliers you find online, but do not get any response after a few days, even a few weeks! Why do not the suppliers respond to your emails? Do not they want to do business and make money? It’s frustrating. In this article, let’s look at 5 ways that you can implement to improve the response rate. 1. Drafting detailed product requirements An email with very limited information about what a buyer wants, is not taken too seriously, as it is a sign that the client is not invested in the process, i.e. hasn’t done his own research and hence the deal is not likely to close. From my experience over the years, when we receive enquiries with very limited information we are almost certain those enquiries are not likely to result in business as the lead is simply not ready to import…

Why do many importers use sourcing specialists for their international procurement? Because they want to reduce costs, ensure quality, shorten sourcing lead time and mitigate risks. Most importers don’t have the in-house resources or skills to implement all these by themselves. Good sourcing specialists can achieve a 20% or more reduction in overall cost. The sourcing specialist can also negotiate on your behalf, manage quality and ensure on-time delivery. So, what do a sourcing specialist do? 1. Choosing right place for your sourcing needs Sourcing specialists can pre-qualify suppliers, develop the relationship for you and ensure that the products you require are provided in the right place at the right time for the right price. Some specialists have expertise in supplier chain management across borders. 2. Price negotiations Negotiation on product price, packaging and transportation cost is one of the key roles of sourcing specialists. They provide clients with the lowest possible price based…

When it comes to importing from China, finding the right suppliers is critical. It determines whether it will be a good start of the entire procurement process or not. After you have found out some candidate suppliers, you need to figure out which one is your right fit. There’s no one-size-fits-all supplier. That’s why you want to find a supplier that matches the portrait you draw in the groundwork for supplier evaluation. So, what to look to verify suppliers in China? 1). Company background Is the supplier legitimate? Is the product compliant with importing country regulations? Ask suppliers whether they can send you copies of these official documents like below: Business license, Business registration, Certificates, Patents, and so on. Check the company presence on the internet. Are there any reviews about this company online? Can the company provide any references from their real clients? 2). Business model Check the product range…

Product sourcing companies are agents who facilitate relationships with suppliers. They specialize in importing goods from various regions of the world on your behalf. They locate the best sources at the most competitive prices to save your cost, at meantime, they contribute in quality control and communications. 1. How do product sourcing companies actually work? Product sourcing companies source goods and, usually, store them in their warehouses to provide you with a responsive, reliable and a readily available service. They work with multiple wholesale suppliers and manufacturers aggregating purchasers’ needs into one service. Many products are sourced from low-cost countries in Asia, mostly China. 2. Who are the product sourcing companies? They may be called trading companies, third party sourcing, importers, brokers or drop shippers and they only represent the purchaser, not the supplier. Services may include sourcing specified products at the best price to managing the whole import process and all…

China is now an industry leader with its expertise in various products, including electrical appliances, electronics, textile, metal, plastic and consumer goods. However, for new starters, it is difficult to start. In this article, I’ll introduce some basic steps to follow. 1. Know Your Product The first step is often the most difficult. You often don’t know where to start or who to talk to. Knowing exactly what type of product you are looking for is the first thing you need to figure out before anything else. Knowing the product will make it easier to narrow down potential suppliers and then later determine what qualifications the supplier should have. Having a clear photo ready to show suppliers is a necessity. And any additional specifications about the product would be ideal. Basically, the more information you have on your product, such as having a clear description of the material and function…

Chinese New Year (CNY) is the most important nation holiday in China, during this period, hundreds of millions of people move across China in order to join their families for the holiday. But the congestion can make traveling very difficult, so it is not recommended to plan any type of trip during this time period. How Can CNY Impact Your Products? Chinese New Year affects manufacturing in a major way. The majority of the Chinese factory work force consists of migrant workers. And there are so many factories all over China that offer similar wages. It should come as no surprise, then, that some workers choose to return to work after the holiday, while some choose to stay at home and others choose to work in another factory or an entirely different city. It’s no exaggeration to say that all Chinese factories have difficulty getting their workers back after the holiday. Chinese New…

Using AQL, you can check whether an order meets your quality requirements without having to inspect every unit of the entire shipment, saving you time and money on inspection. But one look at the AQL table could leave you feeling lost among the mass of numbers, letters, labels and even colors. Is this a quality control tool or a brain teaser? Many explanations of AQL use advanced math models and equations to show how to choose a statistically significant sample for inspection. And these explanations can be hard to follow and overly complex if you’re just looking for a practical introduction on how to use AQL. 1. Acceptance sampling Acceptance sampling is a way to pull and check a random sample of goods or material and accept or reject the total lot based on a statistical result. This lets you apply the results of inspecting this representative sample to making a decision…

Do you encounter communication problems with your Chinese supplier? Perhaps the factory doesn’t understand your requirements. Or maybe your factory contact is slow to communicate or altogether unresponsive. Sometimes they say they will do something, but it doesn’t get done. Here you’ll learn about three tips you can improve communication with suppliers right away. 1. Keep emails simple to improve communication with suppliers Sometimes we see clients send a barrage of emails to a supplier in a short period of time – all pertaining to the same issue. These emails sometimes contain technical English jargon, local slang or spelling mistakes. You may feel your supplier’s English is pretty good. But chances are, they are copying those emails directly into an online translator so they understand the meaning in their native language. If you have many different emails, use complex language or have spelling mistakes, this can very easily lead to…