Elksourcing

On international trade forums, there are lots of stories shared about bad experience of working with a wrong supplier, they look daunting. However, you can avoid the majority by following right steps to successful sourcing in China: Step 1. Assess suppliers’ ability to communicate Many buyers begin the process of sourcing from China by trying to looking for suppliers based on whether they can offer the product they want at the right quality level and price. But a supplier’s ability to communicate is equally important. In fact, poor communication between customers and suppliers is one of the major causes for manufacturing troubles. Pay attention to the following when communicating with a potential supplier: • Responsiveness – How long does it take for your main contact to respond to your questions, comments and concerns? • Attention to detail – Are the responses you’re receiving thorough and complete? • Clarity – Does the supplier…

Can you imagine trying to determine the quality of a shipment of bullets by firing them one after another? How would you know what quantity to test in the total order if the method destroys each bullet you test? The U.S. military faced this exact problem during World War II. They wanted to check the quality of their munitions so that they could be confident the bullets would function properly in the field. But they didn’t want to test so many that there were none left to actually ship to the warfront. The solution they developed was MIL-STD-105, an important standard using acceptable quality levels (AQL). Later on, ANSI Z1.4 was developed from that original military standard, it became the most popular standard inspectors use today. Why AQL sampling is widely used for QC inspection? 1. Sampling saves time during inspection Inspecting every unit in an order of goods offers the…

When you source from China, you need to find a good supplier, but it’s a big challenge. If you’ve found a supplier with all below five qualities, you can be confident you have found a relatively good one. 1. Accountability Admitting to a mistake can be difficult. But when your goods are on the line, it’s essential that you’re working with someone who can take responsibility for their half of a deal and actively work to fix any problems that occur. That’s why accountability tops the list of qualities of a good supplier. Imagine finding untrimmed threads in 25 percent of an order of garments you’re importing. Even though this might be considered a “minor defect”, the number of pieces affected makes it impossible to ignore. A supplier with accountability will take responsibility for the quality problem and work to address it quickly. They might offer to remove the untrimmed threads…

Do you want to source from China, and learn how to identify a legit supplier without visiting China? Pls remember below 6 things before your actions. 1. Check business licenses All legal companies in China must register with the Chinese government authorities and are given a unique company registration number. To verify this registration number, you just need to visit their local administrative government website or contact Bureau of Industry Commerce in China for verification. If the supplier is not willing to give you this registration number, it is not advisable to transact with it. 2. Use search engines Go to their website go through their policies and be sure that they have put their contact information and physical address on the site. Then use your search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo, search “company name+ scam” or “company name+ dishonest,” If there are complaints from previous customers they leave a trace…

You can source almost anything and everything from China nowadays. With a population of 1.5 billion and one of the fastest booming economies, China offers a convenient one stop option for most of your manufacturing purposes. However, finding a suitable supplier who can meet your qualifications is the true challenge importers face. Below is some useful advice for importing from China. 1. Screen your potential suppliers When choosing a supplier, you should have a checklist of all the relevant criteria you are looking for. The criteria should include supplier’s references, the scope of their business, the system for quality management. Don’t be blinded by a lower price and ignore everything else: you usually get what you pay for. Afterwards, compare each supplier to your checklist and see how they measure up; you could give them a score. When you’re done, pick the top three or four companies and reach out to…

When you start to import from China, to make sure you find the good suppliers, work through the process, and assure product quality, you need to find a buying agent to help you. But it is not easy. Here are 5 things you should keep in mind when selecting a buying agent: 1. Trust is everything I think you would agree with me that to work with an agent, trust is important. I would rather use a reliable and trustworthy but mediocre agent than someone who is capable but not reliable. Ideally, you need someone who is both competent and reliable. How can you tell if your buying agent in China is trustworthy? In many cases, first impressions can misguide you. You can do some online research to see if there are any comments and feedback about them. Give them some trial tasks to gauge their performance. You can generally…

China is so called “the world’s factory”, lots of successful stories tell you that there are tremendous advantages to source products from China. However, it’s not that simple, before you start, it’s recommended for you to follow good practices. In following, we provide some good checklists I learn from my long-time experience. 1. Check whether you have the rights to import It is vital to check whether you have the legal rights to import certain goods with not only ease but also without incurring excess expenses (such as anti-dumping duties). You should confirm whether you need a license, as in many countries, and acquire one before buying the goods. 2. Know the goods you want to import This is the basis of importing goods from China. Identifying the ideal goods to import have a significantly great impact in both the import process and your business plan. You should carry out a…

If you are launching a new product, there are a number of steps that you can take to ensure production starts up as smoothly as possible. The sayings “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and “the devil is in the detail” are particularly applicable here. However, you look at it, you must have a plan in place for your production start-up. 1. Inspection checklist A sample is not sufficient to establish a standard. You need to write down what will constitute a product “conform to expectations”. 2. Quality control plan An inspection checklist is useful for you to check the finished products. But a quality control plan will guide the manufacturer in what to control during production. A control plan includes dimensional variations, measurement methods, machines or equipment to be used for a specific task, control methods and corrective plans, and more if necessary. 3. Sample approval…