Elksourcing

I found a supplier online. They look good. But how can I be sure the supplier is legit and will meet my needs? That is by far the most common type of questions asked by your business people who intend to import from China. In this article I will give our readers simple, effective and affordable strategies to answer that essential question. Verify Assume the worst until proven otherwise. Must do due diligence. In the China sourcing industry, when we talk about verifying the legitimacy of a factory we are generally looking at two aspects: Quality Audit: Does the supplier have the ability to product the products I want to buy? Due Diligence: Is the company a legitimate business with good reputation and not a scam or business on the verge of bankruptcy? While Quality Audits and Due Diligence both fall under the category of supplier verification, they are two distinct…

Have you ever faced travel difficulties while visiting a Chinese supplier? Maybe you got lost in the middle of Guangzhou South Railway station? Or maybe the driver that was supposed to pick you up from your hotel in Shanghai never showed? Planning your China business trip can be a painful process. This is particularly true when there are multiple suppliers and different cities to visit. By following the below steps, you can take control and plan your own China business trip, allowing you the freedom to visit new suppliers and travel on your own terms. 1. Fly out from the last and nearest major city of your trip Many business travelers are required to visit more than one area while in China. Quite often, these areas may be in the south, middle or north of China. Sometimes it can be more convenient to fly in and out of different cities…

Whether you’re new to the game or have a bit of experience, working with a Chinese factory to manufacture the product you need for a reasonable price can seem like a daunting task. It’s hard enough to manage an import business without the communication challenges and cultural barriers that come with dealing with a Chinese partner. So where do you start? It helps to get advice from someone who has experience with Chinese factories in the past. I’ve personally dealt with hundreds of Chinese factories, not only directly on the manufacturing side, but also working with other importers to manage quality control of their products. In all my experience, these five tips have proven to be especially relevant to successful negotiating: 1. Be realistic about your upcoming order volume Some importers make the mistake of overpromising or overstating their order volume when initially working with a Chinese factory. Typically, they…

It is often said that customers buy from people they like. While we don’t usually buy from people we dislike, there is one more dimension to this old saying: Customers buy from people they trust. To illustrate this point further, let’s look at how typical prospective customers react to new sales people making the first contact with them (otherwise known as cold-calling):1. They find an excuse to hang up the phone as soon as possible.2. They make themselves very busy during appointments with sales people.3. They keep their mouths shut as much as possible when sales people ask questions.4. They will not refer the sales people to a higher authority even when such a need is clear.5. They often use delay tactics such as “If there is a need, we will call you” to appease sales people, etc. These are, just a few examples, of customer’s behaviours when they distrust…

Courier, also known as “express” is basically a “door to door” service, where the courier company will get your goods from Point A (normally your supplier’s address in origin country) to Point B (Your delivery address in destination country). They will manage all the processes required in getting the goods from A to B, i.e. local pick-up & delivery, customs clearing at origin & destination port, payment of taxes & duties (They will bill you for this bit separately), etc. Popular courier companies are DHL, FedEx, UPS & TNT. Air freight is essentially an “Airport to Airport” service, as opposed to a “door to door” service. This means, the carrier is responsible for taking the goods after they have cleared customs at the origin airport & delivering them to the destination airport. A customs clearing/forwarding agent is required at each end to clear the goods & arrange further delivery to your…

As you may know, global sourcing can offer enormous financial benefits to your supply chain. But, as you’d expect, typical savings of between 40% and 70% don’t come with a snap of the fingers. A few new processes must be considered, and a few new skills must be learned to ensure you stay on track and realize the full benefit of global sourcing. 1. Quality, Quality and Quality! Studies show that at the front and center of people’s concerns when looking into global sourcing surround the issue of quality. And rightly so.  The concept of “quality fade” is the deliberate and slow degradation of quality that happens when manufacturers replace materials with cheaper alternatives to reduce cost and increase profits. Fortunately, there’s a simple weapon for the discerning supply chain manager to tackle quality-orientated issues when sourcing globally. And that is the third party inspection. To sign a “golden sample” and give to the…

The key responsibility for buyers is to purchase goods at the appropriate quality, within a given time frame and at suitable price. First of all, you should make a factory database and establish strategic partnerships with the right factories. How should you establish a favorable relationship with the factory? Proper communication is the most important factor, it can help develop a good supplier system and solidify cooperation. Let’s discuss the things you should and should not say to the factories when communicating. THINGS YOU SHOULD SAY TO FACTORIES. 1. Prepare a professional company presentation to share. A company presentation is an important part of ‘selling’ yourself to the prospective factories. In many cases, this will be the first meeting with the factory, and first impressions are critical. A proper presentation is vital to help the factory to get to know you better in a short time. When meeting with the factory,…

You’ve finally scheduled that meeting you’ve been trying to get with a good target client. You know that first impressions are critical and you want to make sure you get it right and don’t fall at the first hurdle. If you ask yourself these seven questions they will help you make the meeting a resounding success: 1. Are you meeting the right person? This is really a question you should be asking before you schedule the meeting. If it’s your first meeting with your potential important client, you should be aiming for the highest level executive you can reach. The best way to do that is to define your business value proposition for that specific company and, depending on the company you’re targeting, approach the CEO or other senior executive. Tell them you’d like to discuss how you can help them to achieve a specific business goal that they really care about. If they do care…