Sourcing From China: The Right Way

You are currently a decision-maker at one of the 25 million businesses based in these great United States. Like any businessman you are driven towards maximizing profits, but not at the point of jeopardizing your brand and product quality. So you think to yourself, "How can I reduce operating costs and still provide the same great product to our loyal customers?"

Naturally, you have thought about or even seriously explored manufacturing your product in China, but have been leery to take the next step or commit to a plan. Purchasing directly from China would allow you to streamline your supply chain by cutting out the additional costs added by unnecessary wholesalers, distributors, and importers. For many businesses this is a profitable and viable option to consider, but in doing so you must also consider the potential risks and obstacles.

First, you will want to find a reliable and trustworthy sourcing agent that has relevant and ample experience working directly with Chinese manufacturers in your industry. Usually they will have access to an extensive database of vendors they have used in the past and will only work with tried and true factories. These experienced sourcing agents will have closer and more developed relationships in China and therefore receive more attention and accurate quotes than someone merely requesting a quote via a web site.

Next, a local sourcing agent will generally be able to condense the roles played by quality control engineers, factory auditors, supply chain management specialists, and importers into a single, full-service team. Having your QC experts and production management team physically in China throughout production is very important. They will have face-to-face contact with the manufacturers and be able to respond quickly and efficiently to any unforeseeable hiccups during the manufacturing process.

Utilizing a full-service team to replace your current middlemen is essentially where your savings will be realized. You will only have to work with one sourcing agent instead of hiring multiple companies to handle quality control, auditing, freight-forwarding, etc. An experienced sourcing agent will save your company a substantial amount of money by consolidating your outsourcing efforts into one reliable company.

If you are apprehensive of working directly with a Chinese sourcing agent, know that today there are many professional and capable sourcing agents managed by experienced Westerners but headquartered in mainland China. The best of these Western-run sourcing agents will also provide 24-hour customer service and a bilingual staff that will candidly answer any questions you may have about outsourcing.

More so than factories, a professional and trustworthy sourcing agent will always have your best interest in mind and want to develop strong relationships with their clients to ensure repeat business. They will also have invaluable experience in the aggressive negotiation that tends to play a major role in the Chinese manufacturing sector. This means that they have incentive to deliver exactly what was agreed upon--a high quality product custom made for each client at a fair price and shipped on schedule.

Working directly with China is an option any savvy business owner has to research and seriously consider. With the right sourcing agent you can capitalize on the opportunity to directly source your product overseas, without opening a China office or trial and error. You will find that it is possible for production to be streamlined in China from design to delivery in a more efficient, manageable, and cost-effective manner.