Even the largest of corporate companies wish to expand the scope of their business further and do bigger things. Similarly, if you are new to the world of entrepreneurship or have a small startup to look after, you will find yourself constantly in search of opportunities to expand. When it comes to any opportunity you may take up for the expansion of your business, you will always want to have reduced costs and greater profits.
So, in today’s dynamic world of business and trade, how does one reduce their costs? The answer is simple: China sourcing. Before we can explain what and how sourcing products from China helps and how to choose China sourcing agents, let’s first understand the concept of sourcing itself.
What is sourcing?
Sourcing refers to a practice where businesses and companies buy goods and products from another supplier or a manufacturer. Usually, companies do this because of three primary reasons. One reason is that when businesses do not want to manufacture a product themselves, so source their goods from another supplier. On the other hand, businesses also source their products when they are unable to produce something due to lack of resources or skills. In most cases, however, a common reason behind sourcing is cost cutting. Sourcing goods and products from another manufacturer or supplier leads to better pricing and cheaper goods. Companies do not necessarily face a lack of expertise or resources source their products from another, cheaper and cost-friendlier supplier.
When businesses find suppliers in another country, they sometimes hire sourcing agents to handle the project. This is because companies, both large or small, and even old or new, have a wide range of projects, employees, contracts and other operations to take care of. Business owners and managers are always on their toes, trying to get multiple things done simultaneously. Therefore, companies hire sourcing agents, and give them the job to locate a goods manufacturing supplier who offers the best prices in the market!
Sourcing agents can be individuals as well as whole companies. In the case of China sourcing, the agents will be responsible for locating suppliers in China and will put special skills, their PR and past experience to spot and bring in potential suppliers. Your sourcing agent will also be handling quality assurance and organize inspection sessions for you.
Having the skill to speak, read, understand and write in Mandarin and Chinese language enables them to get a good deal in a more competitive manner. Moreover, since overseas sourcing can be challenging in terms of the movement of goods, your agent will also take care of things like importing and exporting issues including duties, and other shipment-related issues. They charge a certain amount for doing their job, which is usually commission-based.
How can you find China manufacturing companies with ease?
If you want us to be honest, then finding Chinese manufacturing companies, especially if you’re based outside China is not easy. This is precisely why you may want to allot this task to a specialized individual or company. While finding Chine manufacturing companies is not an easy task, there are still some common places that you can look at, including:
- Trade shows.
As a new business owner or a fresh entrepreneur, you need to understand the importance of public relations. You need to interact and get in touch with people who are also working at the same level or higher in your related field. Therefore, trade shows and exhibitions are a great way to get a head start. Basically, trade shows include suppliers and companies from various places gathering in one place and promoting and raising awareness about their goods and services. In China-specific trade shows, you will find a huge number of potential suppliers. A good example is the Canton fair.
- Online trade portals.
Since it’s a matter of another country, we highly recommend the use of online trade portals if you want to find reliable suppliers in China. Online trade portals such as eTradeAsia is a great platform which has over 700,000 members that include suppliers, manufacturers, and buyers as well. Online portals ensure ease of communication, allow pictures and media to be shared with one another and therefore make it easier to find China manufacturers.
- E-commerce B2B.
An exceptional example of a B2B e-commerce platform for finding platforms is the very popular Alibaba. It sells products and goods in bulk and has extraordinary features like chat boxes and feedback features as well. Currently, Alibaba has over 8.5 million sellers!
Benefits of China sourcing agents.
If you are not fully convinced that your new startup needs a sourcing agent for finding suppliers in China, then here is a list of possible benefits that you might get from hiring an agent:
- Product-specific search.
Sourcing agents will just need a quick brief from you about what you want in a product and what your budget is. After that, they will use that brief to precisely search for the right suppliers. Their product-specific search allows them to narrow the search down and find better equipped, more potential suppliers in lesser time.
- Experience speaks for itself.
Sourcing agents are trusted for a reason, and that reason is experience. They know what and how to convince a supplier to supply their goods to your company. They can also tell the difference between good quality products faster and better than others. Plus, other skills such as language and cultural knowledge also makes them better at this job!
- Better dealing skills with overseas suppliers.
Since you lack the basic understanding of Chinese language, culture, ethics, and other values in a Chinese business place, you might not be able to get a good deal for yourself. An agent, on the other hand, will be able to get a good deal faster and better.
- More than just sourcing.
A sourcing agent’s job is not done only when they get you a good supplier. They are also sometimes in charge of and take care of the trade tariffs, taxes, and shipment regulatory issues. This takes a lot of burden off your shoulders!
What type of companies need China sourcing?
A huge amount of well-known American and even European brands are now sourcing their product manufacturing to China. Companies as huge as Apple get their products assembled in China. So, why don’t you also take this opportunity to expand your business and use China sourcing?
Businesses that deal with the trade of goods and products sourced from China.
A big question that comes here into play is why do companies source from suppliers and manufacturers in China? Why are their products cheaper? A number of factors play their role in making the China-made products cheaper. One reason behind this is the lower wage rates. The lower the wage rate is, the lesser the cost of production for the manufacturer. Another very important reasons behind the cheaper prices is the ease with which China exports its products.
Their infrastructure is designed in an export-friendly manner than allows cost-friendly and smooth exporting of products. In addition, China’s production hugely revolves around mass production, meaning that only type of product is produced in huge quantities. Because of this, obtaining raw material is easier, and bulk-buying cost benefits are also enjoyed by manufacturers.
A general, widely believed misconception is that China-made products are bad in quality because they are cheaper in price. It’s a generally accepted idea that products and goods that cost less are automatically cheaper in quality. This could be true for some cases, but for China-made products this is not applicable today. This is because Chinese workers started to adapt and learn CAD technology. It allowed them to be more savvy with mass-producing machines and automated production. As a result, leading to high production rate and cheaper production costs. Today, chinese factories are fully aware of the standard of good in the Western part of the world. With increase in skilled and qualified labor, along with the use of highly advanced technology, Chinese products are not of top notch quality.
Plus, now injection molding is a widely used and available means of production. Glasses, electric components, and plastic are produced through injection molding on a large scale.
This is primarily because their workers are now learning and adapting to this new technology, which leads to a faster production rate at a lower price! Plus, mass production is the general, most common way of production. So, they produce more similar goods in a smaller time frame and are able to supply more than one customer at a time!
Sources:
- https://www.salehoo.com/blog/how-to-find-manufacturers-in-china
- https://www.sourcingallies.com/blog/guide-to-sourcing-from-china
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140621030106-167421571-what-does-a-sourcing-agent-do
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injection_moulding
- https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/trade-shows
- https://rexplastics.com/plastic-injection-molds/how-much-do-plastic-injection-molds-cost
- http://www.injectionmoldchina.net
- https://www.sourcingallies.com/
- https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Chinese-products-cheaper
