China’s Best Suppliers: How to Find Them

Is it possible to have your procedures optimized by a company that handles sourcing?

Clients and buyers (both new and experienced ones) often wonder whether to buy a business in China or not.

Whenever I hear of someone hiring a sourcing company, I always ask: “Why should I hire them?”?Is there a benefit and a disadvantage to each approach? Is our time well spent, or is it a waste? Does this work come with a fee/commission?

My own experience of working with buyers and sellers worldwide and my own experiences of setting up my own sourcing business in China would be my own opinion on the matter. Here is the question we need to examine first.

A sourcing company that can provide the highest quality products would be useful, wouldn’t it?

Any reputable sourcing company can offer the following services.

• a. The client will receive a reliable product from a well-known supplier.
• b. Arrange samples for the client and negotiate the best price.
• c. You should make sure every detail of the agreement is clear, both to the client and the supplier. Among the contract, items are payment terms, certification requirements, delivery date, packaging, and labels.
• d.Before confirming the order, the buyer should visit the supplier to check their credibility, capabilities and verify whether or not they are a manufacturer.
• e. Monitor the supplies during the production process.
• f. Before they’re sent out, inspectors inspect the goods for quality.
• g. Ship the Goods either by air or by the sea with the best possible shipping prices and speed. It is also necessary that the client provides all documentation to secure clearance from local customs.
• h. With multiple products and suppliers, coordinate with factories for shipment of the goods in bulk.
• i. Immediately following delivery of the goods, you should provide after-sales services and attend to your clients’ other needs.

The above list basically shows some of the different functions and services that any good sourcing company provides to its clients.

Here is the interesting part of the article – Why don’t you have to employ a sourcing company in China to make purchases from China.

It’s now become a part of society to ask for the help of a middleman/companies/brokers/Chinese sourcing agents/sources/traders. (We have many nicknames for each other). With the progress in technology over the past two decades, this has become even more true.

Whenever a buyer or company decides whether to work with a sourcing company or not, their first thinking is usually about money. Profits & margins must be compromised to a certain extent.

Occasionally, customers think sourcing companies do not tell them the real factory prices and merely add huge margins to the quoted prices. A buyer or an Amazon seller will naturally want to eliminate the involvement of a sourcing company.

How does a sourcing provider benefit Amazon sellers or buyers?

[note align=”left”]Why should a company specializing in sourcing provide a service to purchasers when they can search on websites such as Alibaba, Global Sources, made-in-china, Ali Express, Dhgate, Hkdtc, 1688, Google search, etc.?[/note]

In addition, the use of translation apps like Google translate, WeChat translation, and others mean that language is no longer an issue.

Today, we can even do business online more easily and safely thanks to escrow payment systems such as Alibaba Trade Assurance and PayPal.

Also, potential suppliers can be met directly at exhibitions in China. Today, most Chinese suppliers exhibit as well at exhibitions in other countries. Therefore, we have never done business so easily as we can now.

The China market is also full of third parties providing quality control inspection services at affordable prices.

Buyers might also find dealing with sourcing companies time-consuming since the sourcing company must relay all information to the supplier. Since they believe dealing with these companies is a waste of time, many buyers prefer to deal directly with the suppliers.

Also, they believe it’s easier to explain their exact needs to a supplier directly rather than going through a sourcing company when there are modifications in a product.

Buyers might also be wary about sharing product ideas with an outside sourcing company that may sell their product idea to others.

The vast majority of Amazon buyers and sellers are also interested in knowing exactly where their products are made. Accordingly, they feel that sourcing companies do not provide enough transparency, and they may experience quality issues.