Manufacturing in China has become easier as the years pass by, but there still some important considerations to take in count for having a successful Made in China production.
1. Choosing the cheapest Manufacturing partner
If the price is very cheap, then it’s almost certainly going to cause issues. It is well known that Manufacturing in China will represent a considerably reduction in costs compared with the western prices, but choosing your manufacturing partner based solely on the price is a mistake that can represent a big loss of money for you and your business.
Cheap price will rarely represent long term value, in most occasions it will represent lower quality, and the most important pitfall “unhappy customers”. Cheap prices can also represent deficient work conditions in the factory, old or deficient machinery and unqualified staff.
Remember that each and every single part of the Supply Chain can add or in this case reduce the value of your final product.
It is always better to think twice about all the possible implications of a cheap price in the mid and long term than the possible immediate high revenues it can represent in the short term.
2. Doing it Alone
On-line services such as Alibaba have made much easier sourcing from China, but having just some images and in the majority of the times poor websites, you only get a small and restricted view of the company you’re looking to hire for Manufacturing in China.
There’s a lot of sites and articles which encourage people to buy on-line from China, without having eyes and ears on the ground, which can work for some companies. But actually manufacturing a product from China requires more than just looking at images on a site and receiving a glossy brochure in the mail.
Most importantly, we need to mention that even though Directories such as Alibaba audit and filter the companies that appear on their site, you can still find thousands who are just a sourcing agent that will outsource your manufacturing to a 3rd party factory, of which you have zero information. This has the potential to severely affect your product and business.
3. Not establishing a Quality Control regime to your production
Be skeptical about the quality of your manufacturer, don’t just believe what they tell you when talking about quality.
The only way to ensure that your product will be approved in your target market and that it will obtain any certification needed is by establishing a comprehensive Quality Control regime all along the manufacturing process, remember that not only your money can be lost but also the reputation of your business if you deliver a defective product.
Make sure to hire an experienced 3rd party to conduct all the QC and QA activities all along the Manufacturing process.
Manufacturing in China still up to date, but remember to follow the previous tips to ensure the success of your ventures.