China is the world’s largest global sourcing and manufacturing location and there’s no doubt that because of this fame, most of the manufacturers in China have improved and adapted to the current trends to serve better the needs of their potential clients.
But for getting the best when looking for manufacturers in China is needed to determine several key aspects that will make the process easier and will ensure that the final outputs will be manufactured as desired.
Here the key aspects:
Product Specs
Before contacting any potential manufacturers in China, you ought to know what you will be looking for, knowing your product will put you in a higher ground position and will allow you to determine if whether or not a potential manufacturer is capable to do something.
It is important to be clear and concise when submitting RFQs. Short but clear messages addressing the specifications of your product will let the suppliers know what are you exactly looking for, and will make the process run easier. Long and messy emails and messages will do nothing except causing potential communication issues.
Related: Dealing with Communication Issues with Chinese Suppliers
Related Costs
It is important to mention that a low cost should not be the decisive factor to choose one supplier over the other, but having in mind a Target Price for your products will help you to filter and remove those options that represent more expensive alternatives.
The manufacturing costs are not the only costs that are need to be checked before looking for manufacturers in China, as we will see in the next aspect the Final Market where the products will be sold will be an important factor because the Logistics and Distribution costs will vary depending on the location and accessibility of the final destination.
Related: Key aspects to address when outsourcing manufacturing to China
Final Market
As we mentioned above this is an important issue to be addressed no only in terms of costs related to the distribution, but also to factors related to the quality, packing, packaging and certifications that the products will need to comply for being able to be sold in the destination country.
So, before approaching any manufacturers in China you need to do some research about the import regulations in your desired market, this in terms of the information required in the labels and packing, certifications that the product needs to comply, quality levels, etc.
These regulations and needs will vary depending on each destination country, so if you’re thinking of sending your products to more than one destination you need to do this research as many times as needed. This extra effort will make sure your products won’t have any problems to be distributed and sold.
Related: 8 Certifications to take in consideration when choosing a Supplier in China
Quantity
Having a clear idea of the size of your first production is primordial to get accurate quotations, and also will be an important factor to narrow your search, this because the MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) that some suppliers have , sometimes is so big, that makes no sense for you or the supplier to invest time in talking about possible business, when they only run orders on a quantity much greater than the one you’re looking to get manufactured.
When asking for quotations make sure to ask for the MOQ price and add 2 or 3 more quantities, including your desired one, this will give you a better picture about how the supplier adjust prices based on the size of the batch. But be realistic, asking for massive quantities, and ordering considerably smaller ones will show the supplier that you lack of experience.
Lead Times
This is a really important factor that can determine the success of your products, placing the products in the right place at the right time is key for success. This is even more important for seasonal products, where being even a few days delayed can make a huge difference.
It is important to mention that the Lead Times concept does not only includes the manufacturing times but also the time for shipping the merchandises and import them into the final destination. When deciding to go ahead with a manufacturer, make sure to include a span of a few days contemplating any potential issues. This can include from any manufacturing delays to the fact that sometimes ports are so busy that the vessels will be delayed.
Last word
The aspects previous mentioned might seem not to be really important for choosing a manufacturing partner, but from experience we can say that those can represent the difference between a successful manufacturing venture and a total fail.
For all your China Manufacturing needs contact China 2 West, we have a decade of experience manufacturing and doing business in China.
Read more:
Key aspects to address when outsourcing manufacturing to China
Advantages of manufacturing in China
3 ways in which Manufacturing in China can Fail
Why you need to establish a Quality Control regime when Manufacturing in China?