When it comes to importing from China, finding the right and best supplier plays a vital role. It literally determines whether it will be a good start of the entire procurement process or not.
Now here comes the question: how on earth can one find the best fit? In this article, we will show you how to find your best suppliers in China in 3 steps.
Step #1. Get a supplier candidate list.
Below are a few of the key ways to get a supplier candidate list for your importing process.
A. China Sourcing Agent
Source: Freepik
Finding a reputed Chinese sourcing agent is frequently the first step toward forming a long-term partnership with one of the numerous companies eager to assist you in managing your supply chain in a cost-effective manner.
Because so many businesses have established partnerships with China, the available resources to locate, work with, and manage such relationships have increased significantly.
B. Expo
Source: Freepik
Visiting major expos in Hong Kong and China is a wonderful means of meeting different producers and distributors, examining their sample products, and forming business ties. You can test numerous products in person in only a few days. Additionally, each wholesale supplier has people on hand to address your questions.
C. B2B Marketplaces
Source: Freepik
Sellers can easily construct their own website to promote products and services online, identify and interact with worldwide buyers, respond to ‘buying leads,’ and publish ‘offers to sell’ on B2B marketplaces, which are quickly developing.
For companies wishing to alter their business operations, a B2B Marketplace can be a fantastic resource. Organizations can simplify their company activities and communicate with like-minded enterprises to fast grow their operations with the help of a digital network.
Here are five excellent places to begin your search for a Chinese supplier:
- Alibaba is certainly one of the biggest business-to-business (B2B) sites in the world
- Another famous website that facilitates relationships between organizations and Chinese producers and suppliers in China Sources.
- HDKC has a large directory of Chinese suppliers with over one million listings
- Smart China Sourcing is ISO9000 certified and has a list of 80 sourcing professionals
D. Wholesale Markets (Yiwu, Guangzhou)
Source: Freepik
You’ve likely haven’t heard of Yiwu, but you almost certainly own some Yiwu-made things. If China is the world’s largest factory, its capital should be Yiwu, not Beijing. Some of the wholesale markets that you should visit for reasonably priced goods are:
- Yiwu Trade Center
- Yiwu International Business & Trade Mission
- Yiwu Xixiang Wholesale department
As you may be aware, China is the globe’s economic center, and Guangzhou is home to over 1,000 wholesale markets. Clothing, electrical gadgets, everyday supplies, and other necessities can all be found at the major wholesale markets. Some of the top wholesale markets in Guangzhou include:
- Baima wholesale market
- Guangda Shoes Plaza
- Electronics Hiayin Square
- New Asia International City
You can approach a Guangzhou sourcing agent to select the best suppliers for your business.
E. Google
Source: Freepik
If you are wondering how to find manufacturers in China, look up wholesale manufacturers and suppliers in the United States and throughout the world on Google. This may sound self-evident, but you can employ Google to identify wholesale sellers from all over the world. You’ll have to do a lot of searching for that.
Wholesalers are infamous for their poor marketing and promotion skills. As a result, just searching “kid’s games wholesale suppliers” is unlikely to yield the perfect wholesale source for your shop. Changing up your search phrases can help. Consider adding keywords like “distributor” and “bulk” to your list.
Keep your research as precise as possible, and don’t be hesitant to sift through the pages of the search results.
F. Social Media
Source: Freepik
While it may appear contradictory, social networking can be quite beneficial to B2B businesses such as wholesalers and suppliers in China. Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others can demonstrate to potential clients that they are up to date on marketing trends. Furthermore, it allows them to approach you with inquiries, suggestions, or even complaints.
While it may appear that having complaints is a bad thing, social media allows you to handle them on your own territory and in a public forum. That indicates you’re in charge of the conversation and making sure others are aware of it as well. Participating in internet forums, which may be a terrific source of free tips and guidance from people who have experience in your industry or business, can be of great help.
G. Industrial Directory
Source: Freepik
Look through wholesale directories on the internet or in magazines. A large number of suppliers, often from a variety of industries, are listed on these platforms. While it is the quickest method of locating current suppliers, it is not always the most effective.
Remember that some directories enable anyone to post things, therefore the quality may be low. Many supplier directories do background checks on China wholesale suppliers before listing their information. To put it another way, they try their hardest to pick out the bad apples so you can focus on selecting the best wholesale supplier for your company.
These supplier directories are also a great approach to come up with fresh product concepts and to remain on top of the latest trends.
Step #2. Evaluate the suppliers.
No matter you are sourcing all by yourself or via sourcing agents, you need to figure out which vendor or manufacturer or wholesaler is your right fit. There’s no one-size-fits-all supplier. That’s why you want to find a supplier that matches the portrait you draw in the groundwork for supplier evaluation.
So what to look at during supplier evaluation?
- Company registration and product certificates
Is the supplier legitimate?
Is the product compliant with importing country regulations?
- Business model (basic verification)
A. Check the product range on their official website or Alibaba or global sources or other directories where you find them.
Do they display one niche product or multi-category products?
What products do they display in the eye appealing areas?
B. Check the company’s registration information. Business scope information is normally shown in the highlight place on the registration.
Is the business scope correspondent with what they are promoting?
The quick take can give you a general idea of whether it can be a manufacturer/trading company/wholesaler/middleman.
- Supplier scale
Your desired supplier scale should match your business and order scale. Take a look at how they rank in different metrics.
Price level: Big scale supplier > medium scale supplier > small supplier
Quality stability: Big scale supplier > medium scale supplier > small supplier
Flexibility (design alternative, service in place): Small supplier > medium supplier > Big supplier
Lead time: Big supplier > small supplier > medium supplier
Bigger manufacturers have higher pricing because of the equipment and management etc cost higher, for which reason they have more stable quality and fewer quality issues.
The flexibility for a big supplier is not charming because they have a system in place. A big company have to follow the system and can’t change things easily and conveniently.
- Is the supplier pro-active? Do you feel comfortable to work with them?
How the potential suppliers are interacting with you can be seen as a signal for follow-ups.
Being pro-active before the order is placed doesn’t mean they will do it well in the entire process, but if they are not doing a good job at the first place, there’s little chance they will change after taking your money.
Are they responding to what you are asking and what you care about?
Do they take it seriously to communicate with you?
- Price, quality level, lead time, service terms
These are core factors you want to check whether the potential supplier can meet your baseline or not.
Price can be the very one biggest factor that drives you to import from China. Good price IS surely important but it is not the only factor. Low price must have a reason.
Imagine you are negotiating with a supplier…
– I like your company and products but your price is way too high. I’m wondering if you can reach $2 per unit(original offer is $4/pc), I will play a test order for 1000 pcs tomorrow if the price is good.
– The target price is really challenging but to establish a new relationship and as a friend, we can do that for you this time only.
（Want to know how to negotiate effectively with your suppliers? Check this post: How to Negotiate with Suppliers）
Would you concern about the following?
Is he trustworthy? But he doesn’t sound honest in p