Sourcing products from China is beneficial for your dropshipping or e-commerce business, but this does not mean that it’s easy. You will want a steady supply chain of high-quality products. To get the best value out of sourcing high-quality products from China, you will need a robust business strategy before you engage in business deals. Continue reading to discover 8 insightful tips to source high-quality products from China.
Do Research
To source high-quality products, doing research is very crucial for success in your business. Not doing the necessary research is asking for failure. The research retailers need in hand should be well-rounded. These include store data, consumer demand, trends, etc. This information allows you to make more informed decisions when it comes time to initiate contact with suppliers. The more you know about the product you want, the better the result will be.
Look For The Right Supplier
Many people seeking to import high-quality products from China use the internet search buttons as their default option for suggestions of suppliers in China. You can also do that as well. It is advisable to identify a manufacturer and directly source from them since this will help you to reduce costs. When looking for the right supplier, consider factors like background information, location, supplier certification, and export experience. All of these boil down to help you source the products you want.
Write An Effective Inquiry
After you have collected a list of suppliers, you want to contact them to negotiate transactions or custom requirements. You need to write effective, clear, and detailed inquiries to ensure that you get the kinds of products you want. About the source you want, you can include information like product description, specifications, package, quantity, etc.
Negotiate With Your Supplier
Negotiating is an important stage when sourcing high-quality products from China. The purpose of negotiation is not to get the decided prices to reduce further, but there is more to add to it. This comes with quality, material, quantity, and delivery time, so you need to know the real value of negotiation.
Partner With A Manufacturer
Manufacturing products are ideal for businesses with a unique idea or a variation of an existing one. If you’ve already validated the market for a product and are confident it’ll sell, this is a good way to source high-quality products. Market evaluation is important here because manufacturing requires the most upfront investment. Know that you can source both private-label and white-label products from manufacturers. Both these categories ensure you can source high-quality products.
Request For A Sample
As a dropshipper or e-commerce business owner, you should not put a product in your store without sampling it. When contacting suppliers, part of the ask should be for samples so you can get feedback from team members, view the product up close and personal, and see how the supplier handles this first transaction before you decide on whether to include it in your product mix or not. Asking for samples is an important part of your sourcing strategy and a good way to test the quality and credibility of products.
Do Inspection
A technical audit can be done before an inventory is shipped. Technical audits are specific to production alone and done by third-party inspection companies. They’ll inspect for flaws in the organizational structure of the factory, its production capacity, and its quality management system. Be proactive with product inspections. It’s better to find defects early enough so that you can troubleshoot. The frequency of inspections should depend on the type of product and order size. Assess the quality, regulatory compliance, measurements, and packaging of the order. These are things to source high-quality products from China.
Evaluate Supplier
Whether or not you choose to move forward with a supplier and form a more long-term relationship depends heavily on how the supplier performs during a trial run. Having the parameters mentioned above will help you better evaluate suppliers when the trial run ends. Did the product meet the expected goals? Was it received well? Did the shipments arrive timely and with the proper counts? Were the products intact when they arrived at the store? All of these questions will help you to be able to source high-quality products because you can know if it is worthwhile working with a particular supplier or not.
Summary
China is known for having the best suppliers and manufacturers of goods. But this doesn’t mean that there are no counterfeit products or individuals who will try to hoodwink customers. Ensure you call the factory directly to confirm with them. Also, work with trusted agents during the importing process. Luckily for you, these 8 tips have given you an insight into how to source high-quality products from China.
Turn to Fulfillman for Your China Sourcing
Contact us today at Fulfillman to know more about our services. We provide a wide range of services including Global Fulfillment, China Sourcing, Drop Shipping, Third Party Logistics, and lots more. Our trusted experts will be happy to speak with you and provide suitable answers to your questions and concerns. A fantastic experience awaits you.
