Leverage China’s affordability, flexible manufacturing, and wide array of products to reach your business goals, but be sure to follow a systematic approach.

A complete sourcing process will not only look for suppliers, but will also manage the entire supply chain from inquiry to shipment. The main points will include:

•Search for and evaluate supplier;

•Request and approve samples and define specs;

•Negotiate and place an order;

•Monitor manufacturing and conduct inspections;

•Arrange shipping and customs, and more.

The goal of China sourcing should not just be to find relevant products, but also to have quality products delivered to you in time. What’s more is that you’ll want your customers to be satisfied upon receipt and to make sure the goods clear customs without any problems.

Step 1: Clearly define the product specification

Before beginning to search for suppliers, it’s important to understand exactly what product you are searching for. A full product specification should ideally have information about:

•Product Name; Material; Size; Weight; Color; Function.

•Packaging type and customization requests for Branding;

•Quantity, expected unit price, and current market demand;

•Quality level needed, regulatory and compliance standards, required delivery date;

•Product drawings, images or similar product images to refer.

For example: instead of ordering just ‘storage boxes’, a clearer spec would be ‘stackable plastic storage box with sturdy handles, volume of 50L, in transparent finish with a white lid. Each piece to be in a polybag. Order size of 500 units, intended for the American market.’

If you plan for private labeling, your specification should also include your logo files, custom artwork for packaging, desired color codes, bar codes, and sample approval process.

Step 1: How to Find a Supplier

Where to Find, Who It’s best for;

•Alibaba: All suppliers and brand owners who are relatively new to the sourcing process, looking for English-speaking suppliers, or trying out private label sourcing.

•1688; Recommended to use it with the help of sourcing agent. Here you can find strong domestic suppliers and is known for lower prices, but the system only operates in Chinese and you will need agent support if you do not speak Mandarin.

•Made-in-China/Global Sources; Good to use if you need to target certain industries. These platforms generally provide lists of both factories and trading companies targeting exporting products.

•Canton Fair and other trade fairs; Face-to-face interaction with supplier is very important for first-timers as it helps establish good relationships. Here you can directly check the quality, meet many manufacturers at the same time, and negotiate for deals.

•Wholesale Markets (e.g. Yiwu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen); Widely used by many customers for consumer goods, fashion accessories, small gift and etc. Some are more geared toward home dcor or toy manufacturing as well.

•Sourcing Agents; Recommended to all customers, especially if dealing with multi-suppliers, dealing with quality control issues, language barriers, and consolidating shipments from multiple manufacturers.

Compare and choose the best fit. Short-listing 5-10 suitable suppliers is often enough when starting.

Step 2: Screen the Suppliers and Shortlist

Do not rush for the lowest price, it might be a trap to obtain business but compromise quality, materials, packaging, hidden costs, etc. Careful comparison will also include:

•Product specialty, industry experience of suppliers;

•Is the supplier a factory or trading company?;

•MOQ, Unit price, how price might change with order volume;

•Sample feasibility and sample leading time;

•Export experience and experience with private labeling, or custom order, and foreign market expertise;

•Communication efficiency and quality control measures of supplier.

Pro-tip: Factories that specialize in one or very similar product lines can generally offer a better quality control process and more consistency in production than those who produce thousands of different, unrelated goods.

Step 3: Qualify Suppliers and ensure their reliability

Basic verification checks include:

•Company’s name, its official registration details including business scope, the company address and contact details;

•The official company website, product catalog, supplier profile on trading platform (e.g. Alibaba);

•Whether the product they offer can match what you are looking for.

Critical Questions to ask:

•Are you a manufacturer or a trading company?

•Can you provide copies of your business license or factory photos?

•Have you supplied to my country before?

•Can you agree to a third party inspection?

•How do you respond to failed inspection?

Beware of red flags, such as demanding immediate payment directly into a personal account, being reluctant to send samples, deflecting questions about the factory, and being overly pushy with payment demands without adequate justification.

For large orders, we suggest a factory audit, which can verify production capacity and verify a supplier’s actual capacity, equipment, manufacturing process, quality control systems and their general compliance to its claims.

Step 4: Request Quotes Like a Pro

Treat all your potential suppliers equally.Send them the same product details to get comparable quotes. The ideal quotation includes:

•unit price, MOQ and price ranges at different quantity

•sample cost, mold/tooling charge, and logo/packaging cost

•production lead-time and payment terms

•carton dimension, gross/net weight and carton quantity

•shipping term(EXW, FOB, CIF, or DDP) and what included in this term

Mistake to avoid: quoting one supplier’s basic product price versus another’s full packaged price- always make sure of the completeness.

Step 5: Order Samples Before Mass Producing

When sourcing from a new supplier, samples are essential. Evaluate samples based on:

•material quality, dimensions, weight and color

•function, finish, durability, overall quality and accuracy of specifications

•packaging, logo design and the overall experience as a consumer

•Point to remember:

•samples might take several rounds before final acceptance if it is a custom product

•samples approved can be used as reference for quality inspection

•a great sample doesn’t guarantee a good bulk production- always inspect your mass goods!

Step 6: Negotiate MOQ, Price, and Payment Terms

Points to Negotiate:

•unit price, MOQ, packaging and logo charge

•sample refund, production time, and payment term

•inspection term, rework liability, spare part provided, and warranty

•Payment terms: typical is 30% down and 70% balance after inspection before shipment.

•Make sure the bank account belongs to the legal registered company name of the supplier.

•Avoid paying in personal bank accounts or unknown third party bank accounts.

Warning: If the price is too low, it may lead to use of inferior quality materials, inferior packaging quality, and poor quality control.

Make sure that the Purchase Order clearly stated product specifications, quantity, price, packaging, terms of payment, delivery time, inspection, handling of defective goods, etc.

Step 7: Confirm Packaging and Compliance

Packaging checklist:

•the packaging of unit, inner and master carton

•the strengths and dimensions of cartons, and marks on cartons

•the barcode, SKUs, and warning labels

•the mark of origin, user manual and language requirements

•amazon FBA labels, if applicable

Compliance:

Higher-risk goods category include electronics, batteries, toy, baby and children’s products, cosmetic, food-contact items, medical items, wireless products. Etc., all are requires tests and certificate or import document.

Do not assume supplier’s certification is valid in your market; try to check their compliance with respect to market regulations before placing an order.

Step 8: Follow the Production progress

Once the production is started, you should ask for update:

•material inspection and sample approval status

•production start, middle and packaging preparation

•production finishing and goods readiness for inspection

Request the supplier send photos or videos when they do the mass production for custom products. For orders that are very big and complicated, doing a middle production inspection might be useful to avoid producing defective goods.

Step 9: Inspection the Goods Before Shipping

Pre-shipment inspection (PSI) is the most popular and cost-effective QC method. Generally it includes checking:

•the number of products and quality in appearance, dimensions, material, color, and function.

•the logo placement, packaging, and the correct labels on packaging.

•the quality of the export carton and accessories, and the defect rate.

AQL (Acceptable Quality Limit): It’s a sampling plan indicating the number of units to inspect and how many defective items can be tolerated in the sample.

Defects types:

Type Definition

Critical Risks involving health and safety, or legal compliance, can generally not be accepted.

•Major A defect will affect performance, look, feel or the customer’s ability to use the product.

•Minor Flaws in appearance, feel or look, but will not hinder the functionality or use of the product.

•What to do if there are serious defects in the quality control: re-working, sorting and segregation, replacing the defected parts, or re-inspection, and do not approve payment until the critical issues are solved.

Step 10: Plan your international shipment

Which shipping method to use for which order:

•Express Courier Sample or urgent small shipments

•Airfreight Small or medium shipment where time is critical

•Seafreight (LCL/FCL) Large or heavy orders-most cost effective per unit

•Rail freight Some China-to-Europe routes

DDP shipments Simplified “door-to-door” shipping, make sure to clarify all services provided

Before deciding the transport way, clarify your total volume, the weight of the packages and the country and region for delivery, and the latest required delivery date.

Beware: Bulky goods such as soft toys, storage boxes and pillows will be charged based on volumetric weight.

Step 11: prepare your documents and custom information

Required Documents:

•Commercial invoice, packing list

•Bill of lading or airway bill

•Certificate of origin (if needed)

•Inspection certificates, test reports (if needed)

•Marine insurance policy, fumigation certificate (if needed)

•Import permit (if needed)

Ensure your commercial invoice correctly lists the product description, quantity, unit price, currency, seller and buyer information, and Incoterms.

Never declare the shipping value lower than the actual invoice value. If you are new to import, please work with a professional customs broker.

Common mistakes to avoid:

1. Picking the cheapest supplier without checking quality.

2. Skipping the samples- online pictures cannot prove the real quality.

3. Not accounting for the final landed cost.

4. Delaying the confirmation of packaging and label.

5. Releasing payment without completing inspection.

6. Verbal-only agreements with suppliers.

7. Rushing your purchase- always start small and scale later.

Final thoughts:

You can only secure your sourcing success if you control every step of the production. This includes clear specifications, verified suppliers, samples check, purchase order, inspection, logistics and customs clearance.

Begin with a small order to build your confidence before proceeding with larger quantity orders when you have already found out the product and supplier are reliable and the total cost is viable. If your project is very complex or large scale, you should consider hiring an inspection company, purchasing agent or freight forwarder.