This is a tough topic to tackle. Most of us would like to think that Chinese suppliers are nice and honest, they just focus on making a living, the best they can. We don’t want to even think that some of them can be dishonest, and worse, that some of...
Understand key China sourcing challenges and learn strategies for successful long-term China sourcing. Navigate risks and maximize supplier reliability. Lately, negative feelings about doing business with China have noticeably increased. We’ve observed that these concerns are tied not only to general perceptions, but also to rising China sourcing challenges that...
Transport cost and time remain the main determinants for businesses and wholesalers to decide their sourcing locations. At first, it seems that there are many different costs, procedures, and variables to think about when deciding whether to source from China. We hope to share some advice based on our experience...
Have you been seeing price increases from your suppliers/factories? How do you plan to place orders when faced with rising prices? Purchasing in China has faced these challenges in recent years due to COVID-19 and its aftermath: maintaining inventory, global inflation, unstable exchange rates, panic hoarding, etc. State of Flux...
We are the age of information. All of it is readily available at your fingertips. And for many, the problem is no longer finding suppliers, but rather, qualifying suppliers. We previously wrote about how to verify factories (see China sourcing: How to verify factories). Since this blog, new importers continue to ask...
For years, many retail companies have been moving towards online stores and shopping, and the pandemic served to accelerate this trend. Being the end user, this meant new choices and new experiences, real multiple channels to buy merchandise. For businesses supplying these end users, omnichannel retail has become a hot...
We were all new importers at one time even if some of us (not me!) are now wise and savvy with our years of experience. We all remember things we wish we had known when we first started China sourcing company Today, we see new importers popping up everywhere, they...
How you establish the terms for a working relationship with a factory, especially in the context of China direct buying, can really set the tone for the remainder of the production process. The Request For Quotation (RFQ) is thus a crucial step in your China sourcing program to ensure the...