The Top 10 China Sourcing Companies Part 2: The Scoring

Last week we published our Top Ten List of China Sourcing Companies, which ranks companies in a systematic and transparent manner.  See the blog and list again here: Part 1: The List

This week we reveal the analysis behind the list – our comprehensive scoring system, what metrics we used to evaluate each of the companies considered (more than 70), and why. 

We ranked each sourcing company from 1-5 (1 = lowest; 5 = highest) on the most important qualities importers generally seek. We evaluated each service based on the company’s ability to communicate that service on their website. We then grouped the services under five main categories to make it easier for readers to evaluate and ranked the Top Ten Companies by adding the scores in each category.

The five categories’s scores were computed by evaluating and adding their components:

– Experience: The score factored Years in Business and Management.

– Cost and transparency:  The Cost of the service should be predictable and easily accessible and Transparency has to do with the willingness of the service provider to share data.  

– Expertise: This score factored the following:

1) The Three Essentials: The ability to deliver on Pricing, Quality, and On-time Delivery.

2) Sourcing Focus: Deductions were made for those that claim expertise in areas outside of sourcing (i.e., Jack of all trades)

3) Product focus: Deductions were made for companies that are highly focused on a specific product or industry. 

– Communication: Since good Communication is key to sourcing management, we evaluated that quality by itself. 

– China Focus:  China sourcing is about China and Sourcing.  We downgraded companies who lack that focus and claim expertise in other countries. 

To round off the list, we added two other non-scored categories as follows:

– Headquarters: It can be helpful for importers to know where a company is headquartered so we list that. 

– Target Market/Focus:  Knowing what kind of clients a company targets can be useful. 

See the list below with more details on each category.  We hope this explanation will help importers in their evaluation of sourcing companies.  And, we hope to make this an interactive process, designed to add value to you, the importer. So, your feedback is important to us.

Specifically, please share: 

– Do you agree with the necessary skills and experience we have listed above?
– Did we miss any important skills or features?
– Can you think of specific companies that should have been on the Top Ten List but that did not appear? (If so, can you tell us what qualifies them?)

Please leave us with your feedback, either in the below thread of comments or in private to the email address listed below. We will factor your comments into the continuous improvement of our list. 

 

– The China Performance Group Team

[Download a pdf of the explanation list here] 

Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in June 21, 2021.