Many companies seek sourcing from China to save on first costs. Seems relatively straight forward, right? Not so fast. Sourcing from China is a complicated process, of which every single stage requires careful attention. Even the savviest of importers can run into trouble if they start getting lax about the...
Are you thinking about having your production moved to China? With the recent news on tariffs (see our 8-part blog series on the China trade war) many are waiting to see what happens before they begin a China buying program. In this blog, we’ll share the best product categories to...
Many new importers find that they only have a very vague idea of how long it really takes to source directly from China. This is because many of them have experience buying from distributors or wholesalers here in the US, so the timeline is rarely clear. In this blog, we...
There are many tools importers use to ensure success with a supplier. One of these tools is the Product Specification Sheet (PSS). This document is used to specify the buyer’s requirements and to ensure that they are implemented at the factory level by making them an integral part of the...
There are many delays that can occur when sourcing from China, but most can be avoided or minimized with the right preparation. Below are a few tips that can reduce the risk of delay and mitigate its damage when it occurs: Place orders early: You’ll want to start the sourcing...
China has been heavy in the media lately, mostly because of the US-China Trade War. However, a recent article from the Economist’s Schumpeter blog caught our eye. In the midst of all the news on tariffs, this article, Chinese Firms are not all serial intellectual-property thieves, actually highlights some of...
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...
Price is not everything when sourcing from China, but it still is the most important reason why importers source from there. Importers come to us for a number of reasons, but the three most common requests are: Quality assurance, finding suppliers, and securing optimal pricing. Every importer is concerned with...
