Finding safe suppliers in China plays a key role when it comes to importing from China. It basically defines whether or not this is going to be a successful start to the whole procurement process.
Now the problem comes here: How does finding suppliers in China work? In this article, we will show you in 3 steps how is finding suppliers in China.
1: Make a List of Suppliers
For finding safe suppliers in China, You have three standard options:
- Finding suppliers all by yourself
- Finding suppliers from a sourcing company
- Dealing with a trading company
You can create your list of potential vendors from the various above listed options. Once you have built the supplier list, you will need to consider who will be the best match.
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2: Assess the Suppliers
The second step of finding safe suppliers in China is assessing them. Whether you are sourcing by yourself or through agents, you have to find out the retailer or supplier or wholesaler that is the best match for you. No one-size-fits-all supplier exists. For this reason, you want to find a supplier that suits the picture you draw in the supplier selection groundwork.
Things to look at during the review of suppliers in finding safe suppliers in China:
- Company registration and product certificates
- Business model (basic verification)
- Supplier size
- The size of your chosen supplier will suit the scale of your business
- Is it a Pro-active Supplier? Do you feel at ease interacting with them?
- Price, level of quality, lead time and terms of service
- Are they professional?
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3: Check the prospective suppliers
Verification of suppliers is crucial particularly when you are searching for a new vendor OR your product/project is complicated OR the order is high. You do not want to cheat and rip off some dishonest supplier then run away. Before ending your quest for finding safe suppliers in China, you must be aware of and do the following:
Company History
Ask suppliers if they can give you copies of official documents such as business permits, business registration, certificates or patents.
Test the business presence on the Internet
By Google searching company name, email, contacts, and number how the company picture.
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Check if they have customs records (via import genius etc.)
Do they have secure export records? Who are some of its clients?
Phone call/video meeting
Last but not least, when it comes to finding safe suppliers in China, you must definitely have some face to face time with them. So what you want to do with a short call is to get the idea of sometimes they say the same thing as what they write. Ask them some business and product-related questions you care about, and so on.