The Benefits of Using a Chinese Sourcing Company
Chinese sourcing companies can be useful for both new businesses and established businesses. While most established companies already have supply chains in place, newer companies may find that they’re struggling to manufacture their products either due to cost constraints or available manufacturing facilities.
Picture this: You’ve created your website, your products have been designed and you have a marketing plan ready. Now you need find a manufacturer. Depending on where you reside, finding a manufacturer can be difficult, especially if your design is completely custom.
This is where Chinese sourcing companies can fill the gap. There are many advantages to using a sourcing company or a sourcing agent based in China. I have listed a few of the reasons below:
The Cost Benefits
As you may have heard, one of the key reasons to use a sourcing company, and buy from China, is that products are generally much cheaper than in other countries. There are a few reasons for this:
High-skilled labour costs are generally much cheaper in China in comparison to countries like the US and the UK. This allows factories to manufacture more complex products at a lower price.
Raw material accessibility and cost – China contributes to a high percentage of the global production of steel, aluminium, copper and plastic. This allows factories to lower their raw material cost, translating to a lower production cost per product.
China has a fantastic infrastructure for manufacturing. Along with having the highest global manufacturing output, they also have 7 out of 10 of the busiest shipping ports in the world, allowing them to efficiently export products.
Manufacturing Process Availability
Different areas of China have different manufacturing specialities: For example, most electronics and electronic equipment come from the Guangdong region of China, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are large producers of textiles and Dangyang is one of the largest producers of lenses for glasses.
As a sourcing company based in China, we have access to these factories across the country, each with their own manufacturing focus. The proximity of these factories allows us to pick and choose what factory is best suited to manufacture a specific item. This is especially important when we help our customers create custom products. As you can see from our portfolio page, we have worked with many different suppliers on a range of different product types.
As we have found with many of our past projects, one manufacturer may not have the available machinery or equipment to create the complete product and in this case, we have the semi-finished product sent to another factory for additional processing. The low domestic freight costs and expansive logistics network available in China gives us the ability to do this. This is something that is not always available to do in other countries due to logistical or cost restrictions.
Quality Control
People often assume that all products made in China are of poor quality. This is a flawed assumption and should be disregarded. The quality of a product is directly dependant on the factory producing it. There is a reason that many of the largest brands choose to produce their goods in China and this is because there are several high-quality, highly skilled manufacturers across the country.
Where most people go wrong is choosing the right factory. Understandably, this can be difficult when you are not located in China – You may be unable to travel to visit suppliers, you may not know where to start looking for manufacturers or you may not understand what to look for when talking to a supplier.
One of the advantages of using a Chinese sourcing company is that they are based in the country and able to visit and speak to factories directly. In many cases, Semic International has been asked to visit factories and perform onsite inspection, on behalf of our customers. For this we use our supplier verification checklist to confirm if a supplier is well suited for manufacturing products to our standard. On several occasions we have found through our auditing that the supplier was under-qualified and not capable of meeting our quality standards.
Quality control is extremely important during the production stage of a project. Identifying any issues and non-conformities with production parts before shipment can save time, money and future headaches. Given the high importance and impact that quality control has on the success of a project, it’s often highlighted as one of the most critical steps in the supply chain.
Partnering with a Chinese sourcing company can offer a significant advantage for businesses looking to have products manufactured. The cost benefits, access to specialised manufacturing process and quality control can make a substantial difference in bringing your products to market successfully. By using the expertise and local presence of a sourcing company like Semic International, you can navigate the complexities of manufacturing in China. Whether you’re considering creating a custom-designed product or looking to scale up your manufacturing, using a Chinese sourcing company can be beneficial in many ways.