Good things sometimes take time. Sometimes, much longer than most importers can anticipate. Slow communication, misunderstandings, and countless sample reviews can cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost profits. That’s exactly what we’re covering in this article. Read on and learn what you can do to ensure that your products are delivered on time, without dragging it out.
Buy ODM (Private Label) Products
Developing a product from scratch can take much longer. Chinese manufacturers may provide limited support, but they count on you to provide them with the complete documentation and files necessary for the production of equipment and prototypes, before mass production. In addition, new OEM designs (i.e., those involving custom products) need to be tested, and it is often very difficult to predict design flaws and technical issues before a pre-production sample is made. Even the simplest design of a suit can require numerous revisions before your specification translates into a reference sample destined for the production line.
Alternatively, there are ODM products. Most Chinese manufacturers can offer catalogs containing a wide range of “standard products” that can be customized with the buyer’s logo. ODM products can also be modified to varying degrees, including changes to material, colors, and components. There is an added benefit, which is that purchasing an ODM product can also lead to a lower Minimum Order Quantity than OEM products and, of course, lower processing costs, if any.
Use your manufacturer’s standard materials and components
Coordinating deliveries of materials and components by subcontractors and exporting manufacturers is not only time-consuming and complicated, but often completely unnecessary. Chinese exporting producers purchase virtually all materials and components from subcontractors who offer an extensive network of suppliers in various industries. These are reports that may have been tried and tested for years. Things usually work better and take less time if you don’t force the supplier to get out of their usual procurement routine.
Prepare all technical specifications and files
As mentioned above, it is not the manufacturer’s job to design your products. He expects you to provide a beautiful, prepared model that is ready for mass production or at least a prototype. In my experience, perhaps the most time-consuming thing is when buyers fail to provide complete and accurate product specifications and files.
For example, providing a logo file in .jpeg format is not enough. Instead, buyers must provide the files in the correct format, supplemented with other relevant data such as size (even if they are already specified in the file), print location, and colors. Nothing should be left out, otherwise you’ll leave the supplier trying to figure out what you want, something that, more often than not, turns out to be a waste of time that leads to subsequent misunderstandings.
Prepare all the necessary files and documents before you start discussing with suppliers. Giving incomplete, unclear, or conflicting specifications and files will cause delays and, subsequently, quality issues. So, before you begin, make sure you have the following:
- Logo files (in .ai or .png format)
- CAD files (e.g., .dxf)
- Technical specifications (in .pdf format)
- The drawings of the project (in .pdf format)
Don’t select a manufacturer too early
Betting on the wrong supplier is another typical mistake made, mostly, by inexperienced buyers. Things seem to be going well. The supplier makes a quote with low prices, sometimes far lower than its competitors. Then comes the first round of champions that turn out to be anything but what you expected them to be. The supplier starts with a second, third, and, perhaps, even a fourth sample review, as the weeks turn into months. In the meantime, you are losing market share and are increasingly desperate.
In China, sales agents can sense this, as you keep telling them you can still wait. For obvious reasons, the supplier takes the opportunity and may refuse further sample revisions, increasing the price by an additional 40% and requiring full deposit payment before taking another step.
At this point, you have two options: either you do what the supplier tells you and pay, hoping for the best, even if this supplier has not even managed to deliver samples that meet your quality requirements. The other alternative is to say no and go back, starting everything from scratch, postponing everything for another 6 months. Hope is the last to die, therefore, this time, many buyers really hope to do things correctly and pay. After all, “they have no other choice.”
Most providers are neither “reliable” nor technically capable. Selecting a supplier on the basis of a low price, beautiful photos and a, at least initially, good attitude indicated by the representative, is simply not a good move. Work with at least three or four suppliers at the same time and get rid of the ones that fail to provide satisfactory product samples and would otherwise cause you problems. Then, you can simply move forward, without interruption, with the other providers. Always keep a reserve.
Never stop checking your inbox
Both we, as a service provider, and Chinese manufacturers don’t like to have to guess. From time to time, we need your comments whether it’s an engraved logo, sample price, or delivery address. If you let us wait for 2 weeks to get confirmations of all these little things that we need your input for, then things take longer. Check your inbox every day, and whenever the supplier needs you to give them information, don’t let them wait.
Even more annoying for suppliers are buyers who simply abandon the process all of a sudden for one to six months, without asking themselves “why nothing is proceeding”. Don’t be that kind of buyer. I know what it means to manage business. Things always come up. When it happens to you, politely inform your partners and suppliers in China that you have things to take care of and clarify when, or if, you will return to them to resume the procedure.
Don’t set excessively improbable deadlines
Sometimes, good things take time. In all companies there are practices and the application of the procurement procedure is what really makes the difference when importing goods from abroad, especially from China. Setting an unrealistic deadline will not help you. It could even be harmful, as few providers take such deadlines seriously.
I have faced situations where buyers have sold, and received money, for imaginary products based on bogus prices received from equally unscrupulous suppliers. This, in other words, is not a good idea.
China is a developing country, both in terms of mentality and infrastructure. Don’t attempt to set extremely short deadlines or try to negotiate two-week production times. It’s not realistic. Developing new products, and doing it well, takes time. For ODM products, the process takes at least 4-5 months, while for OEM products, the process can take twice as long. The lead time for repeat orders tends to be only two to three months, but everything falls apart if you don’t organize things well from the start.
Don’t look for shortcuts
There are two ways to reduce the time. Either you put a strategy in place, for example, as outlined in this article, or you look for shortcuts by skipping the basic steps of the procurement process. This is exactly what many importers decide to do, when they try to save a couple of days by eliminating quality control or substance testing. In fact, you can go directly to Google or a supplier list and transfer money to any random supplier, thus saving months of tedious work. But, in this case, you would risk preparing the documents for bankruptcy.
Summary of time-saving measures
| Phase | Time-saving measures |
| Preparations | at. Prepare all product specifications b. Prepare all CAD files and graphics files c. Confirm all applicable safety regulations and labeling requirements |
| Recruiting / Product Development | at. Buy ODM products instead of OEM products b. Select more than one supplier c. Do not delay sample payments d. Respond quickly when your input is needed |
| Contract negotiation | at. Add a late delivery clause b. Clearly specify payment terms and freight terms c. Do not delay the initial deposit payment |
| Mass production | at. Book quality control tests and laboratory tests (if necessary) at least 3 weeks before the production of the goods is completed
b. Don’t delay paying the final balance |
| Expedition | at. Make sure you have obtained all the necessary permits and documents before the goods arrive (e.g., EORI number in the European Union or customs bond in the United States).
b. Scan all packing slips (e.g., bill of lading, commercial invoice, and bill of contents) at least one week before the goods arrive. |
Need help importing products from China?
It can be difficult to go from product conception to production. To help you manage the entire process – from the creation of a specification, to sampling, up to quality control, rely on ImportazioneFacile.it experts, they will support you step by step by putting their many years of experience at your service, to face all the possible pitfalls that lie behind an import, they will take care of having all the specifications required by the suppliers executed, checking that no errors are made in design and production.
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