Sourcing Promotional Items In China: The 5 Things You Need To Know

Price
The main reason to buy directly from China will inevitably be price. However, there is no certainty that vendors who market directly to end users in Europe and the US will offer the best prices, as these will be adjusted to the market. Often a broker, with better buying power and higher volumes, will be able to offer prices that are equivalent to or sometimes better than the prices that a Chinese supplier will offer. Also, since all trade in Asia is in USD, exchange rate fluctuations can wreak havoc on costs and an experienced sourcing company will usually guard against this or at least have an idea of ​​where prices are headed. exchange rates. There are also shipping costs and import duties that are often not factored into the costs of goods purchased abroad. The price of some products (such as flash memory products) is incredibly volatile and can literally change during the course of an order.

Wait time
Delivery time is often the prohibitive factor when choosing whether to outsource to China. A large delivery that cannot be transported by air will generally be at sea for 30-40 days and take up to a week to clear customs. Not good if you need those brand name tins for an event 2 weeks from now! Local vendors can help in a number of ways. Firstly, a local supplier will sometimes have stock of the raw material and the branding can be done in the country of delivery. For example, pad printing or screen printing providers are quite common, although there will be some difference in the cost of this service, but since the biggest cost will be the product itself, there should not be a significant increase. An experienced sourcing company will also be able to reduce shipping time if there is no other option. Bulk deals are usually arranged with carriers to negotiate favorable costs and on shipments smaller than a container, there are airfreight deals that will be affordable. Customs clearance by the agent working for a company that specializes in importing from abroad is usually much faster and smoother than trying to do a one-time import.

Communication / Customer Service
The Chinese are very honorable and hardworking in general. Yes, that is a generalization that is never good, but there is a real culture of work, efficiency and will in China, for example, that is less common in Western Europe. However, one cannot ignore the fact that English is not the first language for a company representative from Shenzhen (or one of the other major manufacturing areas in China). At best, they will have had extra tuition in English, but unless your Cantonese (or even better Mandarin) is up to scratch, you’ll find it difficult to communicate and frustrations can build up. Cultural differences can mean that something that seems obvious to a European goes undetected. There is also a major time zone issue where when someone in London arrives at work, there are only two or three hours left in the day in China. This can be used to your advantage if orders are placed late in the day, it is often possible to get proof and confirmation first thing in the morning. Of course, any other changes will often be delayed by 24 hours. It is not uncommon for the longest phase of a production to be the communication of what you or your client need.

credit conditions
Credit is not something many Chinese companies offer. Even rock-solid corporations will be asked for large deposits and balances before shipping for orders under $10,000 or more. The usual way to pay for anything over thousands of dollars is a letter of credit. This is a contract drawn up with a commercial financing bank that establishes the specifications of the goods and guarantees to pay the agreed sum upon arrival of the product at the port chosen by the beneficiary. The contract can be quite detailed, not only with details about quantities and tolerances, but also with technical specifications about the product itself. This is in effect the guarantee to both parties that if the goods meet the specifications, the agreed sum will be paid. This document will also include insurance details. Shipping goods from the Far East isn’t entirely risk-free: piracy, storms, or accidents can cause your container of brand-name electronics to be suddenly lost overboard. Therefore, a waterproof insurance policy is required from the financial institution guaranteeing the bond.

fit-for-purpose goods
The last thing you want is to receive your shipment to find that they are somehow unfit for purpose. For example, an inferior memory chip in flash drives will render them unusable, or printing problems on promotional cans will mean they need to be redone. Even more serious are security issues; For example, tin products for sale must be food safe. This means extensive testing is required to ensure that the levels of toxic chemicals and metals are within allowable limits. The importation of goods that do not meet these requirements (and have the corresponding certification) will entail at least the seizure of the goods and, in the worst case, a large fine for violating this regulation. When you’re working to tight deadlines, receiving the wrong products can be a complete disaster.

Summary
Choosing your Far East supplier carefully and ensuring they are experienced in the type of order you are placing will go a long way to ensuring smooth production of your branded promotional items. There are many advantages to undertaking the sourcing of goods in-house if your business has the resources to devote to the process. Having said that, working with a good local specialist sourcing company will often not only save you the frustration of dealing with a supplier on the other side of the world, but will often end up saving you money in the long run as well. Choose one who has the credentials and can demonstrate a good understanding of the products you are purchasing and the manufacturing processes involved.