Sourcing and procurement in China

Today, more than 80% of all global products are manufactured in China or somewhere in Asia. For most organizations, it would make perfect sense to look at purchasing their products from the giant manufacturing country of China. But buying products in China or anywhere in Asia can be a challenge.

The typical bad stories

Some of the things you may have heard before, “When my purchased goods arrived, the products were not of the right quality,” “Since my deposit, I never heard from my factory,” or “Communicating my requirements takes so much effort and time that I don’t feel like working with them anymore.”‘ The list of those typical stories is endless, and it doesn’t really motivate organizations to buy from Asia. Yet there are many more success stories. Chances are, if you look at any of your recently purchased products or packaging, it will say, “Made in China.”

Sourcing Process

You’ve done your market research; you know there is demand, and from a cost perspective it makes sense to manufacture in Asia. Then it starts with converting a defined product drawing or idea into a sample and eventually into mass production. This whole process can be time consuming, especially if you have a highly detailed product that has high quality requirements. You want to do it right and you are committed to delivering high quality products on time. Therefore, you will need to monitor the sourcing process on a daily basis. This includes looking for manufacturers, getting quotes, ordering samples, transferring money and monitoring production. At the end, you may need to go to your manufacturer to check your order to make sure they have produced the right quality.

The end-to-end solution

For some organizations, it makes sense to carry out the sourcing process themselves. It is also an option to outsource the sourcing process so that your organization can focus on customer acquisition or designing your next product. This results in a higher purchase price for your products, but that money is well invested as you focus on growing your organization.

Sourcing Agent

Your sourcing problems such as communication, finding manufacturers or checking the quality of the order can be solved by a sourcing agent. The agent will take over your sourcing process and will guide your organization through the buying process in China. Some important conditions are that the agent is based in China, speaks the language, has a large network of manufacturers and of course knows how to handle the entire process of sourcing in Asia. Scale Roads offers all these prerequisites and is happy to help your organization in Asia.

Contact us today and find out how we can help your company move forward.