How to Find Reliable China Suppliers for Your New Start-Up in 2020?

China shoes exportWhile it’s clear as a bell that China is the manufacturing superpower with around 28% output, while 16% output attributes to US, according to a 2018 report.

Therefore, shaking hands with China wholesale manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesaler, or even re-selling their goods proves to be ridiculously lucrative.

For your start-up, who should you join hands with—wholesaler, manufacturers, supplier? How to find a reliable one when you don’t live in China? What’s the process of finalizing your initial deals?

Read more: Why Import Goods From China—The Dos and Don’ts of Dealing With Manufacturers

Let’s dive into the ins and outs of finding a reliable supplier in China:

Chinese Offshoring is Economical and Financially Benefiting:

 

China shoe exporting

Before we move ahead, you should be sure of why Chinese suppliers and manufacturers are the ultimate option.

Although the financial benefits of collaborating with Chinese suppliers might not be apparent, but the truth is China is the 3rd largest partner of the US, after Canada and Mexico. Therefore, even if you start off a small business start-up with local manufacturers, the financial flow of funds that companies send to China will ensure that your start-up also offshores a part of its manufacturing to China somewhere later in future.

Take the example of ‘Apple’ that manufactures iPhones at a cost of $40USD within the USA. But when they were dealing with efficiency issues, they had huge financial loss.

Thus, to meet the demands of customer and still remain profitable, they partnered with Chinese manufacturers because they had the infrastructure to produce what Apple needed. And, most of all, Apple was able to produce each iPhone unit at a cost of $8, which is incredibly lower than the US manufacturers.

You might wonder why China has such unbelievably low prices. It’s due to the fact that:

  1. Accessible manufacturing materials at low costs
  2. Wages are cheaper than that in the US
  3. Huge man power is available
  4. Chinese are masterminds if we consider mass production
  5. Well-defined and channelized production lines in China makes a smoother process

 

In fact, China is the best and most reliable leading partner of businesses of any size, but more specifically small businesses.

Why it’s Challenging to Find a Reliable China Manufacturer?

  • You have no contact in China and are unsure of how to find to find the right manufacturer for your start-up.
  • You have no knowledge about the manufacturing industry
  • You have no knowledge of how to identify the best supplier or manufacturer

 

To make the whole process of finding a China supplier easier for you, here’s a complete guide:

 

Where to Find the Right Chinese Manufacturer or Supplier?

 

Here are the different options to connect with Chinese manufacturers:

 

  1. Online Wholesale Marketplaces:

 

Alibaba shoes manufacturers

Who doesn’t know about Alibaba, HKDC and Made-in-China.

 

You can begin your hunt on these sites with keywords such as ‘Shoe factories in Guangzhou China’ etc., where you can find a perfect product to suit your start-up needs, manufacturer/supplier details, their business licenses, and contact details.

 

Now, this might be the smartest solution, but slow down! Usually, suppliers appear under the categories of ‘Verified’, ‘Trading’, ‘Gold Supplier’, etc. But, unfortunately, even if the factories are labelled as ‘manufacturer’, they are not the key manufacturers, but suppliers. They are not part of the manufacturing process in any way.

 

To identify your ideal supplier, here’s the key: When you look up for a product, let’s say ‘electric toy cars’, you might find the label with ‘Gold Manufacturer’ etc. But, at times, the company name can be deceiving such as ‘XYZ wholesaleshoe. Co, Ltd.’, which shows they are not the manufacturers.

 

Sometimes, the ‘verified’ manufacturers are selling different products, while they are masters of manufacturing one product. Therefore, this can be a hassle!

 

  1. Social Sites:

 

China shoes social

Over time, most Chinese manufacturers are moving up the ladder to create their online profiles on social sites and outreach foreign buyers. If you look up for ‘China manufacturer’ ‘China industry suppliers’ etc. on Facebook, LinkedIn, you will come across many profiles to shortlist.

 

If you are looking for exotic men’s shoes wholesale suppliers, make sure to type in the keywords possibly used by the manufacturer as they are not very fluent in English.

 

However, many Chinese manufacturers and suppliers are still behind in social media marketing.

 

  1. Google:

 

 

Look up on Google with the right keywords. Try some relevant keywords as well because many Chinese suppliers aren’t good in English and SEO tactics, so they might use some uncommon, factory-specific keywords. Go for ‘wholesale’, ‘supplier’, ‘manufacturer’, etc.

 

And when you are targeting a specific industry; for example, sneakers manufacturers in China (which is the leading one at the moment), try to creatively search the manufacturer.

 

  1. Referrals:

Google china shoe manufacturer

Get in touch with small businesses around you who are producing similar goods. They may introduce you to China wholesale manufacturers they work with.

 

  1. Trade Fairs:

 Trade fair china shoes manufacturer

 

There are several trade associations that bridge the gap for China-foreign trade such as:

  • The Chamber of Commerce—organizes study tours by arranging conferences, promotion venues, exhibitions for different companies to promote their products.
  • Global-Scale Trade Fair—Chinese manufacturers also travel around the world to showcase their products and gain client.

 

  1. Sourcing Companies:

 

There are several sourcing companies you can find online and on trade shows to prevent the hassle of searching the right manufacturer. They will bring you a number of options of reliable China suppliers to choose from. However, the downside to this is they may collaborate with certain manufacturers for a profit to promote them and you may not be able to find the ideal manufacturer that you’ve been looking for.

 

How to Identify The Best China Manufacturer?

 

 Best China manufacturer

 

To shortlist the best manufacturer after all the hassle of research, you should first be clear about your budget, quality, MOQ needs, etc.

 

You can select the manufacturer based on:

  1. The Production Scale—for small or large businesses
  2. Production Methods—raw materials, assembly, packaging etc.
  3. Location of Industry—Different industries are based in different cities based on accessible resources:
  4. Bags/Sports/Shoes:Guangzhou
  5. Textile:Nantong
  6. Toys:Shantou
  7. Electronics/gadgets:Shenzhen
  8. Lighting:Zhongshan

 

Understand the Type of Chinese Supplier You Are Dealing With:

 

 

There are basically three different categories you will come across: manufacturers, wholesalers, drop shippers.

 

  1. Manufacturers:

 

A manufacturer owns the factories for producing goods, performing quality checks, managing manufacturing processes etc. for use and resale.

 

They are the first step in the supply-chain; therefore, they offer the cheapest rates you’d ever come across.

 

There are many manufacturers who only deal with wholesaler, and are unreachable to retailers or start-ups. However, there are several manufacturers who directly deal with retailers as well.

 

Here are a few reliable manufacturers to work with:

 

  1. T-shirtmanufacturers.com are open for private label start-up companies. Custom T-shirts are ideal start-up idea at present!
  2. sandalmanufacturers.com deals with ladies comfortable footwear and offer best China shoes in wholesale at extremely affordable rates for your start up.
  3. We at Marcusius China Shoe Manufacturer are also dealing with wholesalers as well as retailers to produce custom high-quality men’s footwear. We are basically leather shoe manufacturers in China. Contact us and get your samples. The best part is we have an extremely low MOQ for your convenience because we ensure quality more than quantity.

 

  1. Wholesalers:

 

In wholesale, you get your desired products at discounted rates. However, there’s no option of customization and private labelling the products mostly.

 

A downside is that it will require a lot of capital and storage space.

 

  1. Drop shippers:

 

Drop shippers only offer one product at a time at a profitable price for them. But, you don’t get the best price with drop shippers.

 

It’s a great start-up idea when you don’t have a huge investment for the company. No inventory, shipping, or packing required.

 

Final Verdict:

 

All in all, finding a reliable China supplier or manufacturer can be a hassle but it would be worth it. The deeper you dig, the better are your options to find a reliable supplier. Connect with the shortlisted suppliers and start communicating to find the ideal manufacturer for your start-up!

 

If you have any questions, reach out to us to gear up your start-up!

 

 


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