Sourcing Promotional Items In China – 5 Things You Need To Know

Price
The main reason for buying direct from China will inevitably be price. However, there is no certainty that providers selling directly to end-users in Europe and the US will offer the best prices as these will be market adjusted. Often a broker, with better buying power and larger volumes, will be able to offer prices equivalent to or sometimes better than the prices a Chinese supplier will offer. Also, since all trade in Asia is done in USD, exchange rate fluctuations can wreak havoc on costs and an experienced sourcing company will usually hedge against this or at least have an idea of ​​where the trade is 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 supply to China. A large delivery that cannot be transported by air will generally be at sea for 30 to 40 days and will require up to a week to clear customs. Not good if you need those brand name cans 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 higher 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 specialized in importing from abroad is usually much quicker and more seamless than trying to do a one-off import.

Communications / Customer Service
The Chinese are very honorable and hardworking in general. Yes, that is a generalization that is never a good one, 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). Ideally, they will have had extra classes in English, but unless your Cantonese (or even better Mandarin) is up to scratch, you will find it difficult to communicate and frustrations can mount. 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 gets to 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 needs.

credit terms
Credit is not something many Chinese companies offer. Even rock-solid corporations will be asked for large deposits and balances prior to 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 technical specifications about the product itself. This is in effect the guarantee for 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 is not completely risk-free: piracy, storms or accidents can lead to your container of branded electronics being suddenly lost overboard. Therefore, a waterproof insurance policy is required from the financial institution guaranteeing the bond.

Goods fit for purpose
The last thing you want is to receive your shipment to find that they are somehow not fit 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 remade. Even more serious are the security issues; for example, tin products for sale must be food safe. This means that extensive testing is required to ensure that the levels of toxic chemicals and metals are within permitted limits. The importation of goods that do not meet these requirements (and have the corresponding certification) will mean, at a minimum, 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 towards ensuring smooth production for your branded promotional items. There are many advantages to undertaking the sourcing of goods in-house if your company has the resources to dedicate 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, it will also often end up saving you money in the long run. Pick one that has the credentials and can demonstrate a good understanding of the products you’re buying and the manufacturing processes involved.