Buyer' s Guide

How to Source
Successfully
from China
Evaluating suppliers
Negotiating
Managing production and QC
Protecting your IP

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www.globalsources.com

How to Source Successfully from China

From supplier selection to IP protection, this eBook
offers practical tips for effective and profitable
sourcing.
} Evaluating suppliers
Finding the right supplier
How to identify a legitimate manufacturer

What to check when auditing a factory

} Negotiating
Quality terms

Price & payment terms

} Managing production and QC
QC essentials

Problem solving
Shipping
Protecting your IP
}

Buyer's Guide

Evaluating suppliers
Whether sourcing from China or
elsewhere, one of the most important
things you as a buyer need to do is to
make sure you are working with the right
supplier. So where do you start?

Define your ideal supplier. China

sourcing expert and PassageMaker
Sourcing Solutions founder Mike Bellamy
suggests buyers should first define their
ideal supplier. This is unique to each buyer
and depends on a number of factors,
including price, quality and lead time.
Define your location. Where factories
are based should also play a role in supplier evaluation. While factories in Chinas northern and western provinces
have lower manufacturing costs, the quality is often lower. Those located along the coast and in the southern
region have higher production outlay but the quality is generally better. Note as well that the farther inland you
go, the more expensive your logistics costs will be.
Look in the right places. Stuart Miller of AsiaInspection.com says leading B2B websites can help buyers find
trusted suppliers. Many of them offer services to reduce transaction risk as well. But Miller highly recommends
meeting suppliers face to face, such as in trade shows. Further, always do your due diligence and verify suppliers
before working with them.
Do your homework. For David DaytonofSilk Road International, a China-based international procurement
agency that specializes in helping buyers find the right suppliers and coordinate production, the best way is to
visit the factory yourself.

You must visit the supplier yourself or pay someone to do it for you BEFORE you wire any money.
Buy information (online) and do background research on your suppliers BEFORE you wire any money.
Online sourcing websites all have a premium service.
Confirm that suppliers can either produce the documentation you request or do not work with them.

Capacity and social compliance audits are worth the money$600 and up.
All the large QC/testing companies can do professional testing for you.
A website, phone calls, faxes and emails are not substitutes for an on-site capacity audit (or project
management or QC either).
Trade shows, while helpful, should not be your primary supplier evaluation tool.
Representatives may not be with the supplier after the show.
Products are cherry picked.
Decision makers are not usually at the show

Narrow down your choices: You should narrow down potential suppliers based on nonprice attributes before
initiating contact. This is basically sending an email or fax, or making a phone call to ask for product-specific
information, including price, minimum order and lead time. Below are some points that are often overlooked
when requesting for quotations.

Tooling charges or mold set-up fees

Payment terms (30:70 vs. 100 percent vs. L/C)
Quality requirements
Bill of materials
Shipping/duties/taxes
Resist the tendency to quote DDP
VAT and VAT rebate
Are samples readily available?
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Buyer's Guide

How to identify a legitimate manufacturer

Assuming you prefer to deal directly with the factory and not a trading company, here are some tips to ensure
you are transacting with a legitimate manufacturer.

Avoid factories that refuse to list the name or location of the production facility.
Focus on factories that can clearly show manufacturing experience with your particular product or

production method. They should have samples and quality documents readily available if they are a real
factory.
If you are able to arrange a factory visit:
Do your contacts business cards match the factory staffs information? If the cards do not match in
name, color and address, then your contact is probably a middleman.
Do the people at the factory clearly know your contact or does he give out business cards to
factory staff when giving you the tour of "his factory?" At worst case this may be his first time
working with the factory and you may as well build your own relationship without him.

Look for clear information about operation size, equipment and staffing.
Be wary if the supplier offers a very large range of products.
Be aware that polished English skills do not reflect production skills. Often the most polished websites are
set up by trading companies.
Ask for ownership papers of the factory.
Be explicit that the production location may be audited by you in person and that this location cannot be
changed without approval from buyer.

What to check when auditing a factory

Is the company in compliance with local labor laws? Does the factory comply with ISO 9001 and SA8000

standards?
Facilities: Areas for manufacturing, testing, packing and loading
Processes: Lead-time estimates, control of records and procurement system
Management: Credentials and workflow systems
Social compliance: Child labor, working hours and wages
Does the company have all the documentation that your lawyers are requesting or that you require?
Export license
Testing certificates
Industry standards
MNC certification (if applicable)

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Buyer's Guide

Visit the factory yourself.

Spend more time on the production floor than anywhere else.

Bring your own interpreter and visit as many sites as possible.
What is its current condition?

Capacity

Finances

Staff
Find out:

When the factory is most busy and whether this is in conflict with your schedule.

How much of their production is subcontracted.

How they control IP and nonconforming products.
Inspect workflow systems for efficiency and check whether they are actually practiced.
Test your suppliers understanding of your products requirements. Request samples to be sent to you, to
your exact specifications (pay if necessary).
Evaluate the factorys quality system
Does the factory have a clear list of all desired characteristics of a product before production starts?
Is it clearly specified how each characteristic should be measured?
Are approved samples available to workers in production and QC areas?
How does the factory evaluate and select material suppliers?
Does it communicate the requirements accurately to material suppliers?
Does it check whether a purchased product is up to specifications? How?
Does it send samples for lab tests? How often and for what tests?
Are materials properly stored?
Does the factory give clear procedures to each worker and for each job (including the QC staff )?
How does it validate that each production process achieves the desired results?
Does it carry out in-process QC? On what proportion of products? What do they do with the data
collected this way (corrective/preventive actions)? What happens to pieces found to be defective?
How does it ensure that measuring instruments are available and correctly used?
Do the operators control their own work? Do they receive regular training?
Are materials delivered directly to subcontractors? How are they checked?
How does the factory control the work of the subcontractor(s)?
What does it check about the subcontractors operations?
What proportion of products is checked? How are they checked? Does it include packing?
Is there one last inspection based on AQL statistics? Based on what level of AQL?
What happens when nonconformities are detected?

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Buyer's Guide

Negotiating
So you have narrowed down your
list of potential suppliers, done
your due diligence and decided on
one factory to manufacture your
product. But before you sign that
contract, you would most probably
need to negotiate quality, price and
payment terms.
The first thing you need to
make sure is you are talking to
the decision maker. Quality and
production concerns, for instance,
should be discussed with engineers,
managers and QC personnel, not
salespeople. It is also better that
you have your own translator, one
whom you have briefed in advance
about terminology and what to
expect.
Before you start negotiating terms with the supplier, be aware of the following:

Face to face meetings are always the best way to communicate.

Most factory representatives will not tell you no.
There will always be problemsyou just will not know about all of them.
Do not confuse being polite or even "yes" with agreement.
The more time you spend in the factory, the better quality product you will get.
You must take care of all legal issues at home and in China BEFORE you do anything else.
Contracts are rarely the final word.
Save all phone call notes, faxes, photos and emails.
Keep your processes and communications consistent.
Be prepared to renegotiate everything.
Negotiating quality terms

Specify every single component and standard you can think of.
Clearly communicate every aspect crucial to your finished product

How your final product should look, feel, fit and function
All internal, external labeling and user instructions
Packing instructions (quantity, assortment, packing materials)
Overcome
language barriers by communicating with:

Photos
Technical drawings
Written, translated instructions
Agree in writing which language prevails
But
physical
samples are still best.

Never
vary
from
your contracted standards and dates

Negotiating price and payment terms

Do your own research on prevailing prices before you start negotiating.

Make a road map for better terms; consider a 30:40:30 payment scheme.
Your payments, penalties and shipping dates should be contractually tied to QC reports.
Be careful if transferring funds to a private account or a third-party trading company.
ried about risk.

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Buyer's Guide

Managing production & QC

Regular, consistent and independent QC is possibly the
single most important part of the buying-from-China
experience. Some key points:

Never vary from your contracted standards. If you

do, you authorize your factory to do the same

and they will.
Write it, confirm it, repeat it, and confirm it again
with someone in authority. Get things repeated
back to you from the people responsible for each
step.
Get things signed and stamped from someone in
a position of authority.
Determine what is essential, what should happen,
and what would be nice to have. But do not tell
your supplier anything is less than mandatory.
Safety, industry and customs standards are
mandatory.
Product features are probably mandatory
too.
Specific attributes that are not defined by
law or function are important.
Contract in penalties for missed dates and
confirm milestones BEFORE you get to
the end.

QC essentials

In-house QC is not independent. It is profit insurance for the supplier. Either do QC yourself or pay a third
party to do it for you. But do it no matter what.
Check incoming materials/components, partially completed goods, packaging and finished goods.
Suppliers rarely do QC on incoming goods.
Unless you can wait for a complete product re-do with no financial penalties, final QC on the last day
before product is to be shipped is a complete waste of time and money.
3PQC is not a quality guarantee but it is preventive action to identify small problems before they become
critical. Have 3PQC independently verify everything.
Your payments, penalties and shipping dates should be contractually tied to QC reports.
Give your supplier a copy of all QC reports and have a manager sign and date each inspection report.

Who must be involved

Engineersthese are typically the only people that really know what the machines can do and what they
can get out of them.
QC and line managersthey have the most direct impact on the daily quality of your order.
Managersinclude them or everything else is a waste of time. They have to be the ones to sign off and
enforce agreements when you are gone.
Salespeoplethey will need face from you when you find out they do not know what they are talking
about. You will need to keep them happy since they are the ones that control the price.

What to look for in a factorys QC plan

Clear revision management procedures.

Bilingual at page level.
Approved vendor listtotal transparency regarding identity of subsuppliers.
All internal QC data/results are made available for client review.
Their FQC = Your IQC.

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Buyer's Guide

Unit and lot traceability in terms of bill of materials used, dates and personnel involved in the assembly/
inspection process.

Bill of materials include packaging specifications (air vs. sea, unit vs. master vs. pallet vs. container)
Container check.
Problem solving

The only thing worse than no product is bad product. Negotiate accordingly and have a back up, just in
case.
There will be problemscount on it.

Allow the supplier to fix it before you step inbut make sure you are aware of problems AND
solutions.
Do not wait too long to stop problems.
To find the real problem: Listen, ask, take notes and ask againthere is almost always a public story and a
real issue.
Keep detailed notes of every conversation.
Just because you know who is to blame does not mean that you can now solve the problem.
Admit when the problems are your fault and hold the factory to the same standard. Be fair and never be
punitive.
The goal is to get finished quality product. Do not go too far in your anger or demands.
Lose a deposit instead of an entire order.

Shipping

The end of a production run can be especially risky.

With other orders waiting to be filled and your deadline approaching, your supplier may:

Rush through your final units to finish on time.

Run out of approved materials and use a substandard substitute.
Tell you production is complete to get final payment.
Before your order is completed and packed, perform a preshipment inspection to ensure there will not be
last-minute, nonconforming products on board.
Ship safely. You cannot sell damaged or missing products.
Perform a container loading check to ensure:
Cartons contain the proper quantity, size, assortment, etc.
All products are packed safely and loaded carefully.
The container is sealed against tampering.

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Buyer's Guide

Protecting your IP

While most suppliers in China are trying to earn an honest living, there are also a large number of unscrupulous
companies who are out to make a quick buck. And one of easiest ways to do this is by stealing your intellectual
property. Most people think IP just refers to designs and trademarks. But it also includes sensitive buyer
information such as export value, shipping destination, customer and end-user identity, and market value of
goods shipped.
Here are some measures you can take to keep your IP safe when sourcing in China:
Take steps to protect your IP BEFORE you start sourcing.
Be the first to registerFirst to Market vs. First to Register.
File all legal documentation at home and in China.
Do not share info without nondisclosure or other a greements in place.
At the same time, do not rely solely on NDAs and noncompete agreements. Attach bilingual MOUs
to purchase orders. The MOUs must be initialed by a person in authority.
Make sure you follow Chinese law in China.
Do all due diligence.
Involve third parties for sensitive information.
Establish long-term personal relationships.
Get to know industry and government figures in your particular field.
Learn about customs and develop contacts on both sides of the Pacific.
Have a regular, physical presence.
If custom-made, own the tooling outright.
Keep an eye on tool and sample rooms, and the warehouse.
Pull molds and dies.
Require samples to be returned.
Distribute components to various suppliers instead of just one. Your payments, penalties and ship
dates should be contractually tied to QC reports.

The following sourcing experts contributed to this buyer's guide:

Mike Bellamy chair of theChina Sourcing Information Centers advisory panel and founder of PassageMaker
David Dayton owner of Silk Road International, founding member of the China Sourcing Information Center and
lead editor of CSICs China Sourcer magazine
Stuart Miller key account manager at AsiaInspection, in charge of managing the companys most strategic
clients

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