Search for manufacturers in China. How to search for clothing suppliers from China?

China today is the world's largest factory, which produces goods intended for sale under the brands of different countries.

A huge part of the things of American, Italian, French, Russian and other brands are actually not sewn in these countries, namely in China.

Manufacturers prefer to place their orders here because of the cheapness of the workforce, as well as overall savings. Many seek cooperation with Chinese manufacturers because of inexpensive products, given the opportunity to find goods of good enough quality. Sellers from all over the world trade in clothing and electronics of Chinese origin, earning impressive royalties on this.

Entrepreneurs, inspired by successful examples, ask themselves: “Where to start?” The first and most important step is to find manufacturers in China that meet two main requirements - integrity and product quality. "Where to find such and how?" - these are the burning questions to which this article is devoted.

Cooperation with China: challenges and opportunities

The search for manufacturers in China with the goal of effective and long-term cooperation is not an easy task, but it can be solved. First, find out what is its complexity.

What is the difficulty?

The difficulties in finding and working with Chinese partners - suppliers and manufacturers - are due to several factors:

1. A language barrier that is difficult to overcome (even if both sides speak English, misunderstanding and lack of understanding remain).
2. A large number of offers from the Chinese side - among thousands of choices, it is very easy to get confused and make the wrong move, since a reseller or just an unscrupulous entrepreneur may hide under the mask of a reliable manufacturer.
3. The mentality of Chinese businessmen and their attitude to foreign partners - if you speak another language, you automatically fall into the category of “strangers”, deceiving whom is not only embarrassing, but even honorable (and if the opportunity arises, in most cases the Chinese will do it )
4. Features of the product itself - the product may turn out to be of poor quality, may not fully meet all the stated criteria, be fake or "fake", which is even worse.
5. Problems with the delivery of goods - delay in the time of shipment and delivery, problems with settlements, various customs nuances and other difficulties.

What are the benefits?

However, there are very significant advantages that explain such a wide demand for goods made in China, as well as the desire of businessmen from all over the world to cooperate with local manufacturers and suppliers:

1. A huge offer of anything - from the things of world famous brands to the latest inventions in the world of electronics.
2. Low prices in comparison with American and European manufacturers of products in all well-known categories, especially attractive conditions are provided by suppliers of clothes from China (the quality of which is sometimes not lower than Western).
3. It is enough just to start cooperation and, therefore, to establish your own business even with small initial investments.

It is not surprising that the search for suppliers in China is of interest to many beginning entrepreneurs, because this is the first step on the path to successful and fruitful cooperation, which can largely determine the fate of the future business. You can solve this problem in different ways, depending on your own capabilities and needs.

How to search for Chinese manufacturers: options

There are three main options for finding a manufacturer in China to conclude a cooperation agreement on a regular basis. Let's consider them in order.

In-house online search

The first method is an independent search through the Internet. This approach has a right to exist and is very common among novice businessmen. To implement it, you need only a computer, access to the Internet and at least basic knowledge of the English language (you can do without them, but more difficult).
Suppliers of clothes from China, as well as other categories of goods, live in a worldwide network on specialized business platforms, of which there are a lot today. Among the most popular:

• alibaba.com;
• tradekey.com;
• globalsources.com;
• made-in-china.com;
• kitaitorg.ru and others

The most popular resource for finding Chinese suppliers is alibaba.com. It is aimed at an English-speaking audience, so it will be easy to navigate here. Recently, it has become possible to use a website with translation into Russian, which, by the way, looks very strange and not always clear (due to the use of an automatic translator).

Therefore, if possible, it is better to dwell on the English version. However, for those wishing to receive information exclusively in their native language, a special resource kitaitorg.ru was created. It is distinguished by the catalog of goods presented in Russian and convenient additional means of communication. However, all existing platforms are quite suitable to search for manufacturers in China on them. What is more important is how to do it, what to look at, what moments to check.

What to check?

First, you register on one or more resources and study the products offered there. After selecting a product that suits you, contact the supplier or manufacturer directly. And here the most important task arises - to find out all the details regarding its production, to discuss the terms of cooperation and prices.

It is very important to check the following information: where is the plant / factory, its area, production lines, number and qualifications of personnel. In addition, you should request information about the availability of quality certificates for products (from the same documents you can get data about the real manufacturer).

Carefully study the invoice, price lists received from a potential supplier, compare the address and company name in them. Perhaps cooperation is not offered to you by the manufacturer, but by a trading company cooperating with him (it is often impossible to get around it).

If you are satisfied with all the parameters of work, the products themselves, their price, then proceed to discuss the conditions. Discuss in detail all the points and nuances of the work, otherwise you may encounter problems in the future. Make the first order for a small batch to check how clearly and efficiently your scheme works. Then gradually increase the lots, each time carefully checking and controlling its compliance with the order.

Visiting Chinese exhibitions

The second way is to personally visit China, namely a specialized exhibition. At such events, large and small wholesale suppliers from China, manufacturers and trading Chinese companies, as well as entrepreneurs from all over the world regularly meet.

The benefits of a personal visit are obvious and often justified. Here you can directly communicate with the manufacturer you are interested in, privately discuss the terms of cooperation, evaluate the quality of the goods, get acquainted with the assortment, collect catalogs and business cards of a large number of suppliers, sales agents, make useful contacts, etc.

Again, you should not rely only on brochures and words of a potential business partner. If possible, ask for an excursion to the factory, get acquainted with the products (and not with her photographs in the catalog) to evaluate its quality.In addition, when deciding on the choice of a particular manufacturer, use industry ratings, study the sites of Chinese manufacturers, read reviews on the Internet. The more information you collect about your future business partners, the less possible unpleasant surprises await you in the future.

Help of a Russian-speaking intermediary

The third way is to use the services of an intermediary. At first glance, it may seem unnecessary, and even requiring additional financial costs. However, this particular method of finding a supplier from China is the most reliable and appropriate.

An experienced and conscientious intermediary can save you a lot of mistakes and an extra headache. It is advisable that such a company have many years of experience working with manufacturers in China, have its own representative office in this country, and the list of services includes protection from financial and legal risks.

Such an intermediary will save you a lot of time and effort. He will regularly monitor the market of Chinese manufacturers, track goods of the right quality at a bargain price, negotiate deliveries, monitor their timeliness, completeness, etc.

Naturally, for all these services you will have to pay a certain percentage. But otherwise, you will have to do all this yourself (and not the fact that successfully), spending a large amount of your time and, most likely, paying more for goods of the same quality.

What about an ad?

Some businessmen resort to an independent search, giving ads on the search for a supplier on specialized free resources. However, this method is ineffective. It is unlikely that a direct supplier from China will write you with an offer. Perhaps there will be many letters, but for the most part from sales agents, intermediaries and other interested, but not always conscientious (or even worse - from cunning scammers). Therefore, we will not advise resorting to such a search method.

Summarizing

In this article, we examined three main options for how to search for manufacturers in China and choose bona fide suppliers of products. Each of them has its pros and cons. Choose the one that suits you best, fits your financial capabilities and the ultimate goals of your search. Good luck in business with Chinese partners!