China is an ideal place to have products manufactured if an e-commerce business owner wants to get a high profit margin by sourcing products globally. Compare with US based manufacturers, the Chinese ones are difficult to beat in terms of price and quality. In addition, relaying on the developed manufacture industry, the fulfillment centers in China are more full-functional and affordable. The one-stop fulfillment service they provide can help the e-commerce business owners who source from Alibaba, Aliexpress, taobao or other China based suppliers to push their business to the next level with less hassles. Despite these facts, there are these things to consider if you decide to source from China, otherwise you may find yourself suffering from unexpected financial losses.
Language barrier & cultural difference
Don’t underestimate these two problems, they may become the deal-breaker. A lot of Chinese suppliers aren’t willing to (or can’t afford to) hire sales staff who are good at English, since they have tons of domestic buyers at hand. In this case, it will be harder for the supplier to understand exactly what you need. More than that, to be honest, Chinese people value personal relationships more than the spirit of contract. As a result, there are two options lying in front of e-commerce business owners who Sourcing from China, try to use simple words/phrases and confirm every small thing repeatedly, or cooperate with a local agent.
As an one-stop order fulfillment service provider, ChinaDivision helps customers to communicate with the suppliers and ensures that neither the language barrier nor the cultural difference can influence the business. With the help of the sales manager who can speak English and Chinese very well, ChinaDivision customers can enjoy the order fulfillment service as seamless as an in-house fulfillment team.
Idea / Design protection
It is sad to say that China is famous for counterfeits and knock-offs as well as its developed manufacture industry, so it’s essential to protect your idea/design from being copied when dealing with Chinese suppliers. Don’t show your whole idea to random Chinese manufacturer you found online, don’t let one supplier manufacture, pack and ship all of your products either. It’s dangerous to let your supplier know how to make and how to sell your products, they can make their own and sell on AliExpress without hesitation. Manufacture parts and assemble in fulfillment center is a good idea. Have the packages and products manufactured in different places and let ChinaDivision do the kitting and packing for you.
ChinaDivision not only provides kitting and assembly service, but also owns the developed warehouse management system(WMS) which is very suitable for integrating multiple suppliers. E-commerce business owners can easily manage the inventory from multiple suppliers with the organized user panel, enjoy affordable near-source fulfillment service and prevent the ideas and designs from being copied.
Fraud and scam prevention
Screening suppliers is a headache, being an e-commerce business owner who lives on the other side of the earth, you always have to beware of frauds and scams.
But how?
Send samples. Once you get some winners after the lengthy screening, ask them to send you samples. By comparing several samples, you can choose the most suitable one. Sending samples not only helps to screen suppliers, but also an important way to test the package. Testing whether the product fits perfectly in the package and weighing them helps the business owner to estimate the actual product appearance and shipping costs.
Have every batch of products inspected. Getting a satisfactory sample doesn’t mean all of the products will be equally good. A lot of e-commerce business owners get scammed because the samples are good, after ordering a lot of products from the supplier and waiting a long time, they end up getting a great pile of poorly made products at the door step. So it’s important to have every batch of products inspected. ChinaDivision helps customers to inspect the products and take photos, the e-commerce business owners can see what the products look like before the money/time consuming global shipping. This really minimizes the risk of getting scammed.