How to Find a Manufacturer in China – The Proven Guide (2022)

Finding a manufacturer in China can seem like quite a daunting task, especially if you are doing it for the first time. Business owners who are intimidated by the enormous task at hand can take heart from (yes!) a Chinese proverb:

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

这是一个很好的建议。如果您将任务分为小步骤，并一次专注于每个任务，那么您将在不知不觉中从中国进口第一批货物。

So where do you start? This read will walk you through how to find a manufacturer in China.

您首先需要建立一个制造所需产品的中国供应商的入围名单。

Step 1: How to find a manufacturer in China

The internet:The internet is the default option for many people seeking to source products from China. More than a general Google, Bing or Yahoo search, hitting B2B platforms may be more helpful. These are online sourcing platforms such as阿里巴巴,Global SourcesandMade in China, which connect buyers to Chinese manufacturers. Finding a supplier on these sites is as easy as typing in your requirements in the search bar. It helps if you are specific here. For instance, instead of “brass locks”, you could search specifically for “brass die cast drawer and cabinet locks”.

Since there are thousands of suppliers in China, you could filter them depending on reviews, and the platform’s rating process before shortlisting them.

阿里巴巴, for instance, gives its suppliers “gold” ratings, which purchasers see as a sign of trustworthiness. Similarly, Global Sources has a “verified supplier” category.

Look for manufacturers, not resellers or traders.

尽管这些资源对于入围名单很有用，但重要的是要记住，搜索引擎和采购平台抛弃的许多企业可能是经销商，而不是制造商。beplay足球ios 下载如果您要购买beplay足球ios 下载零售产品，例如beauty products，玩具，衣服或便宜的电子产品，当您需要必须满足特定技术要求的产品时，例如铸造，metal stampingandplastic molding manufacturing最好直接识别制造商和来源。最重要的是，这也降低了成本。您可以在验证供应商的同时淘汰经销商（稍后再详细介绍）。

“Gold” or “verified ratings” are not the last word on trustworthiness。What you also need to remember is that any supplier who pays Alibaba an annual fee for premium membership can get gold supplier status, which increases the vendor’s visibility on the site.

Similarly, tags like “verified supplier” could simply mean that the supplier has been verified by a third party and the company physically exists. It does not necessarily mean that the B2B platform has checked if the company is what it is claiming to be – a manufacturer as opposed to a trader or reseller. It also does not mean that their stated manufacturing capabilities and production capacity have been verified.

These terms are therefore useful in filtering your search results but should not be taken as the last word on the trustworthiness of the companies you find on these platforms.

Industry network:Another useful resource is your own industry network. This could include recommendations from trade bodies, your business contacts in the industry and even other companies.

Trade fairs:If you are up to it, visiting a trade fair in China is an excellent way to find manufacturers or suppliers. But your ability to spend that amount of time and money will depend on the size of your business, the kind of products that you want outsourced and, of course, your budget.

Visiting such fairs will help you understand why China is called theworld’s factory。It will also give you a sense of what is available in the market. Some global brands also visit the bigger fairs for the sole purpose of保护他们的知识产权，通过确定在这些事件中展示的假冒物并针对其制造商发起诉讼。

China’s largest trade fair is theCanton Fair, which is held in Guangzhou (formerly Canton) twice a year, in April and October. This mega fair attracts close to26,000 exhibitors and 180,000 buyers from across the worldand is a good experience for those seeking to scope out the market, looking for new products to add to their inventories.

The Canton Fair has been described as“the trade show of everything”and this is precisely the reason it is a good starting point for how to find a manufacturer in China.

有较小的博览会，例如China Diecasting fair, an annual exhibition that is being held in Shanghai. It brings together manufacturers, die casting foundries, suppliers of material, equipment and accessories under one roof and usually attracts some 450 die casting enterprises as exhibitors and 19,000 visitors.

另外，如果您不想去中国，您可以查看美国吸引中国制造商的贸易展览会，例如The National Hardware Show, which has a section oninternational sourcing。它每年在拉斯维加斯举行。

There is also theIMT或国际制造技术展, which is held every even-numbered year in Chicago. It attracts buyers and sellers from 117 countries.

At these exhibitions you could build contacts with exhibitors of products similar to what you are looking to outsource. But do remember, you are likely to find a limited pool of suppliers from China to choose from at such US-based events.

Sourcing agents:Businesses that are relatively new to outsourcing could team up with sourcing agents who will help them identify suppliers and guide them through the process step by step.

beplay体育app官网地址, for instance, has been helping companies in the US and Western Europe manufacture and source goods from China, India and Eastern Europe for over a decade, and has aproven sourcing process。

Our multicultural team由英国、美国和瑞典的外籍人士living in China for years takes care of a lot of the research and due diligence that buyers must do while looking for a manufacturer in China.

Our team guides purchasers through the process of getting quotes from a supplier, reviewing the quotes, evaluating factories in China, resolving any issues that crop up, drawing up payment terms, managing the complexities of communicating your manufacturing requirements, quality control inspections, shipping and transportation, administration and ensure that the goods arrive at your desired location as scheduled.

中国是巨大的，实际上应该被认为是许多不同的地区，而不是一个大区域。好的采购代理将beplay足球ios 下载能够识别最适合您的低成本区域。例如，您可能能够找到适合您在几个中国省份需求的制造商，但是在吉安格省发现了大量的铸造和塑料制造商，在铸造和塑料制造商中，您更有可能在广东省找到更多的消费电子制造商。

You will need to put in work too, of course, but relying on experience within the sourcing field will help you avoid common mistakes and ensure that your outsourcing project is successful from the start. Once your sourcing partner knows your expectations and needs, the process to outsource your next product or component will be pretty straightforward.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of suppliers/manufacturers

Your initial searches will throw up a number of potential suppliers and you will need to cut this list down further. You can do this by contacting each of them, telling them your requirements such as:

• 您期望制造的组件的详细信息 - 指定这些组件是否需要铸造，金属冲压或塑料注塑成型。
• Yourminimum order quantity or MOQ.
• Whether you need a prototype to be developed, need the manufacturer to help develop your design further or have a mould already. (Experience tells us that factory owners in China are not really keen on “development” projects as these projects consume a lot of time and cost a lot of money with no clear end in sight. Usually endless modifications are needed to tooling and this generally results in delays and additional expense.)
• The material you expect to be used for the manufacture of your component.
• The price per item.

You could also ask them for more information about themselves, which will help you with the verification process (more on that later). This could be details such as:

• Whether they specialise in manufacturing the component you require.
• 他们从事业务多长时间。
• Whether they already export to the US or other western countries.
• 它们的最小订单数量或订单。
• Their business licences.
• Any certifications that they have related to their production capability.

这是一个专业提示：When you contact suppliers in order to draw up a shortlist, do create a separate email to send out these enquiries as your inbox is likely to be be clogged by the responses many months after you first send them out.

您可以根据自己的响应来入围潜在的制造商。在许多点上对它们进行评估。例如，选择专注于您要寻找的组成部分而不是组件的组成部分的制造商，因为专业知识始终是有价值的。您还可以优先考虑已经向国外供应客户的中国制造商，因为他们会熟悉西方质量的期望，对海关需求的挑剔以及国际运输的复杂物流。

Step 3: Verify the credentials

You now need to verify their credentials. While some obvious information is available online and they may have supplied you with some information too, you need to evaluate:

1. Whether they are indeed the factory and not a middleman.
2. 他们是否具有技术专长和生产能力来交付他们可以交付的内容。

您可以通过多种方式做到这一点。除了索取其业务许可证和其他认证外，还要索取工厂的审计帐户，检查其增值税发票并索取产品样本。您还可以识别工厂的中文名称，其位置和地方政府办公室，其管辖权属于其管辖权。该办公室将拥有工厂的注册记录，您可以用来验证他们提供给您的详细信息。

知道哪个中国地区专门从事您想要制造的产品，这也是从制造商那里淘汰经销商的一种方法。例如，在省省发现了大量的铸造和塑料制造商。因此，如果您发现供应商位于另一个省，该公司比制造商更有可能成为经销商，并且您可能想从列表中删除该名称。

Many people in the sourcing business would also recommend that you make a trip to visit shortlisted factories in China before you finalise on a manufacturer. It is common for buyers to combine such trips with visits to a trade fair or two so that they get maximum bang for their buck. Alternatively, a good sourcing agent will do this China factory verification for you.

最后,你已经知道你想要什么OURCE?

这article was written with the assumption that you have already identified what component or part you want outsourced.

Just in case you are unsure what that is, here is what you must do before you even hit the internet to look for Chinese manufacturers.

First, take a close look at your full range of products and components. Not everything is suited for manufacturing in China or other low-cost regions across the globe.

您要确保要移动的产品具有足够大的美元价值和数量，以改变您的财务报表。产品需要成熟，剩下大量产品生命周期。原型和创新很少符合此描述。您希望您投入外包的时间和精力值得您一段时间。beplay足球ios 下载

I suggest starting small with a narrow scope. Choose a very well-defined product or component with great, up-to-date drawings. You want to get a small, quick win so that everyone in your team stays motivated.

Make sure your product drawings and specifications are up to date. You know your products best and all that knowledge needs to be communicated to whoever is going to make them. If your drawings are full of red felt pen comments, it will be wise to get all of that into new drawing revisions. Keeping drawings and specifications in great shape is mandatory and will pay dividends in the long run.

Make sure that potential issues in manufacturing are identified. Any problems you have now will rarely disappear when being made in a low-cost environment across the globe. Do not get me wrong. There are tons of very capable manufacturers out there, but they need to know what you know and you must highlight potential issues to address them.

Your products do not need to be labor intensive for you to move to a low-cost manufacturing environment, but outsourcing labor intensive products is more likely to have a greater impact on your cost savings. The value-add in your products makes a difference too. For instance, sending an I-beam to China for a few holes to be drilled into it does not make much sense. However, outsourcing the manufacturing of products and components that require extensive machining can provide substantial cost savings.

beplay足球ios 下载beplay体育app官网地址采购盟友是一支由中国专家采购代理商组成的团队，自2006年以来帮助西方客户从低成本地区生产和采购产品。

For more onChina sourcingvisit ourwebsiteor write to us atinfo@sourcingallies.com。