Sourcing is a function that each company defines different especially when it comes to electronics manufacturing in China, and the common practice adopted by many international businesses is to outsource the task to a China electronics sourcing agent. Though it does cost money to hire a China sourcing agent, it worth all what you’ve invested as a local perspective with right connections, expertise and record for success minimize the likelihood of chasing dead ends.
Here are six benchmarks to take into consideration while looking for a China electronics sourcing agent.
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6 Valuable Traits to Look for in a China Electronic Sourcing Agent
1. Integrity
A local China electronics sourcing agent with a track record of integrity and accountability is the second to none choice when it comes to finding the right long term partner for your company. Integrity defines whether your China electronics sourcing agent is trustworthy and reliable, whether they say what they mean and mean what they say, whether they keep their words, do what they commit to do and stay honest. The ability to trust and nurture a long term partnership is integral to business development. Whether it’s price negotiation, supplier selection, product development, quality inspection or logistics, you want to rest assured that your local sourcing agent is doing a groundwork that will deliver an upside to your profit margin.
2. Industrial Knowledge
Different from some simple knick knacks, the sourcing, quality control of electronics requires certain level of industrial expertise, preferably with a technical background or a solid knowledge about electronics if you’re buying wholesale electronics from China.
3. Quality Management
The biggest concern when sourcing from China is quality might not meet acceptable parameters, however, it can be effectively prevented with a series of quality control measures by your eyes in China – your local sourcing agent. To maximize profits, some factories in China might try all possible means to cut corners, for example, replacing original materials with inferior quality ones that cost less or cutting off certain manufacturing processes. Without proper quality management measures throughout every step of the manufacturing process, you might end up getting products compromised in quality.
Bad business practices do exist in every part of the world, and it’s not uncommon to run across some cunning factory guys who might seem reliable at the beginning, but you can never be too careless to trust any factories in China with the responsibilities of quality control. A sure fire way is to entrust a strategic, experienced China electronics sourcing agent with the tasks of quality control.
Providing quality control at every process of the production can help eliminate potential risks, and carry out early corrections to avoid transportation fees and other fees caused by substandard products.
It’s vital to make sure your China electronics sourcing agent have a technical background or with enriching experience in electronic industry especially related to the manufacturing of your products. In this case, they’re more capable of translating your needs to the electronic manufacturers, and spot mistakes in quality inspection process.
Instead of worrying helplessly about the urgent situations occurred oceans apart, you can rest assure there is a great team dedicated to solving the problems and ensuring things go on the right track.
Taking risk is unavoidable in any business, however, a sourcing partner with risk mitigating ability can take your business to the next level. When assessing a sourcing agent’s risk mitigating ability, it’s vital to take into account what services they provide. Companies with sourcing and supply chain management services tend to be more capable of coding with unexpected circumstances.
4. Connections
The best China electronics sourcing agents dedicate years to build an ecosystem of supply chain with manufactures and carriers. Their network is constantly vetted to ensure there’s a pool of trustworthy, qualified partners to fulfill quality orders.
In China, it takes time to cultivate a relationship especially with new suppliers, however, if it’s an introduction from a trusted friend, it can swiftly elevate a conversation and provide a level of trust.
5. Transparency
Transparency and visibility is a must in the supply chain, and your China electronics sourcing agent should keep all information accessible to you. For example, the source of the products, unit price, other expenses, frequent updates of production progress, shipping status, etc.
To stay ahead of the rat race, there’re some dishonest China electronics sourcing agents charging as little as 1-5% of total buying amount or offering free sourcing services by secretly taking hidden commissions from the manufacturers.
In most cases, customers would prefer transferring the total buying amount to the buying agent’s company bank account and ask the agent to pay the factory on their behalf. The truth is, company taxes as much as 10-20% would be directly applied to the agent, which means your agent might risk paying 10-20% taxes from the money you transfer to them but they only charge 1-5%. There’s no free lunch in the world. If you expect 100% transparency from your China electronics sourcing agent, it’s suggested to understand all the costs involved, pay a reasonable service fee to them and keep everything as transparent and professional.
6. Risk Control
The greatest pitfall while sourcing overseas is there’s a risk that things could easily go wrong even you have put many safeguards in place. However, things can turn the other way round with proper measures taken to prevent small hiccups snowballing into pricey risks. Having a dedicated, experienced team on site and constantly monitor the production process can be one of the most effective tools to curb potential risks.
With local sourcing agents speaking the same language, coming from the same background and working in the same time zone, communication with your electronic manufacturer is simply a breeze. As immediately as something unexpected happens, your China electronics sourcing agents can take swift measures to solve the problems whether it’s from disruptions in the supply chain or problems with international shipping.
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