Sourcing suppliers in China to outsource your production requires a few precautions to ensure you get quality items on time. Discover our tips for sourcing fashion products in China.
Preparations before sourcing
Sourcing in China requires a great deal of preparation in order to find suppliers and interact with them.
First of all, it's essential to understand the Chinese business culture. This country is home to some very good business people, but they don't have the same way of working as we do. Once you've got to grips with their way of working, you'll find it easier to build up a relationship of trust with your suppliers. The quality of fashion products and the timing of production will be all the better for it.
Language is a very important factor when dealing with future suppliers. While fluency in English is a very good point, it would be ideal to have excellent notions of Mandarin, a plus that proves your commitment to the collaboration. Chinese suppliers appreciate this linguistic effort, which facilitates exchanges.
Don't forget that you're sourcing products for customers, so it's important to put yourself in the future buyer's shoes. You need to identify the important points that customers consider before ordering fashion products. This will enable you to emphasize certain elements that are important for your products, and create good relationships with your suppliers.
How do you source reliable suppliers?
If you want to outsource your production to China, you need to find suppliers who can make quality fashion products.
You can find suppliers on sites such as Alibaba (prefer the "Gold" acronym), Made-In-China, Globalsources and HKTDC, to contact and compare different suppliers. Social networks are also an excellent way to get in touch with Chinese suppliers: on Facebook, groups such as China Sourcing and China Export & Import exist to engage in discussions and identify potential suppliers.
If you have the opportunity to travel to China (which is highly recommended), you can attend fairs such as the one in Guangzhou, where you can meet people face-to-face.
If you're not fluent enough in Mandarin, you can have a local representative in the area where you're sourcing. Their presence in China and ability to communicate in Mandarin will make it easier for you to find trusted suppliers. This could be an employee, a partner, an expatriate...
Ideally, it's best to use a sourcing company that can handle any problems that may arise. It will be more convenient for you to start a fashion production business with a company that has a good address book in the industry and is familiar with Chinese and French regulations.
Sourcing suppliers is an important step in producing quality fashion products. But once the suppliers have been found, the work isn't over: regular checks must be carried out to ensure product quality over the long term.
The fashion market in China is constantly expanding, and products are gaining in quality thanks to the emergence of talented designers. If you are interested in working with China, ISAL Paris offers training to develop your international business.
