You might already know China is “Factory of the World”.
But do you know how to find a manufacturer in China? We’re talking about a good and real factory that’s 100% qualified as your supplier.
Not so easy, Huh?
In this guide I’m going to show you everything you need to find a manufacturer in China.
In fact:
These are the exact strategies we used to build supply chain for our clients.
Yes, even if you don’t get to go to China in person in 2022 because of the epidemic, the tips described in this article still work.
Let’s dive right in.
misconcepetion of finding manufacturer in china
Part 1. The Top 8 Misconceptions About Finding A Manufacture In China
1. “Manufacturers or factories are better than trading companies.”
While this may be true in some cases, it isn’t always the case. In this blog post, we’ll let you know when it is better to choose a trading company over a manufacturer or factory.
2. “I need to find a reliable manufacturer to make all my products.”
Every buyer wants to find a reliable manufacturer. However, this does not mean one manufacturer should handle the production of all your products. A real manufacturer usually focuses on producing a certain type of product.
3. “The best manufacturer is the one offering the best price.”
There’s no simple way to decide this. The best thing to do is carefully compare each product. And even if you have two different samples from two different manufacturers, and the samples are simply the same, you need to remember that you’re looking for a partner and not just a product. China factory sourcing is not just about getting the lowest price, you can take a look at the article ‘how to verify your Chinese suppliers’.
4. “iPhones are made in China. Therefore, the prices would be much lower if you’re able to find the real manufacturer of the iPhone.”
You cannot buy iPhones directly from the manufacturer. This is because they already have an agreement with Apple Inc. The same thing applies to companies like LV and Sony. You cannot buy a LV bag or Sony camera from their respective factories either.
Now, you may be thinking, ‘but is there any way to copy the success of these famous brands?” Yes, of course! Which is why you are going to love this article, i will explain in detail later.
5. “I can find manufacturers on Google or Alibaba.com.”
It’s easy to find suppliers on Alibaba.com. However, finding a real manufacturer as well as a suitable supplier would be a real hassle. Most times, the suppliers that are displayed at the top of search results are there because they have paid the advertisement fee.
So, how about Google? To get the answer to this question, you might want to read more on part 6.
6. “Do you have a list of the best manufacturers?”
There is no “best manufacturer” for everyone. You can only find the best manufacturers for you. This is because every buyer have their own unique requirement. And every manufacturer have their own positioning. So, never ask for a list of manufacturers. You need to know that there is no shortcut if you seriously want to build your business.
7. “The manufacturer will know the compliance needed for my product.”
The truth of the matter is that most manufacturers only know how to make a product. They will create your product and ensure that it meets your requirements. However, they don’t know much about the certificate and compliance of your country.
8. “I have to personally be in China to find manufacturers for my products.”
If you have the budget, this is simply the best thing to do. However, this may not be true for every buyer as there are different buyer stages.
During Covid-19 in 2022, all travelers must present two negative tests — PCR and antibody tests — taken within 48 hours of travel.
Part 2. Why Should You Find A Manufacturers In China?
Finding a manufacturer in China is simply the best way to start an import business. But, do you know why? Let’s dive in.
1. Why is China the Place to Source Manufacturers From?
- Low-cost Production
Rich resources and cheap labor that will significantly reduce production cost. Also, the pragmatic and diligent virtue of the Chinese makes them trustworthy partners.
- Great Choice Manufacturers
With a large population, vast land, and many years of experience in processing, China has been able to spawn out many experienced factories.
- Complete Infrastructure
Experienced in processing and production. Produces export products all year round. Already possesses the perfect infrastructure and environment, from raw materials to logistics.
- Various Industry Clusters
The industrial clusters are well developed and many. In China, each region has its own industry positioning. This makes every individual manufacturer better
Advantages of find ing manufacturers in china
2. Manufacturers or Factories are better than Trading Companies – Sometimes, not always
Many importers prefer working with factories instead of trading companies for one solid reason:
To get a lower price.
A true and experienced manufacturer in your industry will be invaluable to you in the long run.
However, this isn’t always the case. It totally depends on your business model. We’ve worked with several western wholesalers, who required different types of products. They would still prefer working with trading companies or Chinese manufacturing agents, because at the end of the day, these suppliers would be taking a lot of headaches away from them.
If you are a small company planning to order several hundreds of units per style from a sizeable factory, you are to expect one of two outcomes:
The company either ignores you. Or accepts your order and still don’t give you a good price as you expected.
3. Some of the Reasons Why You Cannot Find the Perfect Manufacturer
- You don’t know where to find a manufacturer in China
- You don’t know or have the skills and methods to find a manufacturer
- You don’t know what the metrics for the best manufacturer/factory is.
Some of the Reasons Why You Cannot Find the Perfect Manufacturer in China
The drawbacks listed above are the major factors blocking you from finding a factory.
Here is everything you need to know on how to find the best manufacturers in China. Are you ready? Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started.
Part 3. Where Do You Begin Your Search To Find A Manufacturer In China?
In order to help you jump-start your search, we have gathered the best methods available. These methods are bound to help you get a manufacturer for your product:
- Online Free Wholesale Marketplace
This includes online marketplaces such as Alibaba.com, Global-sources.com, Dhgate.com, and Made-in-China.com.
On these types of websites, you won’t only find products that are similar to what you want, you’ll also see that capability of each manufacturer. If you dig deeper, you’ll be able to get information such as their business licenses, business categories, addresses, etc.
Now, you may feel you should have no trouble getting a good supplier, right? Not so fast. Sourcing for a product on these online suppliers marketplace is not 100% hassle-free. Usually, you’ll find suppliers in categories such as “Gold Supplier,” “Verified,” “Manufacturer,” “Trading Company” showing up when you search for some certain products.
But the truth is, some of the factories are not real factories even though they are labelled as “Manufacturer.” They usually have absolutely no control over the manufacturing process.
Here is an example to help you determine the real manufacturer:
We searched for “spinner” on Alibaba. This company that was labelled “Gold Supplier, Manufacturer, and Trading Company” showed up. When we clicked on the link, we found out that the name of this company is “XX Bag. Co, Ltd.”
In China, a company name actually includes a brief description of the company’s main activity. This bag supplier is actually a bag manufacturer but they also sell spinners as a trading business. So, when you’re looking for spinner manufacturers, the one below should not be in your list of potential suppliers.
On Alibaba there are some manufacturers marked as ‘Verified.’ This label shows that they did factory audits, verified their production line, etc. However, this only proves that they are a manufacturer of their main products, not necessarily all the products they put on the Alibaba website. Beware of this. Ensure that you avoid any supplier labelled as a “trading factory” when you trying to find a manufacturer in China.
- Social Networks – LinkedIn and Facebook Groups
More Chinese manufacturers are realizing that building a company profile can help them get access to foreign buyers. Therefore, you can search by “industry + manufacturer” on these two social networks to find a manufacturer in China. Doing this may lead you to the profile of the factory you are in need of.
Instead of doing the first screening, you can opt for the social media option. Using social media to double-check your candidate is a really great option.
The only downside is that you may not get many supplier options from these social networks. This is because many Chinese manufacturers still don’t have a social account for their companies.
- Google’s Search Engine
Using the correct keyword is very important. People use different keywords for marketing because of culture difference. Most of these manufacturers are not good at English marketing. Therefore, they may not use the common keywords a western entrepreneur would use.
So, changing your keywords in different ways and different forms is necessary. You can adopt the following method:
“Keyword’ + manufacturer + China
“Keyword’ + wholesale + manufacturer + China
“Keyword’ + factory + China
“Keyword’ + factory + wholesale + China
Google is no doubt the most powerful search engine. But when it comes to looking for manufacturers in China, you won’t get much information. We will cover the reason why that happens in a later chapter at the end of this article.
- Referrals
Ask your friends, relatives, or partners to see if they can introduce you to an overseas country, contact or middleman. Many of our customers are as a result of introductions made by one client to the other.
For example, one of our customers who made a smart-watch introduced a friend of his who wanted to make an outdoor solar electronic products. He let us help him find the manufacturer and made the finished product.
- Local Industry Trade Association or Chamber of Commerce
The local industry trade association is a bridge for Sino-foreign trade cooperation. The Chamber of Commerce also organizes study tours by organizing various exhibitions, promotion meetings, conferences, and other business activities to help companies promote products and services, find business partners, and serve as member units. Start utilizing the “going out” strategy to build your business.
- Chinese or Global Industry Trade Fair
Trade shows are still some of the most efficient ways to find a reliable manufacturer in today’s world.
Nowadays, Chinese suppliers go to famous industry exhibitions around the world to participate in the show. You can spend a few days meeting a large number of suppliers and having face-to-face communication with them.
- Sourcing Companies
Finding a professional and reliable partner to help you with your importation business is quite common. Especially since the local experts know how to check the legitimacy of the manufacturer in their local way.
They’ll be able to help you ascertain the best manufacturer in your industry as well as provide you with some local business hacks. This kind of local, professional agent company is invaluable. They can save you a lot of time and money.
Part 4. How Do I Filter The Best Chinese Manufacturer
1. Manufacturer Classification – Things You Should Know in Advance
In order to get the perfect manufacturer for your business capability, you must first ensure that you clearly understand your needs. You are in for a treat because we have put together a complete list to help you out.
The categories to help you choose Chinese manufacturers are:
- By Scale– Small factory, large factory (depends on the number of workers and number of production lines).
- By Production Stage– Raw material factory, mold factory, injection mold factory, assembly factory, electroplating factory, packaging factory, and more.
- By Geographic Area– Here, we are going to provide you with a list of few industrial places:
Home textile supply industry can be found in Nantong
The sports shoes and business bag pack can be found in Quanzhou
The eyewear industry is in Wenzhou
The underwear industry is in Shantou
USB flash drives, electronics, mobile phones, and earphones industries can be found in Shenzhen.
We should highlight the Pearl River Delta industry cluster too.
Guangdong has multiple industrial clusters in China because of its variety, such as accessories including jewelry (silver, gold, jade, and gemstones), watches, high-quality bags and suitcase, clothing, (including T-shirts, jeans, and evening dresses), the beauty industry including skin care, and cosmetics such as eyelashes, mascara, and others.
Kitchen furniture can be found in Foshan
Lighting can be found in Zhongshan.
china manufacturing map industrial cluster
You need to identify the industry clusters or wholesale hubs related to your products and their raw materials. Following the industry cluster to find factories will let you achieve twice the result with half the effort.
2. Match Your Requirements to the Manufacturer’s Classification
If you would like to find a manufacturer in China as your long term partner you need to ensure that they are measured according to your own situation, targeted prices, and sales volume.
For instance, in our customer’s case, her shop needed 3000-5000 pieces of apparel per month. What we did was find her a factory with a scale of 30-50 people.
If the monthly sales volume is around 10,000 to 50,000 pcs, then you’ll need a manufacturer with a scale of 50-100 people to work with.
If you are a small buyer or startup ecommerce entrepreneur, you can choose a small or medium-sized manufacturer.
When you become bigger and you start estimating larger quantities of products, such as thousands of units per one SKU, then you may need to find a bigger factory with larger production capacity.
3. Methods of Comparing Manufacturers
First of all, the first layer is a visual comparison. You can make a table form in advance. This table will include basic metric such as the ones below.
- Company name
- Address
- Year of establishment
- Similar product link. Or related skill product link.
- Experience of exporting to your country
- Documentary (business license, quality document, certification).
By making your observations based on the criteria above, choose about 10 good potential suppliers to dig deep into.
The second thing is to filter through their communication.
Because of the factors affecting communication, positive response from the supplier may directly affect the mass production process of your products in future. Therefore, the communication part is not only about them being able to produce your products and meet your expectations. You should also consider other factors during the negotiation process.
Here are the things you need to know during the communication process. These factors will help you ask each supplier the same question, thereby providing you with the ability to make horizontal comparisons.
1. Email Access
For customers who have prepared their designs, ask the supplier whether they have the ability to provide you with a prototype, as well as mass production in future.
For customers who need stock, special neutral packaging, or OEM packaging, clearly ask them if they have any stock or not, and whether they can provide the above services.
When you first communicate with the supplier, you can briefly introduce yourself and attach the supplier’s product link to explain that the product has similar functions to the product you designed.
Ask the supplier if they can make it and express the hope of communicating with them in detail. The description shouldn’t be too long. Short and clear emails will get a higher response.
Since suppliers are very busy, they tend to get a lot of mails every day. If the mail is too long, they won’t take a good look at it. And if the mail is too short without stating or expressing your plans and intentions, the supplier will ignore it. This is a normal occurrence. Every supplier follows the 80/20 rule.
If you are going to be involved in the invention of the product, after you have briefly introduced the product you designed, ensure that the supplier signs a NNN (non-disclosure, non-use, non-circumvention) agreement first before releasing the drawings, material requirements, and needed technology for further discussions.
2. Ask for a sample fee after getting a reply to your first email.
Some customized products require mold costs, special techniques, professional skills, electronic accessories, etc. with the PCB factory. Therefore, samples usually require a cost.
Ask for the sample fee after stating the sample requirements. The sample fee can be refunded when you place an order that covers a certain amount. This should be made clear in advance.
3. Minimum order quantity
Chinese factory’s MOQ (minimum order quantity)
The main factor to consider when investing in a particular production is the minimum order quantity. This is the predetermined quantity required by the manufacturer. It indicates the least number of goods that must be reached when they are ready to manufacture your product.
This may be any number between 100-1000, depending on the type of product you are making, the size of the manufacturer’s company, and the profitability of the product. Therefore, the supplier’s MOQ is also one of the factors we consider.
For instance, if your product requires specialized machinery, skills, or mold, your minimum order quantity may be relatively high. In this case, the production of your product requires the manufacturer to invest their time and money. Therefore, they’ll need to make it worthwhile.
In the early stage, it is best that you control the minimum order quantity. This is because the products are in their discovery stage, they cannot guarantee sales, and there is no guarantee that your products will do well either. In fact, in some cases, it may be better to accept a higher unit price in order to reduce the MOQ of your first order.
4. Mass Production Price
When it comes to quotation, it is best that you make careful comparisons. A formal product quotation should include:
- Product photo
- Product specification
- Incoterms (FOB, EXW, or CNF, etc.)
- Production lead time
- The quantity on which the quotation is based.
There are times when the products are totally new. Therefore, you may not know the price until the prototype is completed. However, you may be able to get a rough idea of the price range from the manufacturer.
As you may well know, if the finished product is way beyond your expectations, then there is no need to create samples. Because even if you create it, you won’t be able to afford it.
5. Ask for sample lead time
When you’ve understood and accepted the points above, the next thing to do is to confirm the sample time. Since you are all set for the sample, time is now an essential factor to you. When you have a clear definition of the sample lead time, you’ll be able to handle other things.
Ensure that you have made the right preparations as the products might be sent back and forth for a long time. During this sample process, you will be able to detect if the manufacturer is reliable or not.
Some companies promise to make prompt sample deliveries, but they end up disappointing their clients. After that, they delay the sample and stop communicating frequently.
This infrequent communication can help you judge the ability, attitude, and responsibility of the supplier. Therefore, pay close attention to the communication process as it’s one of the best deciders for your judgment.
6. Mass production lead time
As an entrepreneur, you should know that time is money. Therefore, the shorter the lead time, the better. Mass production lead time is often related to production capacity and the production schedule of a manufacturer.
7. Terms of payment
Different manufacturers have different terms of payment. The most common terms are T/T, Western Union, MoneyGram, and PayPal.
At the end of the second round screening, it would be a great result if you have two or more potential manufacturers.
Now that you have selected the factories to work with, it’s time to start the sample production and see who produces the best product at the best price.
Part 5. What Problems Will You Have When Working With A Factory?
Nowadays, it’s easy to find a manufacturer in China, but it’s not easy to find a good and reliable one. There are many things that could go wrong. Ensure that you do not learn your lessons the hard way:
- Misunderstanding
- Non-responsiveness
- Delay in production
- Defective products
- Unauthorized use of intellectual property.
1. Five Tips to Help You Deal With a Manufacturer
Actually, dealing with factories is a cumbersome process. You need to pay attention to:
Five Tips to Help You Deal With a Manufacturer in China
1. The initial cooperation must require a NNN (non-disclosure, non-use, non-circumvention) agreement in order to prevent the factory from being destroyed. As an importer, you may have heard a lot about the NDA. In fact, most importers know a lot about NDAs.
However, NDA agreements are U.S. style agreements that narrowly focuses on preventing secret information from being revealed to the public. While NNN agreements prevent your products from being used by a Chinese factory.
2. Before you start working with a factory, you need to check the factory’s business license as mentioned above. If a factory does not have a business license, then it’s best that you don’t cooperate with them.
3. Before you place an order, you need to have a clear communication on what a complete product includes.
Let’s take an apparel for instance, it usually includes clothing, hang tags, care label, packaging bags and accessories, etc.
Different products have different parts’ requirements. If it’s the first cooperation, you must ensure to communicate clearly.
4. Verify sample product quality. Once you’ve received feedback from several manufacturers, choose the ones you like best and ask for a sample product.
It’s actually rare for you to find a manufacturer that will get it right the first time. So don’t worry if there are slight disparities in the sample and your prototype. You might need to go back and forth a few times to fine-tune the sample until you are satisfied.
Both the importer and factory must keep the samples, take the parameters of the correct sample as the standard, and use this standard as a pre-production sample. Clearly inform the large-scale production factory to use the sample as the standard to sign the contract.
5. Mass production quality check. During the initial production, it is best to go to the factory for field visits, especially if the order volume is large or if it involves a huge amount.
You can make personal visitations or hire a local company to visit the company on your behalf. Doing this will help you avoid the miscalculation of the production lead time due to lack of understanding of the capability of the factory.
Part 6. Frequently Asked Questions On Finding A Manufactuer In China
Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about how to source for manufacturers in China. Let’s take a brief look at some of the Q & As of this topic:
Q & A of finding manufacturer in China
1. Why Can I Not Find A Manufacturer in China for My Special Products?
There are some special products that are made by small factories. But the problem is, these factories are hard to find online. Generally, factories are usually focused on one or several types of products, because, after all, the production line isn’t casually built.
For instance, finding a factory that can make Hemp cotton woven bracelet is very hard. Since this is totally handcrafted, manufacturers will either have workers who are into handcrafting or outsource the job to handcraft workers in order to make this product.
Small factories will most likely have to deal with trading companies. This is why it’s hard to find them online.
2. Is The Manufacturer of Many Products a Good Manufacturer?
The answer is no. Many of the different types of products that we sometimes see on Alibaba.com ranges from fashion accessories to electronics. And the company’s introduction is manufacturer or trading company.
You need to pay attention to the fact that it may be a factory with import and export license to run trading business. There would be only one product they are good at. However, their main product may not be very popular. Therefore, it is necessary for them to sell other products in order to increase sales.
This manufacturer neither has a real factory nor a professional trading company. A real factory usually focuses on a specific area because it involves the arrangement of a production line and the recruitment of professional workers. The more professional, the better.
We should avoid working with the so-called “comprehensive manufacturer.”
3. Why Does Google Have Less Information About Manufacturers in China?
why there is so little information of manufacturer in China on google
We are usually not able to find suppliers on Google. Chinese suppliers rarely make internet promotions or create marketing advertisements online.
Because of the emphasis on production, no import and export license, and the main customers are usually domestic trading companies, there is usually no need to do SEO on Google.
Trading companies, on the other hand, export their products to foreign countries, have rich experience in marketing, and know how to create targeted ads on Google. Therefore, you find very few manufacturers under Google’s search results.
What’s more? Most of the small-scale manufacturers cannot speak English. This is because most people only work on production and product-related work, and only talk to domestic retailers. They feel the cost for setting up an English sales team and an English website is too expensive. After all, they are doing great just by relying on domestic traders.
Since their customer base is filled with domestic traders, they would rather publish to China’s domestic B2B platform, 1688.com. There are more suppliers on this website than Alibaba.
However, the Chinese language is really important on 1688.com. And since there are more traders on 1688.com than on Alibaba, getting real manufacturers isn’t easy.
4. Should I Go To China To Visit My Manufacturer?
There are a lot of benefits to enjoy when you make personal visits to your manufacturer rather than having an online conversation with them. You will:
- Know your suppliers’ real situations
- Get a better quotation
- Touch and test products
However, you also need to know that visiting a manufacturer is time consuming and expensive because:
- Lots of work and preparations need to be done
- The distance between each supplier might not be favorable
- International flight costs
This is why most buyers normally spend 5-7 days to find a manufacturer in China. However, we still recommend that buyers visit their suppliers in China as long as you have the budget.
It is, however, not a standard requirement for all buyers. For buyers with the following characteristics, visiting China may not be for you:
- Need lots of SKU
- Small order size.
As you may know, Chinese factories tend to gather in a certain area based on the industry cluster. If your plan is to launch over 10 SKU, and the quantity of each SKU isn’t that large, then visiting the manufacturer is probably not worth it.
5. Can I Approach Some of The Best Manufacturers in Guangzhou? Do You Have A List of Factory Contacts?
When developing a business strategy, you need to identify what the best factory for you is.
There are companies that are looking for cheap production manufacturers. Price competitive manufacturers are the best type for these companies.
Then there are companies that are looking for quality-oriented manufacturers. Companies with industry certification and qualified factory management are the best choices for this category.
The important thing here is for you to first understand your business model as well as your needs. Then you can set goals that will allow you to get close to the “best manufacturer.”
6. Can I Find A Famous Brand Manufacturer in China?
No, you can’t. As an importer, it is difficult to find the real manufacturers of branded products because of patent or copyright issues. Since the famous brand has signed a NNN agreement with their Chinese factory, every information will be kept secret.
Neither manufacturer nor importer will release information pertaining to the activities they are carrying out for a famous brand. Therefore, there is no way to purchase the products of a famous brand directly from the manufacturer.
However, based on our experience, it is not impossible to find out who the supplier behind a famous brand is. If you like the quality, materials, or specifications of these brands, you can find qualified factories that can provide you with similar products, but in your own brand.
Of course, these materials and specifications should be without copyright and patent issues. For instance, if you like the apparel of a famous brand due to the quality of their cozy fabric, you can get access to the manufacturer, provide them with your own design, and they will create your own product for you, ensuring that you are satisfied.
After working with these kind of factories on your own label products, you may become the next winner.
Looking for manufacturers for your business is an ongoing process. It’s either you spend time on it or your team does. There is no perfect rule to help you decide who the best manufacturer is.
You just have to make your research, and decide on which supplier is great for you, depending on what you have on your list.
Now it is your turn
What products are you currently working on?
What part of importing from China is the most challenging for you?
And what would you like to know more about on how to find a manufacturer in China?
Leave your comment below. I’d like to hear from you.