I’ll be the first to admit, manufacturing across the world can be scary. With language and culture barriers, you often don’t know what to expect. Even with these barriers, the pros of manufacturing in China far outweigh the cons. To address your fear of language barriers, almost every manufacturer you’ll be dealing with has English speaking sales reps. Though you shouldn’t be using complex words with these people, they can pretty much comprehend whatever you send their way. Additionally, Chinese people look up to western culture and will quickly note the ways you wish to interact with them.
Thinking that you need to meet your Chinese manufacturer face to face is false. I’ve done dozens of deals remotely and trust can be established through steady communication. If you aren’t convinced, below are the top three reasons to manufacturer in China:
“Thinking that you need to meet your Chinese manufacturer face to face is false. I’ve done dozens of deals remotely and trust can be established through steady communication. If you aren’t convinced, below are the top three reasons to manufacturer in China..”
Better Service. Though this may sound surpisrising at first, after you speak to people who have manufacturered domestically and in China, most will say that the Chinese were much more willing to do business. This is vital when you’re a startup, as you’ll have low order quantities and it can often be hard to get the attention you need. When starting all my businesses, I tend to reach out to domestic manufacturers first. In all cases, I either never received a phone call back from the person I spoke with or I was simply told that I was too small of a business for them to work with. I never had difficulty finding a Chinese factory that was willing to work with me as a startup. Trust me, you can’t take for granted that just because you’re willing to pay for goods, someone is willing to make them for you.
Duplication Capabilities. I don’t advocate copying anything. With that said, Chinese manufacturers are extremely good at building products based off others. Originality is one thing, but you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. For example, if you’re manufacturing shirts and you like the fit of ABC Shirts, then buying ABC Shirts and asking your Chinese factory to duplicate its dimensions and fit is an easy way to begin your product-building process. No one does that better than the Chinese.
“I never had difficulty finding a Chinese factory that was willing to work with me as a startup. Trust me, you can’t take for granted that just because you’re willing to pay for goods, someone is willing to make them for you.”
Higher Output. I have never come across a factory in China that was unable to produce a large order for me. When a Chinese factory tells you they can produce your order in four weeks, chances are they will produce your order in four weeks. Based on my experience manufacturing in the USA, I’ve heard this isn’t necessarily the case. On several occasions, I’ve heard the common complaint that domestic manufacturing capacity was limited in capacity or time. The Chinese have impressive turnaround times and are ready to scale when you are. I know there are claims of unfair labor treatment, but if you have ever done business in China, you know that most of the factories operate properly and pay their laborers a fair Chinese wage. If you’re looking for a place to manufacture your product, it’s time to look in China. This robust country continues to grow and build out its manufacturing capability. To get started, you should watch our Sourcify webinar on finding a manufacturer for any product.