Although we see hundreds of products in stores and shops that come from China every day; whether we know it or not, there are still many companies that are fearful of importing products from the giant Asian country.
As an expert and specialized partner in the manufacture and import of industrial products from China and in commercial sourcing, we have created this blog post to discuss the pros and cons of importing products from China in order to clarify concepts and clear up potential fears.
Why import products from China to sell? Main advantages
Reduced costs importing from China
This is the main reason, although not the only one, that attracts many companies to start importing their products from the Asian country so we simply cannot ignore it.
Manufacturing our products in China clearly costs less than doing so in any European country. Although we may believe that import costs increase the total price of the product, it is clear that manufacturing costs in addition to transport costs are lower than producing in our territory. A company is more competitive when there is lower cost, and there is a greater commercial margin for the company.
Higher quality products than in other Asian countries
Despite the false myth about the low quality of Chinese products, goods manufactured in the Asian country are often of a higher quality than products imported from other Asian countries, such as India or Vietnam.
This is because they are used to working in China under the many stringent demands of the European market.
Large quantities, no problems.
Most companies that decide to import their products from China do so in large quantities, although this raises concerns. However, there is no reason for concern, as Chinese factories are truly giant structures prepared for, and accustomed, to manufacturing large product runs.
Customizing our products is not a problem.
Often, companies that are considering importing their products from China are concerned that their customers believe all the products will be the same. This is false as manufacturing in China is synonymous with being able to customize the products in every detail to our liking. We do not have to sacrifice customers desires or our corporate image.
When the operation gets complicated: the disadvantages of importing from China
As Asian import specialists, we meet many new companies every year that come to us in search of an intermediary that can solve the problems they have had with previous imports from China that prevents them from producing there again. In some cases, they have thrown in the towel and looked for other manufacturing sites.
As we always explain to these companies, the percentage of risks in importing products from China drops dramatically when the import manager is a true expert in these transactions. This is the case with S3 Sourcing.
Here are the most common disadvantages that companies who are not experts in Chinese imports usually find and for which they end up opting for commercial sourcing.
A complex purchase process
The pace of production is one thing and the time it takes to close a purchase is a very different one. In fact, many companies complain about the complexity of the purchase process in China, which is usually caused by difficulty negotiations due to language, trust issues or even cultural differences.
Quality standards
A product can be totally legal and comply with Chinese standards but may not in our country, which makes it essential that the person, or team making the purchase know the regulations to avoid a significant loss of money caused by these incompatibilities.
Mistakes in part of the process
Any business transaction in any country can fail. However, there are factors that increase this risk, such as a lack of appropriate language mastery, lack of processing skills in China, or lack of information.
Displacement: time and money
Many companies choose to make trips to China to control aspects of the production process, something that inevitably incurs extra expenses that were not factored into the process, especially when it goes on longer than expected.
These disadvantages of importing from China, which as subject matter experts we regularly hear from our customers who have tried to import as an “outsider”, are reduced by trusting an intermediary partner who knows about business in China, the language, the culture and is fully aware of the solutions to the problems that can potentially arise.
After more than 15 years of importing from China to different countries in Europe, we know about importing industrial products from China. An expert in a specialist import company is undoubtedly indispensable for the process to become a successful, simple and trustworthy process for any company.