China Wholesale: 3 Key Qualities of a Supplier That you Must Consider

You have your company, you have an idea and you know where to find the product; China. So you book a flight, book a hotel, take the flight then visit the Canton Fair, and then everything changes.

When coming to the Canton Fair for the first time, businessmen often get amused with the amount of wholesale suppliers you can get in touch face to face, there are endless pavilions with a lot of booths showing you many products that might or might not be relevant to you. 

Sourcing can be a little bit confusing at the first time

While many users prefer to look for suppliers through the internet. Visiting Canton fair, being surrounded of its wide variety of wholesale suppliers with products of different industries, can be tempting the first time you visit it, therefore can affect the focus and scope of your original product development plan.

To help you not to lose the focus of your business in the Canton fair, there are 3 key qualities you should always keep in mind while sourcing for your perfect wholesale supplier:


1. The wholesale supplier specialized in one industry


It is very common in the Canton Fair and China to see wholesale suppliers which can provide you a much extended range of products than others (Example: a supplier that offers from electric appliances to furniture). While this may show a look that the supplier is experienced in different industry, it can be totally the opposite.

Look at this mess, do they really produce all of that?

The best wholesale suppliers are usually focused in one industry or one kind of product in specific, some of them will even develop new technologies through an R&D department due to their extended knowledge. The quality of the final product and the service that these suppliers deliver can save you from a lot of trouble if you decide to do business with them.


2. The countries they have been working with


It is a very useful thing to keep in mind while talking with the wholesaler. Asking a wholesale supplier "which countries are they doing and have they done business?" gives you an idea of what quality, production and services standards they are willing to offer to you as a customer.

Just keep in mind that while North American and European countries have both, service and quality standards, several emerging countries are more flexible and easier to deal with.

As more developed is the country higher are the standards

At the same time, if you find them inside Canton Fair, it means they already have met the standards of the fair, since Canton Fair requires the wholesale supplier to be a member of a trade organization plus they need to exceed a specific exportation amount.


3. Communication


In international business clear and constant communication is vital. Many Chinese wholesale suppliers know this, hence the sales department in their company usually speaks English. However, even with an English speaking salesperson, many businessmen face serious communication problems with the Chinese suppliers and manufacturers during the order follow-up.

To avoid this, ask for more information about the company, the most relevant questions of your product and double-confirm all details with your wholesale suppliers during the beginning of the negotiation.


 

Good communication results in good business

During this time, it is good to check how sympathetic they are and if they are willing to provide you all the information you asked. This receptivity is easier to notice if you meet the supplier personally (in their factory, or inside Canton Fair), if the communication is being done via internet or phone, using your intuition and measuring the supplier's response time can be of big help.

For more information on "communicating with Chinese suppliers", please keep checking out The Red Container, soon we will publish a new article regarding this topic.