Sourcing

Good Sourcing allows from 10 to 50 % of economies. With three requirements: a good partner, a control-quality and control of the logistic costs.

To buy his raw material is like one goes to the supermarket! "" It is like an immense permanent fair! ". The savings made by French companies which "source" in China vary from 10 to 50 %. But, it is necessary to add control-quality and logistics, to import the product into France . To count then from 5 to 10 % for send containers. And, up to 50 % per plane.

You wish to buy a product, from a catalogue or to develop a product made to measure? There are three options:

To purchase on-line

"The groups have their own office of purchase. And, SME can buy on-line because the Chinese market is easier access than ten years ago ".

To buy on-line is "the favourite solution of the industrialists, who have important orders of long term and which want to keep the hand on the production and the quality of or not standard semi-finished products. Attention, to form and educate with the product, takes time

To buy on-line is "the hazardous solution" for SME, which can nothing ensure dice the place order.

A step for good "sourcer".
To unearth the manufacturer can be done via Internet ( www.alibaba.com and www.globalsources.com), via the fairs of Hongkong or the fair of Guangzhou or by traversing the country length and breadth. It is then necessary to preselect three or four manufacturers and all to check, which quickly makes melt the margin by the travelling expenses and the additional costs of stay.

If one cannot go to the site, it is advisable to make carry out one to that by a specialist as QUALI-FIABLE who will ask samples, against-samples and for price. "For the new products manufactured on request, the announced delivery periods are easily exceeded without subscribing the whole of controls", "the schedule of conditions must be precise and complete, written in Mandarin, with photographs and diagrams, almost as if it were intended to a schoolboy, because the Chinese do not have the same criteria as the Westerners. Moreover, any inaccuracy is extremely likely to be used thereafter to justify a rising of prices.

Before the forwarding of the goods, to make make a inspection-quality which checks the state and the conformity of the products as well as conditioning, if not there is a strong probability of having surprises with the arrival. The idea is to make carry out a full report, accompanied by photographs. In addition, dice the starting of the productions, a control is highly recommended to be able to adjust the noted errors.

Not to forget that in China , one exposes oneself to the risk of counterfeits. Traditional case, you order 10 000 parts, your supplier manufactures 12 000 and resells the difference of them. To avoid the galères, anticipate, envisage control periodicals; that will encourage your supplier with prudence.

To negotiate with an intermediary

"To buy your raw materials, your products via an intermediary, if you need only small quantities". To address itself to a agent/grossist is "ideal for not very large quantities, requests which change all the time, of the recurring orders multi-products", but that does not put to you with the shelter defects, lacks, errors of orders. A simple control before loading is often very effective.

The interest to resort to an intermediary is of course its address book and the economy of the voyages and the visits on the spot. Cost: between 20 and 30 % on average of the selling price. But still – it is necessary to select its partner with the greatest care. Some traders are made pass for the manufacturer and have false calling cards, QUALI-FIABLE a French company, registered in France, its serious and its local establishment is your guarantee ( a French name and a company with Hongkong are often a frontage, but always juridical very volatile )

To supply itself via its office of purchase

"In China, the office of purchase is a good solution, but for the companies which have consequent volumes of orders, and which are able to rather quickly employ a team from 5 to 10 people", you have a team into clean to supervise with more close manufacture. But that has a cost: rent, two or three paid at the beginning, taxes, voyages, etc... On the whole, envisage at least 50 000 euros per annum.

Quasi cultural feature: the personnel, which does not estimate itself rather well paid or not treated in the office of purchase, can round his wages clearly by accepting commissions (from 5 to 10%) which will be almost systematically proposed to him by the manufacturers. The difficulty: the day when the production is not that awaited, the inspector or negotiator of the office of purchase tends nevertheless to validate the order not to see his commission slipping by to him between the fingers.

To work with Chinese suppliers: five generally accepted ideas

The manufacturers will accommodate with open arms for your order of 1 000 parts Genuine or FAKE. . In China , today, you must "sell" your purchase. "Below 10 000 US dollars per order, you do not interest any solid factory! ", while passing by a serious intermediary you can have a good qualité/prix report/ratio by a negotiation carried out by specialists QUALIFIABLE, while knowing that the margin is related to volume like everywhere.

To buy in China , they is "not expensive" True and FALSE. China offers of course a good quality-price ratio. But the costs assemble "A Peijing, a French bilingual assistant cost 800 euros, counter approximately 200 euros in 1998". Of course, you will always find somebody who will carry out your order for less expensive.

But do not go down too low: quality will suffer from it. Another solution is to leave large centers production of the coast, the costs fall very quickly by a displacement of is in west, example: to produce shoes with Chengdu is between 10 and 20% more interesting.

E-mail: dossier.sourcing@quali-fiable.com