What Are the Advantages of Buying Products from China

Import from China Guide

For beginners who don’t know what to buy & sell, have 0 experience about importing from China, you can get all questions answered in this tutorial. (10 video courses included)

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Step 4.What is Product Sourcing and How to Source Your Product.

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As a retail buyer, a good product sourcing strategy to stock your shelves is critical to your store’s success. With suppliers large and small ready and waiting to get their products on shelves and online stores, it can be overwhelming for buyers.

Buyers must understand where they are sourcing their products and how this ultimately affects their business.

So, here’s what you need to know about product sourcing.

What Does It Mean to Source a Product?

Product sourcing means the process of finding suppliers, buying inventory from them, and then reselling. Common product sourcing methods include: Finding a manufacturer for custom products or purchasing third-party goods from a wholesale supplier directly.

Where to Source Products?

Finding the right suppliers for your product can be a challenge. The number of suppliers worldwide is incredible. For retailers, no single supplier can provide every product you need on your shelves and meet the needs of your consumers.

So, when looking at multiple product suppliers, it makes sense to check multiple avenues to source those suppliers and products.

please check :8 EASY STEPS HOW TO IMPORT GOODS FROM CHINA TO USA; How to Find Trending Products in 10 Simple Ways

6 Strategic Product Sourcing Steps

Sourcing new products can seem overwhelming – it’s not as simple as just finding a great product and putting it in your store. But there are product sourcing methods retailers can take to make the process run smoothly.

1. Research Your Product

First, retailers need to understand the product. Market research is critical to success; sourcing products without the necessary research is asking for failure.

2. Contact Any Potential Supplier

Before contacting a supplier, know exactly what you, as a buyer, need. Yes, part of this is doing research on the product, as described above. But the other part is knowing what you want from the initial contact with the supplier. Are you looking for information? Samples? A specific product? Knowing this and understanding your needs ahead of time will help the process run smoothly.

3. Request a Sample

Would you test drive a car without buying it? No. As a retail buyer, you wouldn’t put a product in your store without a sample. Part of the request when contacting a supplier should be for a sample so you can get feedback from team members, see the product up close and personal, and see how the supplier handles the first transaction portfolio before you decide whether to include it in your offering. Requesting samples is an important part of your sourcing strategy and a great way to test the quality of your products. This step is also where buyers use their contact information from trade shows to reach out to suppliers they’ve met or had contact with

4. Select Suppliers for Trial Orders

Once a retail buyer finds a product with potential, order a trial run. This may mean that the buyer requests to try a certain number of products in the retail chain, or it may mean that the product is only tested in certain stores. The buyer may choose to try only certain products from the supplier’s overall lineup rather than the entire lineup.

Buyers should set parameters and KPIs around the trial run, including how long the trial runs for, sales ratios, and consumer feedback.

5. Evaluate the Supplier

Whether a buyer chooses to work with a supplier and build a longer-term relationship depends heavily on how the supplier performs during the trial run. Having the above parameters will help the retail buyer better evaluate the supplier at the end of the trial run. Did the product meet expectations? Did it perform well or underperform? How was it received in the store?

In addition to these questions, retail buyers need to ask questions about the relationship with the supplier. Was their communication timely and clear? Did the goods arrive on time and with the correct products and quantities? Where was the product intact when it arrived in the store? Was the price quoted accurately?

These details can make or break the relationship between buyer and seller. If the buyer chooses not to have a relationship with the supplier, honest, constructive feedback helps to understand why the relationship is not moving forward.

6. Keep Other Supplier Options Open

Businesses merge or dissolve altogether, supplies may be difficult to obtain, or sometimes the product quality declines. Therefore, retailers need to keep their supplier selection open.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Think about it. A multi-supplier situation can offer.

-Better prices.

When more than one supplier is in the mix, there is an opportunity to reduce production costs.

-Material Insurance.

If one supplier has problems getting the necessary parts or ingredients for their product, there can be a trickle-down effect of product delays, increased logistics costs, etc. However, since there is more than one supplier for a product, a retailer should never be without that product.

-Quality Control.

When products are sourced from multiple suppliers, retailers can easily and quickly compare the quality of two (or more) products to ensure that both still meet the specifications set forth from the beginning.

Product Sourcing Conclusion

Product sourcing is not always a simple, straightforward process, and even when a retail buyer finds a great supplier and builds a strong relationship, the work doesn’t end there.

Product sourcing doesn’t stop when the product is purchased – maintaining the quality and integrity of the product is critical, as well as strengthening the relationship with the supplier.

Buyers should always be mindful of developing new supplier relationships and keep in mind the essential steps that will lead them to success. If you need product sourcing service, please just let us know. < All Steps

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Import from China Guide

For beginners who don’t know what to buy & sell, have 0 experience about importing from China, you can get all questions answered in this tutorial. (10 video courses included)

Start learning

Step 4. Find Chinese suppliers online via Alibaba, DHgate, AliExpress, Google, etc.

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After selecting the product, what you need to do is to find a supplier. Here are 3 online Channels to search for suppliers.

B2B trade websites

If your order is below $100, AliExpress is the right choice for you. There is a wide range of products and suppliers for you to choose from.

If your order is between $100-$1000, you can consider budget to develop your long-term business, Alibaba is better for you.

Made-in-China and Global Sources are wholesale sites like Alibaba, you can also try them.

Search on Google directly

Google is a good channel to find Chinese suppliers. In recent years. More and more Chinese factories and trading companies build their own websites on Google

SNS

You can also search for Chinese suppliers on some social media, like Linkedin, Facebook, Quora, etc. Many Chinese Suppliers want to be widely noticed, so they often share their news, products, and services by these social platforms. You can reach out to them to learn more about their service and products, then, decide whether or not to cooperate with them.

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