You have finally decided to get into producing, marketing, and selling your latest product idea. The challenge now is that there don’t seem to be any suitable, qualified, or competitive manufacturers for your product. Or maybe you’re contemplating getting back on the band-wagon with overseas manufacturing after not getting the results you expected the first time around. In either case, you’ll need to ensure that you do your research to find the best company to work with.
How do you identify or locate a suitable manufacturing company overseas to partner with you? You may also wonder how to protect yourself from the long list of those potential problems associated with international dealings. Below are a few insightful tips on finding credible manufacturers to help yield the best results.
Begin Your Search Early
In your effort to find the most appropriate overseas factory, it’s always recommended that you leverage those in your current network who have experience or useful insights about a particular overseas manufacturer. This is certainly more reliable than having to start from scratch with somebody you found online.
Internet libraries that list China manufacturers can be overwhelmingly large, and the information within those libraries can often be inaccurate or outdated. It’s common that “factories” found online are really just small overseas rep groups or individuals looking to hustle products. Ascertaining the identity of true manufacturing facilities can take a serious amount of effort and time online.
Ask the Right Questions
When you decide on a few overseas manufacturing options, there are a few key questions worth asking in order to discover where the best fit lies.
- Do they have experience in those specific materials and manufacturing processes that are necessary to produce your product?
- Can they do all the manufacturing in house or are there manufacturing steps that require subcontractors?
- What are their tooling, engineering, and production capabilities?
- How large or small is the factory, and are they correctly sized according to your needs?
- Are they generally cooperative and easy to communicate with?
As you go through the process of finding an overseas manufacturing company, also appreciate that just like you want the best for your project, the prospective factories are looking for the best possible partners for themselves. These factories will essentially be investing heavily into your manufacturing project. Therefore ensure that you are presenting yourself as a thorough professional and promoting why your project would add value to their operation.
