China sourcing service:

we start our first article with the topic how to source, or how to execute sourcing in china?

There are several options to source for quality products in china:


By Internet

By trade fairs

By using a sourcing agent or office

By physical audits


Internet sourcing has have seen an enormous growth the last 10 years: Companies like Alibaba and Global souring have seen an enormous growth in page hits and so in new clients and visitors.

The main advantage of internet sourcing is the low initial costs for the purchaser; He or she can find thousands of parts and products from his lazy chair in his or her office. He can compare easily prices of different suppliers within a short period. He can see and compare the different supplier's profiles and their product portfolio. He doesn't need to go to China physically. So he can make a quick advantage/disadvantage list at a very low cost, he can judge already the communication skills of the sales persons or management of the factory.

We also recommend purchasers to ask for real samples from the Chinese manufacturers to your office. Also this can be done without high initial investments.

It sounds easy to source from these business to business sites. These websites have usually an excellent search function and you can find your products also in categorized directories but be careful as there are several drawbacks.

One of these drawbacks is that you cannot have control over the actual supplier:

Is it really a supplier or a middle man or trader, so actually not the owner of the factory you deal with? (Sometimes traders can have advantages, but later more on that). Sometimes even con-man are presented on these websites, whom ask for small sample fees and never send these samples.

Roger van der Linden an owner of triple-c ltd that delivers rapid prototyping and plastic injection mouldparts and author of the article sourcing in china