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How can sourcing in China save me money?
Production costs in China are far lower than those in developed countries; and
at the same time China is rapidly industrializing their economies. The savings
to be made will obviously vary depending on the products required, but
substantial economies are obtainable.
What services can you provide?
We are a full service sourcing company; so as well as providing identification
and qualification of suitable manufacturer/s, we can also offer design, supply
chain, and commercial services to our customers
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We source a vast range of products from the simplest manufactured goods needing
the minimum involvement from us, to technically complex assemblies requiring our
continued attention throughout the whole supply cycle.
How do you charge for your services?
It depends upon what kind of service you require us to provide. If you take us
as your local representative office, we will charge a reasonable fixed amount
per year after mutual discussion. If you take us as your sourcing agent, we
charge a small administration fee. Very often 3-4 people work on a sourcing
enquiry and the small up-front fee that we charge is there to ensure the
seriousness of the enquiry on the customers' part. When or if an order is
placed, a percentage fee is linked to the items sourced, and will be negotiated
dependent upon quantities.
We also make charges for extra services such as; design services, quality
inspections, accompanied site visits, customs clearance, and other requested
activities. Which are agreed with the purchaser before hand.
How are goods paid for?
Most product quotes are presented CIF to the required delivery port. Therefore
the offer would include all manufacturing costs, shipping costs and our charges.
In the first instance, transactions will be secured with an Irrevocable Letter
of Credit. Later when a strong relationship is built with a supplier other
arrangements can be made.
For instance L/C's can be complicated and expensive to administer, and some
purchasers prefer T/T payment or other methods, we will try to accommodate your
wishes in this regard.
What should I do if I want an item to be quoted?
We receive enquiries for a large variety of products every day. Some enquiries
are serious and some are speculative. Whilst we welcome all communications, in
order to move projects to a meaningful stage we will need the following
items/information from you.
· Drawings
· Technical and materials requirements
· Samples (if available)
· Required numbers
· Required timings
· Quality inspection requirements
· Current Costs
· Packaging requirements
· Additional information at your discretion
What realistically, are the minimum quantities?
Quantity depends on the product. But economies of scale exist when sourcing
overseas and we would normally advise customers to be thinking of at least
US$50,000 per year. Smaller one off projects can be undertaken but supplier
factories are less enthusiastic about smaller orders and this is reflected in
the prices charged.
How long does the process take?
For items that are already produced in the market from which we are sourcing,
the lead times can be quite short; we can normally produce a quote for you
within 1 week. For simple products where a sample and/or comprehensive drawings
are available we would hope to be able to provide a quote within 1-2 weeks.
Complex sourcing projects can take more than 2 weeks to come to completion.
Once a firm order has been placed we must give the manufacturer time to produce
the goods, this once again depends on complexity and other factors but will
normally take 2-4 weeks.
The goods then need to be shipped which will take 2-5 weeks by sea and a matter
of days by air. So when other delaying factors are taken into account, you can
see that the whole process can be a fairly lengthy procedure.
Can you ensure confidentiality?
We treat all information provided by our customers in the strictest confidence,
and will use it for no other purpose than to provide the services that have been
requested.
A Non Disclosure Agreement can be implemented if the project requires it, we
have standard contracts or we can work with our clients legal advisors.
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