Our clients always keep us alert and never let us relax, setting high-level tasks. This time one of our clients asked us to buy the same goods as offered by competitors on Amazon, but of better quality and strictly to the price.
This case shows how the complexity level of tasks is changing from one order to another and how ChinaToday staff is dealing with it.
Our First Order: Find a Supplier of Goods by Photo
The first task from our client was a standard one: we were to find in China the same goods as sold by our competitors via Amazon and stick to a certain budget. The brief contained just a couple of lines in it:
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Bath towel
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Cotton
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28” x 54”
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Price per item ~ $4.5
Search for Suppliers in China
Chris, our Foreign Trade Manager, searched for suppliers. She looked for inexpensive towels from suppliers with good ratings. Based on the search results she prepared a suppliers’ pool with three alternative options, quoting their prices, and made her recommendations.
During the selection process our client decided to remove Chinese labels and logos from the towels. Our recommended supplier agreed to do adjustments based on the following terms:
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Minimum order quantity — 720 pcs.
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Prices — 20,5 RMB/item.
Order Preparation and Shipment
As a result, we placed an order – 770 pcs. in 4 different colors. Once the lot was manufactured, we checked the products and made a photo report for the client. The client was very much concerned to get the towels of the proper size.
Accordingly, the warehouse workers randomly checked the products with a ruler – they unfolded the towels and measured their length and width.
No discrepancies vs. Technical brief were found during the random check. The client approved that shipment and the goods were sent to the US.
The total order size, including customs and delivered to the client in the USA amounted to $11400, the cost per item was $4.56.
Our Second Order and a Task with an Asterisk
Some time ago our client Paul got back to us with a new request to find a certain product and its suppliers. He wanted to get a sports quick-dry pocketable microfiber towel. He had several requirements, which transformed this task out of an easy into a super complicated one:
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Colors. Maximum bright and intense. E.g., the black one should be jet black, totally black, without any shades of gray. Requested colors: black, turquoise, pink, blue, purple, light blue.
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High absorbent fabric: pocketable towels for athletes should absorb moisture immediately.
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Price: as in the previous order, the client firmly set the budget and the approximate price – up to 6 RMB/item.
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No logos, tags, inscriptions, trademarks.
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Towels are to be packed into tubular net storage bags.
As a reference, the client provided several links to products available on market places and quoted required specifications of the towels..
We Found The Factory
This time our Foreign Trade Manager Chris required more time to monitor Chinese online market and find a seller who fit the profile. The task was not an easy-go one: our client rejected many options. E.g., he was happy with the price, but he demanded better quality and vice versa.
In order to find products meeting the brief Chris did the following:
· She asked fabrics composition from suppliers
· She requested to send video showing how a towel is absorbing moisture in reality
· She asked to make a mockup of a towel without logos and in needed colors
· She checked whether the set includes a tubular net bag
The client was very demanding and he paid attention to the minute details. He reviewed at length all presented options, yet finally rejected them due to a number of reasons – either the price was not right, of the towel itself, of the tubular bag.
Finally the proper seller was found. However, Chris and her manager Alex had to do a huge amount of work: they managed to agree with the supplier to change the product (remove inscriptions, change colors), while keeping the original price in order to fit the budget outlined by the client.
However, that was not the end of the story. The client demanded that towels + bags are to be shipped as a set (towels were to be put into bags). Such requirements significantly increased delivery costs inside China and could also result in product damages. Our managers explained the risks to the client and he accepted that the towels and bags were to be shipped separately.
Home Stretch
Chris and Alex managed to overcome all issues, meet the requirements of the client and stay within the budget. At the end of June, they made the final all-inclusive quotation for the client.
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Quantity: 2000 pieces
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Purchase price from supplier — $1.12/item (8 RMB)
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Cost of goods, including all expenses (customs, delivery) — $2.41/item
The order is being manufactured and pretty soon sports towels of all requested colors and sizes will be shipped to the US.
There are no impossible tasks. And if you believe there are, it means you have not worked yet with interpreters and managers of ChinaToday .
If you need to find some products in China, check a supplier and make sure that goods fully meet the brief, send your inquiry. We will find a reliable supplier, we will calculate the final cost of goods in the USA, taking into consideration all expenses. The only thing you will have to do is to make a purchasing decision, if you believe it is good for you.
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