Importing from China or any other Asian country can be a long, complex and risky process. For this reason, signing a contract with the person or company that will supply you, can be the solution against numerous problems that may arise along the way. If this is your first contact with the Asian giant, you should take into account some factors when initiating a purchasing process and, in addition, be aware of the risks that may arise when negotiating with Chinese suppliers.
The supplier does not transmit seriousness
Language and culture are not the only reasons that make it difficult to negotiate with Chinese businessmen. Sometimes, lack of interest on the part of the supplier may mean that the supplier does not believe in your business idea. It may do so at first, but if your intention is to develop the requested product and request specific modifications, you may notice that the responses to your e-mails start to be delayed more and more. If you have no previous experience in importing, the easiest, safest and most effective way is to request the services of an expert company in purchasing in China, such as MingTa Group, which offers a personalized consulting service in order to simplify the importing process.
The product does not meet the required quality standard.
Believe it or not, this is one of the most common problems. If you plan to order a quality product, be sure to locate a supplier that specializes in your product. It is not easy to find the perfect Chinese supplier, which is why MingTa Group, with offices in the Asian country, offers customers two practical services: a supplier and product search service and a product quality management and control service, which guarantees compliance with all the parameters agreed with the supplier.
Delivery times are lengthening
If you are doing business with China for the first time, it is most likely that the timeframes will be extended due to mistrust on both sides. If your supplier has not specified a delivery date, ask for a confirmation of the production time of your order to avoid surprises.
You should know in advance that if you place a small order, your order will be delayed because they will produce it when they have gaps between their larger orders. If you have already placed your order and the delivery time is getting longer, remind your distributor that the quality of the product ordered is not conditioned by the date of shipment. Suppliers often speed up production in order to meet agreed deadlines and neglect quality.
Transportation costs increase
This situation is just as frequent as the previous ones. Our recommendation will always be to agree with the supplier delivery conditions under FOB Incoterm ( i.e., the supplier bears the cost and risk of placing the goods in the agreed port of origin, in this case China). We may find that many Asian suppliers agree delivery terms with CIF incoterm (i.e. the supplier bears the cost and risk of placing the goods at the agreed port of destination). This Incoterm is not very recommendable since the importer does not control the costs of arrival of the goods, and therefore the assignment of documentation to a national company for the clearance of the goods may entail significant costs that we had not contemplated.
