China Manufacturing Solutions ? What You Need to Know About China Manufacturers

Posted by China 2 West on April 5th, 2016

China has been the global manufacturing hub for decades, ever since it opened its markets in the 1980s under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping. Since those initial days over 30 years ago, the country has become the de-facto manufacturing destination for every company in the world. Their attention to detail, quality of products, design sensibilities and low-cost production abilities has made the country’s manufacturing hubs the preferred choice for their clients over the years. Any company that chooses to use China’s expertise only stands to gain, provided it knows how to go about it.

Unfortunately, not many businesses understand the Chinese way of doing things and leave with a bad experience, that hurts no one but themselves. All this can be avoided if the businesses know how to get things done in China, from finding a manufacturer to getting their products on time. Read on to know the important things to keep in mind before deciding to find a manufacturer in China.

Patience: The virtue of patience cannot be stressed enough in China. You need to come with an open mind to the Chinese way of doing things. Finding the right manufacturer will take a lot of meetings, even with those whom you eventually reject. From initial introductions to understanding what your products are can take anything from three to ten business meetings or even more.

Face: The concept of Face has to be understood by anyone choosing to do business in the country. Face denotes reputation, honor, social status and may comprise of many small subtleties that are often ignored in the West. For instance, not being in control of your emotions means you will lose Face, or not listening politely and patiently to your vendor means you will lose Face and also make the vendor lose Face. You increase Face when you compliment someone and also increase theirs. The simple rule to keep and give Face is to keep in check of your emotions, and respect, compliment and gift people.

Long-term: The Chinese prefer long-term relationships that show you are there to stay. They will be keen to work with you if they know you are not looking for a stopgap relationship. What you invest now in terms of building a relationship will last till decades to come.

Understanding No: People in China do not say ‘no’ directly and are likely to indicate their reluctance to work with you in a roundabout way. If the manufacturer has not said ‘yes’ unequivocally then take their ‘maybe’ to mean they have refused. To get a ‘yes’, follow the customs, be patient, give properly wrapped gifts, and give Face to the manufacturers.

Local Team: It is not possible for you to take care of all meetings, major or minor by yourself. For that, you need a local team that understands the culture and work styles and can act as your intermediary for all meetings and daily operations. Some reputed firms offer this service for China, and it will make good business sense if you take their help to find the manufacturer you need.

About the Author

China 2 West is a western owned and managed Manufacturing & Vendor Management, Quality Control and Product Development Company based in mainland China. Established in 2005 as a manufacturing consultancy, we now have businesses in several countries and provide design, production, inspection, testing and logistics service to companies that need a reliable supply of goods from China. Our dedicated and passionate team work tirelessly across our business sectors as we continue to grow and to seek out new investment opportunities.