If you had niche ideas and already have been evaluating products to sell online, it can be an interesting time for business owner to build and grow more about your idea.

However, time after time, many business owners find themselves encountering tough difficulty and losing momentum when it comes to the phase of product sourcing. Sourcing a manufacturer to manufacture your own product, it’s always not easy.

In this article, we’re going to look at the process of sourcing a manufacturer for your product idea. We will let you know where to search and how you should reach them out.

Let’s get the topic start.

What Are You Looking For? 

For the purpose of this article when we refer to manufacturers, we are referring to the ones who manufacture products, not traders, wholesalers or distributors.

There are many helpful resources on internet just by searching Google or Bing. However before you begin, there are a few things you should know and decide.

First, you should determine what type of supplier you’re looking for. This will help determine the terminology you need to use in your research.

There are several options, with the most common being:
·         A manufacturer to produce your own product
·         A supplier, who perhaps  be a manufacturer, a wholesaler or a distributor
·         A dropshipper who supplies products and fulfill orders of already existing products and brands

Here what we talk about is to get manufacturers, not any else.

Domestic vs. China Manufacturer

A most frequent question when looking for manufacture is whether you want to source domestically or from China.

You likely already be aware that it’s always cheaper to source your products in China but there’s some more points to that decision than the upfront investment and cost per unit.

As we know, both domestic and China sourcing have their advantages as well as disadvantages.

Advantages of Sourcing in China

·         Lower manufacturing costs
·         High number of manufacturers to choose from
·         One-stop services like Alibaba have made it easy to navigate suppliers
·         Sourcing agent in China like Keen Sourcing(keensourcing.com) provides product sourcing service and quality control service to make your sourcing easy in China.

Where To start Your Search
Now you have a better idea of exactly what you’re looking for, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of domestic vs. China sourcing, where do you start your search? Normally, the internet is the best place to start, but there are a few websites in particular that can help you with the search.

Online China Directories
·         Alibaba
·         AliExpress
·         Globalsources
·         Made in China


Homepage of www.made-in-china.com

The Reliability of Google or Bing

Over the last of several years, we’ve become accustomed to easily search Google and Bing and find what we’re looking for in the first few search results. However, many manufacturers haven’t kept up with the internet and in particular, Google’s and Bing’s algorithm changes sometimes. Their websites are old, sparse on information and most certainly are not search engine friendly or optimized.

So how do you find reliable manufacturers on Google or Bing? Firstly, you’ll need to explore pages of Google search results, and beyond. You’ll also want to use a variety of search terms.

It may help you make yourself familiar with Google’s and Bing’s search shortcuts to improve the quality of your searches, thus the results.

Referrals

Sometimes the best leads can come from referrals by friends. Social networks have made it much easier to get this out so make sure to use these channels.

As you do start to uncover manufacturers, even if they aren’t the right fit for your product idea, be sure to ask them if they can help to the right direction. Being in the industry means they likely have good contacts and many would be happy to refer you to someone that might fit your product idea better.

Have You Had A Sourcing Partner?

Sourcing manufacturers is a unique process. For many business owner or buyer, it’s a fresh new experience and challenge. Trying to locate manufacturers that are a good fit of your product is a critical decision for your business and it’s always not easy to find. It’s easy to get frustrated when you hit brick walls but in most cases, it just requires a little more patience. Partnering a Sourcing agent in China is a better choice for you to assist you. Sourcing agent, such as Keen Sourcing(keensourcing.com), provides product sourcing service with price negotiation, factory audit, factory selection, quality control, quality inspection, production monitoring, shipping management etc. Once you partner with a local sourcing agent in China, all what you have to do is to wait till you get the products while sourcing agent handles everything for you.