Recently our Executive VP, Renaud Anjoran, discussed a number of the key best practices that importers should follow when qualifying contract manufacturers or component suppliers on Sofeast’s podcast.
You can listen to it here: How To Qualify A Contract Manufacturer Or Component Supplier? (Best Practices)
Here’s a summary of what he suggested:
- Who needs to do sourcing work and is a sourcing agent actually necessary for importers?
- The different sourcing options and their benefits & drawbacks:
– Commissioned agent.
– Third-party sourcing agency
– Trading company
– Buying directly from a factory - The 2 sourcing process ‘templates’ that suit most importers:
1. When buying off-the-shelf products…
2. When developing a new product with IP you want to keep secret… - The goal when sourcing is to find a main supplier and keep one as a backup factory, too.
- Why driving suppliers to give you the lowest price is a risky strategy.
- How to protect your Intellectual Property, such as product designs, while sourcing manufacturers and suppliers.
- Choosing between an ODM, OEM, or CM (Contract Manufacturer).
- Best practices for when sourcing a Contract Manufacturer to manufacture the new product you have developed, including: keeping the most recent design files as a backup, signing a manufacturing agreement that states clearly who owns the product IP, performing risk analysis on the product design, understanding material and process flow, being aware of engineering change requests, implementing statistical process control, outlining your quality standard, and more!
Remember, you can listen to the episode here: How To Qualify A Contract Manufacturer Or Component Supplier? (Best Practices)
Do you have any thoughts or tips to add about qualifying a Contract Manufacturer or component supplier? Let us know by leaving your comment!
Disclaimer
Here at Agilian, we are not lawyers. What we wrote and discussed above is based only on our understanding of the legal requirements. We do not present this information as a basis for you to make decisions, and we do not accept any liability if you do so. Consider consulting a lawyer before making legal decisions.
Looking for a new Chinese manufacturer?
If your Chinese manufacturer is giving you poor quality products, late deliveries, unexpected price rises, or other problems (explored in the eBook), it may be time to find a better option.
