February 7, 2024

How to Find a Manufacturer in China the Right Way

Erin Lin

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Embarking on the journey to find a manufacturer in China? You're stepping into a global manufacturing powerhouse. In this blog I'll walk you through the essential steps to navigate the process the right way and forge a successful partnership.

Remember, the goal is to not just find any manufacturer, but to find the right manufacturer that aligns with your vision and can deliver to your standards for years to come.

Pre-Manufacture Design Review

Begin by clarifying your product vision. Outline your product specifications, production volume, and quality standards. A well-defined vision sets the foundation for a fruitful collaboration.

When outlining your product specifications, be sure to include details such as:

  • The materials (E.g., Plastic Polymers, Aluminum Alloys, Zinc Alloys, etc)
  • The tooling process (E.g., Fabrication Heat Treatment)
  • The forming process (E.g., Plastic Injection Molding, CNC, Forging, etc)
  • The assembly process (E.g., Laser Welding, Heat Staking, Ultra Sonic Welding, etc)
  • The surface finish (E.g., Anodized, Powder Coating, Spray Painting, etc)
The One Engineering does all this and more by leveraging their 20-year expertise, having worked with customers ranging from Kickstarter campaigns to Enterprises like Razer and Dell.

With these details, it's crucial to have a prototype of your product. This tangible representation of your vision will help potential manufacturers understand your product's design and functionality, and will facilitate more accurate cost and timeline estimates.

How to identify the right manufacturers

We recommend identifying factories in China and Taiwan. Although it can go wrong in different ways, if done right with the appropriate resources you will often times find that they are the most cost effective with very respectable quality.

AliBaba Factories

Pros:

  • They are easy to find
  • Some regulations placed by AliBaba

Cons:

  • Language barrier
  • Cheap quality
  • Known for many delays in delivery

Sourcing Firm: The One Engineering

Pros:

  • Based in California with Manufacturing Sites in China (meaning you get to interact and work with Americans and pay Chinese prices!)
  • End-to-end process (design review, prototyping, manufacturing, global logistics)
  • Credible History (worked from kickstarter campaigns all the way to large enterprises like Dell and HP)
  • Cost effective (You only pay when you make orders)
  • Time effective (You only have to communicate with our engineers)

Cons:

  • It’s just too easy!

Online Searches

Pros:

  • May find a great deal

Cons:

  • Lots of scams
  • Huge language barrier
  • Difficult to work with
  • Hard to compare
  • No social proof

What to do once you found a manufacturer?

If you were working with The One Engineering, this all would be done for you. However, if you decide to go another route where you do it yourself, there are a couple of things you would likely do once you identified your manufacturer.

Negotiate

Negotiating with manufacturers, especially in a foreign country, can be a challenging process. You're often dealing with language barriers, cultural differences, and a lack of familiarity with the process. Furthermore, it's difficult to have any real leverage unless you've established a solid relationship with the manufacturer. Building this relationship requires time, effort, and understanding. Fortunately, here at The One Engineering, you can work directly with professionals with more than 20 years of experience and manufacture your products with our in house factories.

Get sample products

Before finalizing any agreements, it is essential to order samples of each product variation. This step will allow you to evaluate the quality of the product and ensure it meets your standards. However, be wary. Some manufacturers may put extra effort into their samples to impress you, only to reduce the quality when it comes to mass manufacturing. Therefore, it's crucial to establish clear quality expectations from the start and maintain consistent quality checks throughout the production process. Our engineers will break down reasonable tolerances products so you can maximize quality and optimize price.

Figure out right order intervals and sizes

Identifying the correct order intervals and sizes is an essential part of the manufacturing process. This could range from ordering monthly, quarterly, yearly, or even more frequently based on your business needs. However, determining the right frequency and size can be challenging without proper guidance. It requires a deep understanding of your demand cycle and inventory management. Over-ordering can lead to excess stock and increased storage costs, while under-ordering can lead to stock-outs and lost sales. Therefore, it's crucial to strike a balance between these two extremes for optimal operations.

The Best Way to Find the Right Manufacturer in China: The One Engineering.

The One Engineering is your optimal choice for finding a manufacturing partner in China for several reasons. Firstly, they offer an end-to-end process, providing services from design review and prototyping to manufacturing and global logistics. This comprehensive approach saves you the time, effort, and resources that would be spent coordinating multiple agencies or figuring out the process on your own.

Secondly, they are based in California and own many manufacturing sites in China. This unique set-up allows you to communicate and work with Americans while benefiting from the cost-effectiveness of Chinese manufacturing prices.

Thirdly, The One Engineering brings a wealth of experience and credibility to the table. They have a proven track record of working with companies of all sizes, from Kickstarter campaigns to large enterprises like Dell, Razer, Foxconn, and more. This wide-ranging experience equips them with the know-how to handle various challenges and demands that come with different types of projects.

Lastly, The One Engineering's model is cost-effective and time-efficient. You only pay when you make orders, and you only need to communicate with their engineers, removing any unnecessary intermediaries.

In summary, The One Engineering simplifies the complex process of finding a manufacturing partner in China, providing you with a seamless, cost-effective, and reliable solution.