In the article series of lessons that buyers learn in China, we emphasize general lessons learned by companies and buyers working with manufacturers in China. Lessons that are valuable to any company or person buying in China. Information that prevents financial loss and empowers you to take the right steps in China.

Chinese manufacturers avoid taking responsibility (1)

Chinese manufacturers are generally low-cost production companies which aim at the production of a high number of products. Besides, all products are produced by low-cost workers. To keep the price low for you as a buyer and to gain as much as possible profit. If there is a mistake made by either factory or buying company, it will directly cause a high financial burden. Defending its interests and costs is, therefore, a manufacturers first priority. Taking responsibility does not defend this interest.

Chinese manufacturers are generally avoiding taking responsibility can be judged out of several commonly seen situations. Sales departments which buyers have to deal with often try to let the buying party “re-confirm”. For example, if an adjustment of the product is demanded, the technical drawings made by the factory to make the adjustment possible usually are shared with the buyer to “confirm”. If later on this technical drawing and solution are not resulting in the adjustment demanded by you as a buyer, the factory will often defend its interests by stating that you have “confirmed” the drawings. The same occurs with confirming specifications of products like measurements, materials or colours. Asking for confirm means transferring the responsibility to you as a buyer, leaving you in a weak negotiation position.

What you see and how it looks is seldom what you get (2)

China is a country which protects its borders and interests. It is also a country where it is reasonable to show a better appearance than you actually are. We can relate this to a local Chinese cultural phenomenon called “Mianzi” or to just because it creates trust and sells better. Either way, buyers will always be shown a better image, product or solution than it is in reality. Causing situations that the sample you have seen on the trade fair might be better than the actual production you will receive from the factory. A beautiful booth of a company exhibiting at a trade fair might look like a proper company with high-quality products, but can be in reality a small production workshop with low experience and inexperienced workers. The company that you find interesting might look like a factory but is a trading company instead.

Due to the limited amount of information about manufacturers found online, foreign companies can only receive the “pre-made” information from a distance. Meaning that international buyers don’t have access to the reality behind what they see online and experience in their business trips. In addition, Due Diligence for foreign companies is difficult due to the lack of information, reviews, experiences or recommendations about a manufacturer.

Same supplier, every production can contain different quality issues (3)

Manufacturers are companies which are always in development. Due to workers coming to and leaving the factory, national holidays, low-cost production, change of government policies such as environmental measures or just changes in the company itself. When buying in China, you will experience that a good production of the current order is no guarantee for the next order.

A drop in production quality can be caused due to a significant amount of workers have been replaced in the factory. It is commonly seen that factory workers don’t come back after their visits to their hometowns during national holidays in China. Changes in the production line or losing a production manager can cause sudden quality failures in your production.

Governmental measures such as new environmental protection regulations have recently and still interfered the delivery of certain sector manufacturers. While you might have cooperated well for a long time with a manufacturer, these issues can cause problems at any time. Expecting the unexpected.