As the Chinese packaging industry is growing and gaining global acclamation, the country is gradually becoming the hub of packaging for many businesses and companies across the globe. A lot of foreign companies including companies based in the UK, the US and other developed countries of the world are now sourcing for packaging from China.
Some are satisfied with the choice of supplier they made while some are disappointed. The truth is that there are a lot of packaging companies in China but these companies differ in the quality of services they offer. Some have established reputation in offering quality service in the industry while some have a lot of negative utterances made against them by aggrieved customers.
So, if you are planning on sourcing for packaging from China, you need to be careful when choosing a supplier. Your experience depends to a greater extent on the expertise of the supplier you choose. Below are some important considerations to take or factors to consider before you choose a packaging suppliers.
1. Does Your Chinese Suppliers 100% Understand Your Requirements?
One problem facing most companies that sourcing for packaging from China is the problem of communication. Under China’s fierce competition environment, suppliers in China, especially first coorperated supplier, tend to say “yes” “ok” when you try to describe your requirement. They are eager to get your order first instead of understanding your real needs. So, when you explain your needs to your supplier, you should ensure that your requirements are properly and 100% understood by your Chinese supplier. It is not good to presume anything here.
Ask the supplier questions to find out whether he or she understands you. You should request your supplier to provide you with a written details of your order and requirements. Read through it to find out whether you are on the same page with the supplier. If he gets it right, it means that he clearly understood your requirements. You can move on with the company. Sometimes many packaging companies make mistake because they do not understand the requirements of their clients fully.
2. Low Price VS High Quality
Service price is one of the important factors that virtually every company considers when they are looking for a packaging company in China. There is nothing bad with looking for affordable service. However, you should not sacrifice price for quality. As it is said nothing good comes so cheaper. If you really want quality packaging, it is going to cost you some money which you will recoup as you begin to sell your product. You will find that some company will charge you almost nothing for a service that is supposed to cost you a fortune. The truth is that some of these companies that charge low price do not deliver quality packaging.
Packaging itself is very costly as it requires the use of costly materials. So, there is no how a packaging company will charge you below the cost of material required. If a company charges very low, it simply means that it is going to use inferior materials to carry out the services meaning that you will not get quality service from the company. There is also the issue of hidden charges. Some companies in their quotes will not include all the costs that you incur for the services. As you seal a deal with them, they will gradually begin to request for payment for one thing or the other.
The issue about low price is the issue of abandoning project. There are stories of packaging companies failing to meet up with the requirements of a project or abandoning it on the way simply because they undercharged it. This is why you should be wary of low price. When you are given a quote, take time to study it and compare it with other companies’ quotes. If there are remarkable differences, you need to find out why there are such differences.
3. Is Your Chinese Supplier Professional Enough?
A good packaging supplier should show signs of professionalism and mastery of the business. A reliable and expert supplier knows what will best suit a certain a particular product. With deep knowledge of the business and nitty-gritty of the packaging requirements, he will be able to proffer sound advice and solution. When you contact a supplier and explain your requirements, take note of the attitude of the supplier. Does he provide sound advice or suggest better ways you can meet your packaging requirements? Is he confused with the terminologies used in packaging or does he show mastery of the terminologies? The above consideration will help you to determine the level of the professionalism of the supplier you are dealing with.
It is necessary that you consider how prompt the person provides feedback and offers suggestions especially if you are dealing with the person online. The truth is that it is not every person that claims to be a supplier is really an expert in packaging. Some only source for project and then outsource it to another company or business that will do it. So, when you ask questions or make inquiry, it will take longer than usual for the person to provide feedback as he has to make inquiries from experts in the business in order to know what to tell you. Real and expert suppliers know what you need and will provide prompt feedback and sound suggestions to help you meet your packaging requirements.
4. Did you find a responsible supplier when problem occurs?
Another factor that you should consider when you are searching for a packaging supplier from China is how responsible the supplier is. A good supplier takes blame and responsibility of mistakes and error and find solid solutions to it. Nobody is above mistakes and sometimes a partner may even be the cause. A reliable supplier does not apportion blames or refuse to accept mistakes.
Sometimes the problems just happened. For example, the box printing color should be Pantone NEON 807C (fresh red color) but your supplier make a mistake and now it’s with dim red.
According to my experience and I also discussed with some manufacturers here in China. Most of them will try to send the dim red sample to you anyway. Maybe you will not notice the issue when receive it. Finally you get the sample and complain for the color issue with your supplier. You get mad as everything is settled now. Paper is wrapped on the box, supplier are not willing to arrange second sample for their mistake. You have no choice but try to persuade yourself or your clients to accept the sample.
So if you ever met a packaging supplier who will take his responsibility to rework on packaging, cheers!! you are lucky enough to work with them.
5. Never forget sampling and QC
Finally, don’t be in a hurry to seal a deal with a supplier without demanding for samples and quality control. The sample will help you to judge efficiency and professionalism of a company. Besides, it will also help you to know whether the supplier understands your need or not. You can also make adjustment to your requirement if you have the sample of the final product that you will get from the supply. You should also remember to ask for quality control or standards to be used. This will help to eliminate any problem or misunderstanding that may arise in future which will be too late to resolve when it finally occurs.
