As an international buyer, you must have experienced following cases and suffered from: late delivery, lower-level quality of products received with defects, quantity received was NOT the same as the order quantity, the supplier did not offer after-sale service and honor the contract at all etc...
Do you have good ways to stop you from above risks in doing business?
Here are some tips for your safe and smooth import business in China:
1. Due Diligence work before placing any orders:
i. Basic Verification (Checking out their Business License and Export License)
Every factory or trade company has their own Business License in China, from their real business license, you will be able to find out all their registered information like full company name, registered capital, registration date, legal representative, business scope, company type etc. There are lot of fake business licenses online in China, this is why you have to contact local officials for verification before placing any orders, if you know nothing about Chinese, you can also try STIN Basic Verification service.
ii. Factory Inspection and Auditing
If your order is very large or if you’re looking for a long term or OEM factory in China, you’d better visit and audit their qualifications first before placing any order. Factory Inspection or Auditing Service is a kind of detailed verification service. Around 85% of the Chinese trade companies or agents online or at local trade fairs would disguise as a real factory in order to obtain big orders. The purpose of any factory auditing or inspection services is to disclose following information regarding their supplier: The full registered information; Management level;Facilities; Export experience or qualifications; Staff; Quality control measures; R &D;After-sale service measures; Bank credit etc;Typical audits can range from verifying simple business transactions, to full inspection or surveillance of a process or corporate social responsibility etc. If you’d like to save more time, cost and energy etc in China, you can try STIN factory inspection service.
iii. Sampling
No matter how big your order it is, confirming the quality of samples is a safe way to do business in China. With the sample at hand, you can easily check out their quality levels, raw materials, labels, package, technical specifications, descriptions, application etc, but for some professional scammers, they will use ‘high quality samples’, then use worse raw materials and produce the lower-level quality products during the mass production. This is rare but many cases did happen before.This is why more and more big buyers asking STIN to check the sample, keep the sample and inspect the order quality with the samples confirmed in China in person. Here is the link: http://www.chinabizservices.com/service/Management/Sampling_Inspection_Service/
iv. Formal Contract Draft
China is not an English speaking country and all the legal documents shall be presented in Chinese, so when your order is very large, you’d better use bilingual Purchase or Sales Contract in China. All the order details, package, payment terms, lead time and after-sale services etc shall be clearly stipulated in the contract for any large orders. Also please note that some professional scammers use ‘fake’ company chop or seal in the contract, so you’re suggested to ask an local Chinese expert to proofread and translate the contract first before any signature.
2. Due Diligence work during production
i. During-production Quality Control Inspection
The purpose of any During-production QC Inspection is mainly to check the raw material quality, raw material stock, production QC standards, semi-products and other potential QC risks at the factory for the clients worldwide, this work can be carried out when the order is 30-50% completed in order to avoid REWORK on the whole order later. With this inspection the buyer can trace the lead time on time in China, if you’re not able to do it in person, you can try STIN QC Inspection Service.
ii. Pre-shipment Quality Control Inspection
After the during-production QC inspection, a Pre-shipment QC inspection service is very necessary for large order before delivery in China. The purpose of any Pre-production QC Inspection is mainly to check the finished product and all the order details (workmanship, quality, quantity, documents,labels, shipping marks etc.). Most of the buyers use ‘pre-shipment QC inspection’ service to protect their interests before delivery in China:
http://www.chinabizservices.com/service/Management/Pre_production_QC_Inspection_Se/
Normally for 99% of the orders, you can only book ONE quality control inspection service, say, pre-shipment QC inspection service, to protect your interests in the factory and it is unnecessary to book two inspection services for one order but some very big orders are exceptional.
3. Due Diligence work after you pay the supplier
i. On-site Loading Process Supervision
In China most of the factories ask for full payment before loading the goods and sometimes there would be some goods missing during the loading process in China. So for some special orders, an on-site loading process supervision service is necessary, Loading Process Supervision Service means the inspector shall go to the factory's warehouse together with the shipper, overseeing the process of loading on behalf of the clients in China after they pay the factory. The purpose of a Supervision of Loading Process is to make sure the factory will deliver the right Quantity or Quality after the buyer pays the order.
ii. After-sale Service (Order Follow-up)
Some factories have no sense of after-sale services in China and in this case all the after-sale services have to be clearly stipulated in the contract before paying the deposit.
Resources and copyright: STIN (CHINA) BUSINESS SERVICE CO.，LTD
STIN CONSULTING SERVICE IS AIMING TO SAVE YOU MORE AND REDUCE THE RISKS IN YOUR BUSINESS IN CHINA! WWW.CHINABIZSERVICES.COM OR WWW.BIZINCHINA.CC
