A promotional product giveaway at a conference is an excellent way to get your brand out in front of potential customers, but it’s also an opportunity to hit your company’s bottom line where it counts the most. If you choose the wrong company to manufacture your promotional products, though, you can lose money and even fail to produce the right product in time for your event. China manufacturing has both significant cost-saving benefits and quality control, making it the best choice of manufacturers overall. Here are five reasons why you should choose China over any other manufacturing option.
1) Shipping Costs
Companies who outsource manufacturing to factories in China often assume that shipping costs from Asia are going to be prohibitive. Not so! Companies can sometimes ship products from China directly to their customers and save big on transportation costs. Making sure that your factory is located near shipping channels (like Guangdong) will also help reduce your freight charges. If you choose to work with a China-based logistics partner, find one with their own warehouse there and ask about their customs clearing services; even if you must clear shipments through customs yourself, it will likely still be more cost effective than domestic manufacturing. With options like these, there’s no reason not to take advantage of our most cost-effective option for promotional product manufacturing—China!
2) Lead Time
When you’re planning a project, lead time is an important consideration, as it takes time to design custom product (especially if it’s more complex than a basic t-shirt) and ship. With the massive labor supply, world-renowned work ethics and well-rounded supply chains, the “China efficiency” can secure a very competitive and promising lead time for your product, especially when compared with other countries. The far advanced Infrastructure in China can also make sure your product will get shipped out as soon as possible, so you also don’t have to stress yourself too much over the time frame.
3) Order Quantity
How many custom promo products do you need? If you’re running a serious marketing campaign, then you’ll want to order as many as possible. However, if you are just testing out a new product or are looking to create something unique and one of a kind, then you might be better off ordering fewer items that will fit your needs. When it comes to outsourcing promotional product manufacturing in China, it makes sense to start big! With so much variety and size selection available within any given category (think shirts), it can be hard to determine what your sales volume might look like before ordering inventory. You can always cut back on how many items you ordered by reducing prices if sales projections don’t pan out!
4) Design Flexibility
Outsourcing manufacturing to a country like China means that you have access to an array of suppliers from which to choose. If your design isn’t quite set in stone, changing things up isn’t as difficult or costly as it would be if you had decided on a particular vendor. Further, these vendors often specialize in different types of products—if you’re looking to outsource apparel manufacturing, one vendor might work better than another if that vendor specializes in T-shirts and not polo shirts, for example. Finally, some more advanced features may only be available at certain factories—for example, being able to print two colors instead of just one. When possible, it’s best to do business with companies that can handle whatever you throw at them!
5) Quality Control & Standards
As one of your most important considerations when outsourcing your manufacturing, you want to ensure that Chinese suppliers are held to high standards. It’s very easy for products to be damaged in transit or arrive with a defect. The best thing you can do is make sure you hire an experienced and reliable product inspector who knows how to avoid hazards and spot issues before they become problems. In addition, look at 3rd-party certifications that suppliers have earned and past inspection reports. Their testimonials and reference are proof that make it possible for buyers to count on manufacturing performance based on documented procedures. Having these systems in place ensures continuity in every step of your supply chain process.
By taking advantage of China manufacturing, you can ensure that your products are made to high standards, customized exactly as needed and shipped quickly. With a well-made plan, marketing considerations and some research on your options, manufacturing in China will be an easy transition with long-term benefits. C2W has abundant experience in this regard and shares a similar cultural background that spares you from trouble of miscommunication. Feel free to reach out to us!
