By Dylan Blankenship

Contacting a factory online is very common, especially with the growth on online directories such as Global Sources and Alibaba. However when most buyers contact a factory online using these websites, they are often frustrated by their experience.

Many buyers complain that the factories don’t respond to requests for information or requests for quotes quickly, if at all. Other buyers complain that when they do receive a response, the emails are very brief, don’t include the requested price quotes, don’t answer the questions that were asked, and in general don’t inspire confidence that the factory can meet the buyer’s requirements.

On a clear bright day in the spring of 2005, we made a decision to look East to procure building materials. At the time, real estate development in the United States was growing very fast as an industry. In particular, converting apartment buildings into condominiums was big business. We decided to launch Parkview Industries, which would help to increase our profit margins by importing building materials from China by acting as a distributor to our existing real estate development business.

Our top 5 qualifications when evaluating a potential factory were
1. They had to have unique products.
2. Specific models we were interested in needed to be available.
3. The price had to be low. (After all, it always comes down to this in the end!)
4. Ability to accommodate all export/logistics for the shipment was important to us as we didn’t have previous experience.
5. Future capability for private label opportunities was important to us because we were considering starting our own brands.
6. References needed to be available for review.

We learned very quickly that in fact we were not only qualifying factories but also that the factories were qualifying us as buyers. The factories we took the time to develop a relationship with were much more forthcoming with information and price quotes. The factories that were not convinced in our ability to put containers on the ocean were much less helpful.

At first we thought ‘well if a factory doesn’t want us as a buyer, then that’s their problem’. However in fact, the reality is that these are sometimes the better factories, and they are nervous that you might be a competitor just trying to get their pricing information.

When making initial contact with a factory online, keep in mind the following

1. You are not only qualifying the factory; the factory is also qualifying you as a buyer. Validating your company in the minds of the supplier is of the utmost importance.

2. The initial communication, preferably through email, should include a brief introduction to your company, your position within the company, and include a statement of adequate buying power resources.

3. Showcase your company with a polished website illustrating your industry and experience. The site should generate a logical understanding, in the mind of the reader, of why your company would be interested in manufacturing in China.

4. Ensure the email asks for the specific information you require. For example, you may ask, “May I please have a price quote for item …” or “What is your sample availability and process?”

5. Include the specific item or model numbers you are interested in, attach pictures from the factory’s website or other sources, and in general be as specific as possible with your requests.

6. Indicate available contact methods for further communication (MSN, Skype, email, phone). In addition to email, most Chinese factories are on Skype and MSN and this sometimes is better than email because the “back and forth” is quicker, once an initial relationship is already developed.

Given the experiences we have had with sourcing over the internet, there’s a lot more to each point we have made here in this article. We will expand on the key lessons presented here in an upcoming article that provides detail on what we learned and how it helped find us both good and bad suppliers. Stay tuned and thanks for visiting.
 

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