Tips: Where to Find Suppliers and Manufacturers

Tips: Where to Find Suppliers and Manufacturers

Purchasing and Supply Management 101

After answering the how-to question when looking for product suppliers for your startup company, you are left with where the question to deal with. These two questions complement each other, as they each form one half of a circle. So, your problems regarding the prospection for a product supplier are only half solved due to incomplete information. Having half information is having the wrong kind of information, and the wrong kind of information can be equated to a death trap! This article is going to answer the where question for you so that once you hit the road the only thing you’ll be doing is running.

Internet Research

When it comes to searching for information, the internet is your one true savior. I mean, whatever you are looking for, there is a 100% chance of finding it online. You only need to know how to look. Below are useful worldwide sites of potential product suppliers for your company. The below information has been categorized according to regions globally.

Africa
Africa Imports– Are you looking to import products from Africa? If so, all you need to do is check this particular site for wholesale prices.

Arab
Arabo – If your business is centered around retailing goods from Middle Eastern countries, you should check this platform out.

Asia
Times Directories – It doesn’t matter what country you’re targeting within the Asian continent, this site is a sure way to get suppliers and manufacturers from it. Considering that some nations within this continent have low labor expenses, Time Directories can be a gold mine for you.

China
Alibaba – This site is widely used by retailers on Amazon although it has a high number of fake intermediaries, and their products aren’t unique.
AliExpess – This is a subsidiary of Alibaba that specializes in smaller-volume shipments that are facilitated by the seller directly.
DHGate – It’s similar to AliExpress in some aspects, as it deals with smaller volume shipments. However, it provides escrow services to protect sellers and buyers from scams.
1688 – This is also a subsidiary of Alibaba, although it majorly deals with Chinese buyers and sellers.
Doba – It’s considered to be more like Alibaba, but it specifically focuses on offering drop shipping services to suppliers.

Europe
Zentrada – This site is functional within the EU, and it mostly deals with business-to-business transactions. Thus, it tends to facilitate the wholesale transactions of supplies.

UK
MX Wholesale – As the name suggests, this platform also deals with wholesale transactions like Zentrada, but its operations are limited to within the UK.
The Wholesaler – The platform has proven to be useful for retailers within the UK as it has numerous wholesale dealers that have been verified.

USA
Makers Row – The platform is home to over 1500 manufacturers who are situated in the US, and listed in its directories.
Mfg – If you’re looking for unique products, then this is the way to go. MFG is the most detailed site for sourcing manufacturers that provide highly customized goods and services.
Sourcing USA – The database was developed to target product developers within the US by connecting them with manufacturers within the US.
Thomasnet – Otherwise referred to as The Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, it is functional in the US and Canada. It is more of a directory for manufacturers and suppliers in the US.

Latin America
The Central American Group – With the numerous changes occurring as a result of environmental pollution, it’s time people started prioritizing the environment over economic gain. If you’re one of these people, then The Central American Group is the place to go for environmentally friendly supplies in Latin America.
Exporta – If you want to exploit the fact that Latin American countries have cost-effective labor by sourcing products and supplies from this region, Exports could save you the stress of searching for manufacturers. This is because it’s the largest single database for suppliers within Latin America.

India
Trade India – With about 2200 categories, there is a high likelihood that whatever manufacturer you’re looking for within India, you might find on this platform.
IndiaMART – This site is specifically developed to support business-to-business transactions, and it can work for most businesses regardless of their operations level.

Seeking Recommendations from Friends and Business Associates

Do you happen to know that one friend or business associate that might be already in the industry you want to join? If so, time to write that email or make the call! When you are new to something, you might have zero skills in separating the wheat from the chaff in all aspects. This means that you might not be able to differentiate invaluable data from noise and misleading information.

Thus, you might want to prioritize credible and dependable sources of information, which you can trust readily. And who’s better to trust than your friend or business associate? If they have been longer than you in the industry, they most probably know the product suppliers that are true to their word and those that are scammers.

They might also be aware of the product suppliers that offer the most cost-effective prices and top-notch customer services. Besides, they might share with you that one product supplier can deliver goods with a snap of the finger hence saving you on a rainy day.

Checking The Telephone Directories of Your Geographic Location

You might know them as phonebooks, yellow pages, or telephone address books. As you might already know, they contain a detailed list of individuals and organizations that have subscribed to telephone services offered by a certain telecommunications company within a specific region. If product suppliers within the geographic location of your company have subscribed to telephone services, you are sure to find them there.

It sounds like common sense, but you might be surprised by the number of things that might slip your mind when you are going through the stress of starting up a company.

Challenges that you might experience after securing a product supplier

Issue 1:
If it seems too good to be true, then it most probably is! Nobody should lie to you that you can find the perfect and most understanding supplier or manufacturer that is highly credible and dependable and with the capability to meet your product quantity and quality demands as soon as they arise. The process of securing a supplier and receiving ordered goods has its ups and downs just as everything else in life.

For instance, you might find just the right product supplier that is able to satisfy all your product quality and quantity demands within the required time, but their premises are a long distance from your business establishment. When this occurs, you might be forced to incur higher delivery costs and wait for longer time frames for your products to be delivered.

PRO TIP: To deal with such kinds of challenges you can decide to search for a supplier that is nearer or order surplus products to cover your demands for longer periods hence reducing the need for several deliveries.

Issue 2: 
Besides, you might find a product supplier online that seems to pass all your checks. However, since you have never transacted with this particular supplier before, doubts might arise. You might have trust issues if the supplier asks for payment upfront to deliver goods. It’s normal for you to experience those trust issues. You aren’t being paranoid but rather trying to be careful.

PRO TIP: You can request the supplier to consider using escrow services for payment or at least accept half of the payment upfront before receiving the rest after the order has been fulfilled.

Issue 3: 
Last, you might make an order for certain products from a supplier after he/she has promised to deliver high-quality goods. When the goods arrive, you discover that the supplier was all words with no actions to back them up.

PRO TIP: To avoid such issues always check reviews of previous customers of the supplier’s social media profiles or website.

Conclusion: Sourcing Products Worldwide Is Not An Impossible Task

Overall, there are two things you should consider doing to ensure the success of your endeavor of searching for suppliers and manufacturers. It’s not rocket science, but being conscious of cultural differences and supportive of your partners’ business structure could go a long way in developing healthy relationships. Instead of just getting down to business when you contact your partners, you could try engaging in some pleasantries by asking how they are doing, and if business is good. Rather than make inflexible and rigid demands on your suppliers and manufacturers, you could try to look for a middle point that works for both of you and makes all of you happy.

Above all, this article might have been detailed in terms of addressing the issue of sourcing for suppliers, but some things might escape our notice. You can help out with this problem by adding whatever feedback you have in the comments section.