Sourcing services in China
Your procurement, our responsibility
DocShipper aim to assist and facilitate your procurement process from A to Z. That's why, we also provide sourcing services which is the combinaison of all procurement steps : supplier search, negotiation, products compliance, quality control... You are not sure your supplier is reliable ? Let us verify ! You want to guarantee the production ? We will control it ! You don't want bad surprise when product arrive at customs at destination ? We will make sure your product comply with your targeted market !
Procurement assistance in China
Our experienced sourcing team builds a certain legitimacy and trust in China. Partnership we established with suppliers in multiple fields will serves your interest : we develop the product you are looking for in order to be line with your budget and requirements. Obviously, thanks to our logistics department, we will assist your project until the delivery in your warehouse.
Your sourcing partner in China
Our distinguished services, supported by ISO certification allow us to work with suppliers that we consider "the best". More than just a sourcing partner, we will guide you in China for the whole process. Your project will be handled by one dedicated DocShipper expert to aid the communication. Electronics in Shenzhen ? Toys in Yiwu ? Clothes in Ningbo ? Don't worry, we are here to support !
Take advantage of the DocShipper network to operate across China!
A unique and perfect solution!
From conception to delivery passing by development, certain factors such as quality guarantee, factory certifications, product innovation, financial conditions, minimum order quantities to name a few, can cause concern or even problems. It is legitimate that you cannot handle all these steos alone, especially if you are not welle experienced about internationla procurement.
Here DocShipper it is ! Our expertise allows us to be very active on these issues. The solution will then be quickly found and implemented. We pay attention to the volume as well as the status of the supplier to allocate the corresponding support.
How will we help you?
Sourcing step by step
Doing business in China is often time-consuming and unprofitable especially at the start. It is a shame to miss this gold mine. In order to avoid this, trust Docshipper who will be your right hand in China. You just need to focus on the promotion of your product while we take care of all the rest. This offer is obviously tailor-made in order to offer an "all-inclusive solution". Design, Packaging, Transport, Customer relations etc ...
Let your worries become our own, release your stress, take example from hundreds of clients who want trust our services !
How do we proceed? What are the different stages of this sourcing process?
The procurement process is a combination of various interactions with several actors. Thanks to our experience, we are able to be in touch with all different players. Even if you let a sourcing company handle your purchase, you should have a clear idea of the process to know where you set foot. The different steps below are standard but it's hard to handle them all together.
Here are the key points before receiving the goods at the port or at your chosen delivery place:
Specifications of the project
Our employees, unlike our competitors, are the direct link between the buyer and the seller in order to limit the talkers and to gain accuracy and flexibility with regard to your requests.
We consequently made the decision within DocShipper to offer you a relationship of trust with customer officers who are themselves the architects of the research and negotiation process with suppliers. In fact the specifications will be taken into account and transmitted to the selected suppliers with attention.
These specifications must be transmitted precisely, thoughtfully and synthetically in a single email so that our teams and suppliers can save time, your time. It should include the following:
1. Your product(s) specifications:
- Link of the reference (Amazon, Alibaba, Aliexpress, etc.)
- Specifications if the link is not enough
- Pictures if the link is not enough
- Others details if necessary
2. The MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) for the first order:
If you want to order 10,000 motorcycles for example, we need to know what quantities by color and power as well as the target price by reference. It is not mandatory but if for example you have already had quotes from one or several supplier(s) in the past, we advise you to send us these quotes, in order to save time in our research and seek to beat a price that you have already negotiated. This target price will also help us to search directly with supplier providing the range of product you expect.
Providers search
Crucial step in the procurement process as we will directly check if suppliers meet your requirements in terms of:
- Pricing
- certifications and norms of your market
- Customization of your products and how
- Expertise to work on contract in compliance with any manufacturing contracts (OEM-ODM) / subcontracting
- Respect for any intellectual property of the client
- Varied customer needs
- Additional subjective analysis of the quality of a supplier among many
An internal short list will be carried out on these requirements in order to select the appropriate supplier(s) for the next step.
Audit and standards
Our legal specialist will verify all documents provided by your supplier (CE, ROHS, EEC, ISO, EN71 ...) to make sure it comply properly with the law.
This work necessitates close collaboration with the customs and administrations of the importing country as well as contacts and verifications with the certifying laboratories.
A legislative awareness is important in order to always be up to date with new directives which are constantly updated.
Info DocShipper : You want further information about this subject? Feel free to check our dedicated article to learn more about this service:Verification and audit
Negotiation
The 2nd step done, it's now time to negotiate with the supplier on different points. We are well experienced in this field and mainly... We deal in Chinese directly ! In this step, we will clarify with the supplier the 4 following details:
- Pricing
- Guarantee
- Terms of payment
- Delay and capacity of the production
(Optional but recommended) Sampling
Once the desirable conditions are met, we can opt for the final supplier matching to the project and come back to you with an optimal quote and answer any questions.
This estimate will include in total transparency the transport price, the manufacturer price, our commissions.
(Optional) Quality control
Quality control is a step that we often recommend, based on various variables, in order to verify your products and their characteristics. We work with our partners to offer you different types of QC, flexible and covering the entire Chinese territory.
This control is generally of 2 types: appearance / functional
90% of these checks take place at the end of the production and therefore after the payment of the supplier deposit (generally negotiated at the best conditions of 30% of the total amount of the order). This control will check compliance with the specifications and control any manufacturing defects. We will be able to enforce the manufacturing conditions (previously negotiated with the supplier) in order to obtain a correction, compensation with regard to the problem.
Payment of the supplier
Supplier payment takes place after validation of the quote through us and according to the conditions negotiated with the supplier. In general we obtain from them a deposit of 30% before production, then the remaining payment (70%) after optional quality control and before sending the goods.
More favorable and flexible conditions can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis with the manufacturers once the first transactions have been completed and trust established. In the last step, we will talk about supply chain management and cash management.
International logistics
We are proud to be able to offer you, within our forwarding department, international transport services.
DocShipper is indeed one of the few companies with an integrated company model offering the sourcing service in total synergy with the transport service.
However, in the spirit of always favoring our customers we will constantly put our own transport department in competition with the supplier's transporter in order to select the best solution at the best price.
This transport will meet your convenience in terms of delay, cost and method of transport (sea, air, train). We will thus negotiate the best prices according to the Incoterm of your choice. This is not only a great help for our customers but also a plus for our partner suppliers who are often lacking the capacity to deliver to the customer's door (Incoterm DAP).
Infos DocShipper : You want further information about our method of transport ? Feel free to check our dedicated pages : Sea freight, Air freight, Rail freight and Trucking.
Supply chain and treasury management
- Order & relationship management on recurring and long-term business with the supplier(s).
- Creation of a provisional order calendar taking into account the supplier's production capacity, transport transit times varying according to seasonality, manufacturer's holiday periods.
- Management and improvement of payment conditions in order to otpimize the cash flow of your business. We will try to negotiate with suppliers in order to reduce your working capital requirements to improve your net cash.
- Competitive and market price survey.
(Optional) : 3PL Services
Our distribution center is based in the earth of Europe, precisely in Camporosso in North Italia. This allow us to store, prepare and delivery your E-Commerce orders in the most optimized way. You will be able to check in real time your level of stock per reference as well as customized your parcel in order to develop your branding.
To summarize, we take care of all the logistics chain so that you focus only on marketing.
Infos DocShipper : 3PL services is the latest department we launched at DocShipper and it works very well ! You want further information about this department ? Feel free to check our dedicated page : 3PL services
DocShipper's goal is 100% customer satisfaction from the start. Transparent and concise cooperation is key, we put in place what it takes to achieve these ideals.
The proper cooperation will allow a quick verification of the characteristics and details (quality control, order). Once this is done, we will begin the production process.
We will obviously have an eye on production. Our goal ? Inform you about compliance with quality, deadlines or any other important detail.
Last checks, payment and reservation of space for final delivery. The last step before arrival ...
A PORTFOLIO OF MORE THAN 3000 SUPPLIERS
Thanks to our experience including daily checks, we now have a catalog of more thna 3000 suppliers. This trust and maintained relationship allows us to be comfortable as for the quality of the service and the product. With a view to customer satisfaction, it is mandatory for us to be sure that quality meets your expectations.
DocShipper, initially an Asian freight forwarder, has seen the development of more and more services, ultimately being able to offer an all-inclusive package.
Choose us: We buy, we regulate, we deliver, you sell!
FAQ | Sourcing agent in China
🤔 Why use a sourcing agent?
There are many excellent factories in China; however, dealing with Chinese factories requires a lot of experience: product quality control processes (material requirements, processing technologies, in-process quality testing and finished products), shipping and export management. Using a professional company like DocShipper will help you buy goods in China with much less hassle and at a lower cost!
✅ What is the role of a Sourcing Agent?
The sourcing agent is your right hand in China. He will be in charge of representing you, analyzing and selecting candidates in line with your needs. Once the supplier is chosen, the agent can launch production while controlling the quality of the products and making sure that the shipment complies with the rules of the destination country. Generally speaking, this agent will make sure to avoid the slightest problem in the purchasing chain in order to facilitate the decision making process on your side.
📦 Are there minimum order quantities (MOQ) ?
There are no minimum order quantity requirements. However, we prefer orders with a purchase amount exceeding $5,000 USD. The reason for this is that if you are looking for small quantities for a low priced item, you may find that customs clearance, duties, freight and bank transfer fees cost more for your shipment itself.
🔍 Where do you find suppliers?
First of all, it's easy to find suppliers and get quotes from yourself or from sourcing agents. Web giants such as Alibaba, Taobao, 1588, AliExpress... are the best known sites for sourcing from Chinese suppliers. On the other hand, the advantage of using a sourcing agent is that we take care of the tedious but important details in order to make the whole sourcing process safe, fast and simple so that you have more time to focus your efforts on marketing your products.
📋 What are the criteria for the supplier search?
It is one of the most important steps to succeed with your business, so it is necessary to check different points when starting with a supplier such as price, certifications and standards of the importing country, ability to customize, ability to work on contract in compliance with possible manufacturing contracts (OEM-ODM), subcontracting, respect for possible intellectual property of the client, the varied needs of the client ...
DocShipper China | Procurement - Quality control - Logistics
Alibaba, Dhgate, made-in-china... Many know of websites to get supplies in Asia, but how many have come across a scam ?! It is very risky to pay an Asian supplier halfway around the world based only on promises! DocShipper offers you complete procurement services integrating logistics needs: purchasing, quality control, customization, licensing, transport...
Communication is important, which is why we strive to discuss in the most suitable way for you!