Our Services

What does sourcing mean in business?

Sourcing is the process of vetting, selecting, and managing suppliers who can provide an organization with the materials and services they need on a daily basis. Research, creating and executing strategy, defining quality and quantity metrics, and selecting suppliers that meet these criteria are the responsibilities of sourcing.

Usually, when we talk about sourcing, we mean finding the right suppliers, finding the right products, and making sure that the supplier is qualified, safe, and honest, and that the quality of the product is guaranteed. There is a special type of person or company who we called the sourcing agent in the business.

Why sourcing is important in business?

The ability of sourcing determines a company’s overall competitive ability.
It benefits buyers because they can negotiate lower prices for high-volume purchases, thus the minus cost of goods sold and maintaining the ability to price their products competitively.

How many types of sourcing?

There are two broad types of sourcing are Insourcing(in-house model) and Outsourcing(outsourced model).
Insourcing means a company does its own sourcing with in-house staff. Outsourcing means it relies on an external agency to fulfill the requirements.

What is the sourcing process?

The sourcing process includes every activity that revolves around identifying and assessing potential suppliers as well as selecting and engaging with an appropriate supplier who offers the best value.

What does a sourcing agent do?

A Sourcing agent(A sourcing company) is to help the buyer to find quality suppliers or products, and to help them to purchase products at the best price.
The role of the sourcing agent is to ensure that the supplier is stable and reliable, and the product is of the best quality so that the buyers no need to worry about the supply of the product. The buyer who is lucky to have a good sourcing agent can concentrate on the marketing.

What are sourcing services?

Sourcing Services means the delivery of advisory services and resources that help a company negotiate improved pricing, commercial terms, and conditions, or establish new supplier relationships for global telecom (voice, data, mobile) services, IT infrastructure, software, and outsourcing, for a fixed and/or contingent fee.

We (Goalrunning) are located in Guangzhou, China, so we can provide China sourcing services only. With 8 years of experience in the apparel industry, jeans manufacturing, watch straps industry, we provide these industry sourcing services only.

What services we provide are:
Supplier Sourcing:
Product Sourcing
Supplier Verification
Follow-up purchase orders

How do I find a good sourcing agent in China?

If you need Chinese sourcing agents in your business, you can try the following ways.

1. Search Engines

Using the Search engines to search out what are you looking for is the most efficient and direct way. There are many different engines to search for Chinese sourcing agents.
Such as,

Google
Youtube
Microsoft Bing
Yahoo

You can easily find a great number of Chinese sourcing agents through search engines no matter good or not good. Then the next step is to validate and select the right one.

2. The Canton Fair

The Canton Fair is the largest comprehensive trade fair in China, with tens of thousands of foreign merchants participating every year. Suppliers of all sizes in China want to reach out to direct customers at the Canton Fair. At the same time, the service companies such as sourcing agents, shipping agents will rush to participate.
We(Goalrunning) attend the Canton Fair every time to source new suppliers or new products for the buyers who requested, and it works very well. However, after the COVID-19 epidemic, the Canton Fair was changed to an online show therefore the buyers can easily participate in the exhibition online.

3. The company website

Actually, this is a similar way as search engines. But if you know these sourcing company websites, it can help you skip the search engines. Here are some websites recommended following.

GR
Of course, it`s us- the best sourcing agent in Guangzhou. We can help the buyers source suppliers, products and keep following up the purchase orders. We can’t do all the industries, what we’re good at is the apparel industry, the denim pants, and the straps industry.

LeelineSourcing
It is found in Wuhan, China. Leeline Sourcing has a good reputation as a sourcing company and has been around for years now.
It offers all kinds of sourcing, quality control, and FBA services.

China Purchasing Agent
Here is another sourcing agent in China. It works as a potential supplier and is present in Shenzhen, China.

You can access them for reliable services.

B2c Sourcing
B2c sourcing is a well-known sourcing business. Its reliable product sourcing service makes suitable suppliers for you.

You can visit their website for further details and hire them as your sourcing agent.

Foshan Sourcing
Among many china global sourcing solutions, this is another trusted Chinese sourcing company.

You can quickly contact them through their website or email.

It covers a vast china sourcing division. If you are looking for a quality inspection Shenzhen, this is the one.

Qaizen Group
It is a Shanghai sourcing management company.

Qaizen Group is known as a trustworthy sourcing agent in China. You can contact them through their customized online portals.

How much does a Chinese agent cost?

There is no standard for the agent cost. There are 2 popular ways of charging in sourcing commission and one-time charge we use.
Generally, large amount orders use the form of commission between 3%-10% of the purchase amount as the sourcing fee, and small orders use the one-time charge calculated by day or by time.

Can I connect to the China suppliers after the sourcing agent?

Some of the sourcing agents don`t like the buyers contact with the suppliers. In today’s highly developed era of information, this approach is not wise.

We are different.
All the suppliers you can contact directly in our sourcing services.
After the sourcing services we offered, you can choose to cooperate with us, or you can also go directly to the suppliers.

Where can I source products from China?

1. Local Market:

There are thousands of markets in China. You can get any products on the right market no matter you are a wholesaler, a retailer, or a brand. But there is another problem is how to get the right market in China. As China is so big, nobody can know everything. We are the sourcing agent in Guangzhou, all we know is Guangzhou markets.

2. Canton Fair:

As we mentioned, Canton Fair is the best way to get good quality suppliers and products. So do not lose it if you can get any chance to the Canton Fair.

3. Online sourcing:

Here online sourcing means you do it by yourself. In China, the most popular product sourcing platforms are Alibaba, Global Sources, and Made-in-China. You can find various suppliers labeled “gold member”, “verified supplier”, “onsite supplier”, “accredited supplier”, etc on these websites.

Can anyone buy from Alibaba?

Yes, anyone can order from Alibaba.
Alibaba is the largest supplier directory where a single person can order directly from a manufacturer. But remember that Alibaba doesn’t make anything, they feature manufacturers who will work with both individuals and companies.

How do I pay a supplier in 1688?

1688 is the Chinese wholesale platform of Alibaba group. The website is www.1688.com.
1688 is mainly aimed at China domestic small businesses in e-commerce, so it is the Chinese version. But as a foreigner, you can also buy products in 1688 and pay the suppliers.
Here is the way to pay the suppliers in 1688 as a foreigner.

1. Alipay

Paying through Alipay is the cheapest and most convenient way as Chinese. Because Chinese can register the Alipay account easily with a Chinese bank account.
As a foreigner, you can also get a Chinese bank account if you can go to the bank office and fulfill the forms they’re provided.

2. Alipay Business Account With 1688 Cross-Border Pay

1688 cross-border Pay(跨境宝/Kuajingbao/KJB) is a payment solution offered by 1688 and Alipay for companies registered in certain overseas countries and regions.
This is the official solution provided by 1688 and Alipay to help the overseas regions purchase on 1688.
Once you get this kind of account, you will find you can purchase on 1688 and pay the suppliers like a Chinese. The exchange rate is low, which is more competitive than the bank`s live rate. And they charge a small service fee.

3. Alipay “Pay For You” Feature

Alipay has a feature called “Pay for you” which allows you to invite your friends to pay for you.
If you have friends in China, you can ask them to pay for you.

4. West union

Western Union is relatively simple, you only need to know the name and address of the recipient, this method is more suitable for small payments.

5. Your Chinese friends

Nowadays, Chinese people going abroad more and more,
You can build a connection with them, and ask them to pay for you, then you only need to pay them in the local currency.

What is supplier qualification?

It is possible to view supplier qualification as a way to assess risk. It should ensure that suppliers, vendors, and contractors are capable of providing materials, components, and services in compliance with regulatory requirements.
We do supplier verification is a kind of way of supplier qualification to screen out the high-quality suppliers.

Why is supplier qualification important?

You can gauge a supplier’s strengths early enough before working with them by conducting a supplier qualification audit. This means you can be confident that your business is in good hands.

What are the key characteristics of a supplier qualification survey?

Production Capacity

In all supplier verifications, the abilities and limitations of the supplier should be assessed extensively. It is extremely unlikely a supplier who cannot respond to your production cycles will be able to do well in your review.

Quality

The quality of a product can be difficult to quantify, but this should be a central component of the evaluation of a supplier.

Performance

If you are uncertain whether a supplier can handle your typical functions, ask as many questions as necessary. Discussions should include past experiences with similar companies, relevant recent projects, and possible advancements on current products or processes.

Risk

Risks are inevitable in business, but its suppliers should actively work to minimize them throughout the entire supply chain. A reliable quantitative assessment of a supplier’s risks can be developed by reviewing performance metrics such as overall delays, average response time, and corrective actions.

Environmental Impact

For both financial and ethical reasons, sustainability is an essential element of a successful business. A supplier’s waste management strategies, waste reduction practices, and material procurement procedures should be considered, as should its efforts to achieve energy efficiency and any protocols for handling hazardous materials.

How do you validate a supplier?

We verify suppliers at the following points:
Registration Information: Check that the registration information matches the information provided to the buyers. It is including the company name, registered address, contact number, etc….
Tax information: Check the company’s taxes are normal, or if there are any government warnings
Website: Check the company website if match the registration information(if they have). Search on the internet to check if there are any reviews.

What are the types of purchase orders?

There are 4 types of purchase order
Standard purchase order.
Planned purchase order.
Blanket purchase order.
Contract purchase orders.

What is a follow-up in a purchase order?

Follow-up purchase order means tracking on all or part of the orders which is still outstanding, to make sure all the orders are finished according to the contract.
In a words, The agent who is following up on the purchase order is the buyer’s employee. They coordinate the progress of the orders, control the quality of the products, and arrange the shipment from the buyer’s perspective.

We (Goalrunning) are following up on the purchase order for the buyers over 8 years, we are your right choice of agent in Guangzhou, China.

How do you resolve disputes in business?

Normally, the popular ways of resolving disputes in business are the following ways:
Negotiations between the parties (either directly or through their attorneys).
Arbitration or mediation with a private third-party negotiator.
Alternative dispute resolution (such as arbitration or mediation) through the court system.