Are you factory?

Is it important if a supplier is a real factory or a trading company?

More and more buyers are hoping to get a better price from their suppliers, so they insist on the lowest price in the procurement negotiations.

There are many people who think that middlemen or traders eat too much of the profits of the products so that the purchase price is pushed up, and they should go to the factory to buy the goods directly so that they can get the lowest price.

So topics such as “how to find a direct factory” have long been a hot topic on social networking like Facebook and LinkedIn.

And now, whether in the exhibition or on the market, foreign purchasers meet the Chinese suppliers in the first sentence, they are asking is Are you factory?

As a matter of fact, no matter whether we meet at the wholesale market or the suppliers we meet at the exhibition, it is impossible that all of them are factories, but no matter who you ask, are you a factory? They’re sure to tell you Yes.

In this case, how do you source a real factory from a vast, smoky supplier?

The following points are for your reference.

1. The product

The factory will be specialized in one class or a few kinds of products.

Because of the input of machine equipment and the limitation of technology, a factory can’t do too many irrelevant products.

Traders, on the other hand, need a variety of products that`s because they are mainly sold in the market, wholesale or retail.

2. Inspection

When you ask to see the factory on the spot, if there are no other factors, the factory will readily agree to visit anytime and anywhere.

However, the trading company will find various excuses to put it off.

For example, they will say the customers’ patented products are inconvenient to visit, or the new customers are not allowed to see the factory.

3.Watch the recruitment information on its website

If a company’s website has long been hiring only sales staff and has never seen a recruiter or a technical engineer, it is most likely to be a trader.

Since the factory has a great demand for technical personnel, they will show the technical engineer or the workman on the website.

4.The speed of quotation

When a new product is offered to the supplier, it is easy for the factory to set the price for the engineers, so the quotation will be fast.

However, trading companies should contact their suppliers for quotations, and then offer them to customers after receiving the quotation, which will be a little longer.

5.Company address

For a real factory or trading company, the address will be different.

The general factory in its own profile or product book will be printed on the workshop pictures, workers working pictures, the factory’s detailed address, etc.

But trading companies typically have only one office address, and the picture in the company profile is all about salespeople or office work.

Conclusion

While we’ve summarized some tips, things are always changing.

For example, some companies are both real factories and trading companies.

In this case, we need on-site inspections or turn to a sourcing agent help to verify.