In the first of a short series we’ll look at the top five sourcing mistakes that we commonly encounter, and recommend approaches you can take to avoid these traps.
The first mistake is the biggest ‘no no’ of them all – asking the factory to condense your lead times. In theory most customers want to avoid this, but in practice your project may be running behind schedule resulting in your own customers putting pressure on you.
In our experience shortening production times is the primary cause of project failure, potentially resulting in corners cut and worse still giving the factory a comeback if the goods aren’t up to scratch – “you asked us to get these done in 2 weeks, instead of the 4 weeks we originally asked for….”
To avoid getting into this situation make sure you complete your product development at home to avoid unnecessary delays, build contingency into your timelines (particularly for first orders with a new factory), and ensure your timelines are clearly communicated to the factory. Ultimately it’s important to be patient – it’s better to deal with a 2 week delay, than a three month delay when you have to return a container load of faulty product.
For a comprehensive guide on how to get things right, check out our ‘Ultimate China Sourcing checklist’
[...] just found a good article on the China Works Blog, about the risks of asking the factory to shorten lead times. It seems to be a beginner’s mistake, because importers quickly learn that pushing for faster [...]