Selecting a sourcing or purchasing agent who is perfectly apt for your business in China is difficult but a must do job. A sourcing agent can be an individual or a group or an agency; that’s not the cup of tea for your business, but the thing which matters is that the appointed fellow should be professional and experienced in handling the matters like risk management, control management, delivery process, quality controlling, procurement, sourcing and other dutiful jobs.
Let’s go through with some useful points that are needed to be focused before appointing a Chinese purchasing agent or buying office.
- It’s very important to appoint a sourcing agent who is near to the manufacturing base of the industry. As an example, if you have a business of fireworks, then you should focus on Liuyang to grow your business. Liuyang is called the “Home or City of Fireworks” in China. Therefore it’s better for your organisation to select the buying office or sourcing agent who should belong nearby Liuyang, the base of firework business in China. More than 70% in China and 50% of the world firework business belongs to Liuyang where more than 400K people are engaged in related business. So selecting an agent from the base area is a good step for an enterprise. It can also compress the transport cost too.
- Verifying the China business and export licence of a sourcing agent is mandatory. Confirming the licence via local officials or by third party verifying agencies are possible in China.
- ‘Kickback’ is a most important word and also a big issue in China business field. Management should ask the buying office or purchasing agent regarding the experience of avoiding the ‘kickbacks’ from the suppliers. Suppliers needs to be chosen based on the ‘kickback’ amount. By selecting a professional sourcing agent this issue can be resolved with experience.
- Liability, professionalism and responsibility are the main characteristics for a sourcing agent. Hiring a purchasing and procurement agent with the right product knowledge is critical and can make the difference between a successful business transaction and a complete disaster.
- Last but not the least, client references and market reviews are the most important part to look after before recruiting a sourcing agent in China.
If the above mentioned bullets are satisfying for a business head in the recruiting process of a Chinese sourcing agent then it’s enough to hire the right choice. Else the success story depends on experience, hard work and selecting the required strategies.