After you have arrived in China, the following are crucial points to consider. 

• Choose your visiting time wisely

We always try to arrange plant visits at two time slots: 8:30 – 11:00 and 14:00 – 16:00. Compared to normal office times in the West, Chinese plants have different working hours. They start and close earlier and have a longer lunch break. You can only see the production line in operation in one of these two time slots.

• Things to look out for during the workshop tour

Every company has their own evaluation methods to rate suppliers. Here we just mention a few basic points that we have picked up from experience.

1. Ask and verify the raw material sources of your suppliers to make sure that the products are qualified to meet your country standard
2. Check the production process in detail. Make sure their examining and testing machines are actually functioning properly
   
3. Check the warehouse. By doing this you will easily be able to figure out their production capability and product development
4. Make sure their export packaging meets your requirements, especially if you are the first client from your country working with this supplier. The customs of different countries have varying rules regarding packaging. Do not assume the supplier knows the requirements of your country

• Meeting manners

When you hand out business cards, please hand it out with both hands and try to pronounce your name slowly and clearly.

• When in China, do as the Chinese do

Chinese people will always invite guests for lunch or dinner, especially if it is the first time you meet them. You may follow the head of the group and get seated beside him. Fewer suppliers these days will force you to drink with them, but if you do drink with them, it is definitely a sure way to establishing a good relationship.

Now that we have established that plant tours are an absolute necessity, we can move on to how these tours should be undertaken. The following are a few basic tips to consider before you leave for China:

• Make sure that the plant's senior managers are confirmed for attending your meeting
Sometimes your contact person may say that he/she is from the plant, yet they could actually only be from a trading company with a working relationship with the plant. The problem you may encounter under such conditions is that you might be unable to meet with the senior managers of the plant. The trading company will probably just contact the salesman of the plant whom they are dealing with.

• Re-confirm the schedule for your visit before traveling
Due to cultural differences, Chinese businessmen prefer short-term meeting arrangements, which is in large part different from Western norms. If you set up your visit schedule one month before your departure, make sure you confirm it again one week in advance and then double confirm one day in advance.

• Plan your logistics realistically
If it’s your first time to China, you will need to ask a Chinese person or someone who's lived in China for a while to help plan your schedule. China is a large country geographically and is not fully developed. There are simply no flights between some cities, only busy highways. The only way to reach your destination is to drive there. In some provinces it takes 2.5 hours to drive 300 kilometers, but in other provinces it could take 4 hours or even more. You need to plan carefully in order to be both realistic and efficient.

• Bring small gifts to the meetings
You should prepare some small gifts which are typical and unique from your country, not necessarily expensive but something special. You can hand these out before you say goodbye to your suppliers, thanking them for their time and hospitality.

In Part 2, we will raise several points that you should be aware of during your actual China plant visit.

All international purchasing managers try to minimize import risk. As a China sourcing expert, in order to achieve this goal we will always recommend you to undertake plant visits to China before you place an order, for the following reasons:　

 

• It makes sense to meet the people who you will be working with before you place an order. You will get to know their personality and will start building a relationship with them. As we know, good relationships (or guanxi in Chinese) play a crucial role in business in China - hence the value of a face-to-face meeting can never be underestimated.

• You can inspect manufacturing areas to get an idea of raw material quality, workers’ skills, production capabilities and the internal QC process of the manufacturer. There is nothing better than to see it with your own eyes.

• You can find out to what extent your manufacturers subcontract their production to other plants by checking their work areas and warehouses, or by asking them during meetings.

• You can experience the working environment and meet the workers to be sure that your suppliers are not using child labour and are providing protection masks etc. 

• By making the trip to China, you can give your suppliers a sure signal that you are really serious about quality issues, and more so if you emphasize quality during your meeting. When they produce and deliver products, they will put you in a ‘Picky clients’ list and will therefore be more careful with your products.
  

 

Some extra benefits you can gain from visiting your China plant:

• You may find out that you can actually source many other products in China besides those in your current plan. I had a client before who saw good packaging material during his plant tour in a steel tube plant and finally ordered some packaging materials as well.

• You may see your competitors’ products in a production line during your plant tour. This happens a lot in the top equipment manufacturing plants of China as they get orders from all major international players.