Over 600,000 new businesses start each year.
If you’re one of the many new startups, finding the right product manufacturer is essential to the longterm success of your business. The wrong product manufacturer can leave you with subpar products that will disappoint customers. About 20% of businesses fail in their first year. To avoid the same fate, you need the right manufacturer who will deliver quality items in a timely fashion.
If you’ve ever wondered how to get a product manufactured, this article can help. Here are three tips to help you find manufacturers for your business.
1. Domestic or International Products Manufacturing Supplier
Before you start on your journey for how to find manufacturers, you need to decide if you’re going local or international. There are advantages and drawbacks to both choices.
With an overseas manufacturer, you’ll often have items shipped from Asian countries like China, Taiwan, or India. It is cheaper to source products in these countries.
However, the drawback is that often the products from overseas are lower in quality. Also, you will have difficulty in communicating with the manufacturer and will have to deal with extended shipping times.
When you do a simple search for “manufacturing companies near me”, you should bring up several domestic manufacturer choices. The advantages of choosing a domestic company is that the quality of the products is often higher, it’s easier to communicate with a representative, and much faster shipping times.
The drawbacks aren’t as risky as those with international manufacturers. If you choose a domestic manufacturing company, you’ll likely have higher costs for production. However, this is a small price to pay if you want to ensure the satisfaction of your customers.
2. Request Quotes and Compare
The next step you’ll want to take is comparing how each manufacturer does business. Their answers will reveal whether they have good manufacturing practices or not.
One of the first questions you should ask is what their minimum order quantity (MOQ) is. You’ll want to ensure that you can meet their MOQ. Minimum order quantities vary on a vast scale between different manufacturers, even depending on the product itself. You don’t want product limits to become a barrier for you.
Another bit of information you’ll want is what their product pricing is. You don’t want to order any products without first knowing how much it’ll cost. Also, consider looking into whether they discount for bulk orders.
3. Diversify Your Partnerships
Once you’ve narrowed your list down to several different choices, consider selecting a handful to rotate between.
There are several reasons it might be a wise choice to have several different manufacturers you rely upon. One reason is that manufacturers can go out of business. Or a manufacturer might stop providing the product you need. Instead of leaving your business scrambling to find a new production company when this happens, you’ll be able to transition over to another manufacturer with no problem.
The point is, have a handful of manufacturers you can bounce between means you lessen the risk for your own business.
Find the Perfect Product Manufacturer Today
Follow the tips laid out in this article, and you should be fast on your way to finding the perfect product manufacturer to fit your needs. Many entrepreneurs stall at this stage of their startup. However, so long as you know the right questions to ask and what you need, you shouldn’t have any problems.
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