Despite what the Trump Administration would like us to do, manufacturing companies need to source many of their components, ingredients, and packaging from overseas suppliers. Why? Many of these products just aren't made in the US or North America anymore or those that do require massive minimum runs or have long lead times. Sourcing from overseas factories that don't speak English primarily or understand our culture can lead to very costly problems and mistakes.
There are a few main concerns that companies have when dealing with overseas suppliers. One, they assume it takes too long. Two, they are concerned with losing control or not being able to control quality. Three, what happens "if" something goes wrong.
First, we asked many of our clients what would make them feel comfortable choosing an overseas supplier. They told us "if" someone they knew visited the factory and inspected it for different criteria that was important to them...they'd be interested. Secondly, if they had "their own person" inspect the quality before it shipped and allowed them to "sign off on" it before it shipped and they paid for it...this would help as well. Third and finally, they wanted complete transparency on how long production and shipping would take with final delivery to their door.
We gave our staff their marching orders. Find, then visit, then inspect, and finally rate companies for the following criteria:
Capacity
Cleanliness
Equipment
Quality Certification and Verification (ask us what this means)
Environmental Policies
Labor Law Adherence
Willingness to run small volume
Ability to run massive volume
English speaking staff
Problem solving process
Lead Times
Hot Rush Options
Sample Options
Prototype Options
We know that these are the main areas that mean the most to our clients, so our rating system (1-5) takes all of these and then puts them into our system for an overall rating. We then compile these ratings into our Directory under several different categories...ranging from Machinery to Flexible Retail Packaging.
Finally, we handle ALL of these details for our clients. With our 3 overseas offices and our own staff on the ground, we use our vetted and rated suppliers that our clients choose and then our staff gets to work to work directly with the factory to produce and then inspect and deliver whatever is needed wherever it is required.