How To Find A Reliable Chinese Mobile PhoneManufacturer

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Sep 2, 2014 8:00:00 AM

You need to spend a lot of your hard-earned money trying to find a reliable Chinese mobile phonemanufacturer.

Never-ending flights from your part of Africa, hotels in China, internal flights around this vast country,and costs while travelling.

It doesn't come cheap, and if you draw a blank, or end up with a supplier that lets you down, it could be

make or break for your business.

How can you know if a

Chinese mobile phone manufacturer is reliable, trustworthy, and legitimate?

Read on, and we'll show you how...

The Dangers Of China

China is fairly unregulated, many small companies claim to be a manufacturer, but in fact they are justre-selling someone else's mobile phones. You could find that you place an order with these guys, butthen receive no support when things go wrong.

The locals can have a hard time trusting foreign business-people. This makes it possible that you couldbe cheated, as commerce in China is very cut-throat, and the law can't always protect customers fromunscrupulous vendors. However, that's not to say that all Chinese manufacturers are dishonest. Farfrom it, as they want to do business with foreigners as much as you want to do business with them!

The language barrier is also an issue, because how can you be sure that your needs have been fullyunderstood, or that you are even going to get what you have paid for?

Don't Panic!

After reading above you must be feeling worried about finding the right supplier, but don't panic. Each

of these issues can be overcome, either by being prepared, or by experience.

Day-to-day most Chinese are very polite and friendly, and they'll go out of their way to make sure thatyou have a good experience in their country, and at their office.

Here's how you should overcome each of the above issues:

Avoid fake manufacturers: Simple. Request to visit their factory. Actually, you should do thiseven with legitimate manufacturers, as you get a full picture about who you're dealing with, andthe professionalism of their operation.

Lack of trust: The Chinese are very matter-of-fact when it comes to trusting foreign business-people. You need to earn it.How you socially treat your local contacts will go a long way to earning you their trust, so beprepared to join them for meals, drinks, and at other social events. Here you should make aneffort to get to know them, and even speak a little Chinese if you can!

Possibility of being cheated: Earning trust will help, as if the contacts like you then they'reunlikely to deal with you in an unfair way. You must also get an official contract, as this is yourbackup. Finally, you may wish to pay in installments if you can, as this covers you financially ifthings go wrong.

Language barrier: You probably don't speak Chinese, and the local businesses you're meetingmay not speak your language either. However it's easy to meet friendly people in China, soperhaps your new friends can help you if you have a business meeting? Even if you have to paythem a little to translate, or treat them to a nice dinner, having a Chinese face on 'your team' willhelp smooth the process out.It is a great idea to try to learn a few common Chinese words and phrases, as your effort tospeak them will not go unnoticed, and will delight the locals.

The more time you spend in China, the more street-wise you'll be. You'll also make new contacts andfriends, who you can call upon again in the future when you visit again.

If you meet a possible supplier, but they're not right for you this time, don't discard their details. Younever know if they might be useful for you in the future.

Finding The Right Chinese Mobile Phone Manufacturer

OK, so you've been pounding the streets of China, and have narrowed down your search to one or twomanufacturers that you think could be a great source of phones, and smartphones, for your business.

How do you decide on the one?

1. Visit them: This may sound silly, but you need to see what's happening at your prospectivesupplier. How do they run their business? If it's well run, nicely presented, and staffed withindustrious people then this is a good sign.

2. Do they understand what you need? Get them to repeat many times what you need, so youcan be sure that they understand and are going to deliver the right thing. The last thing you needis, 2 months down the line, a container to arrive in an African port with the wrong mobile phones,or accessories inside!Also get it in writing (see getting a contract above).

3. Do they have thorough product information? If the Chinese supplier can't give you theanswers you need, then how can you give it to your customers? If they are 'light on the fats,' thiswould force me to think that they may just be resellers.

4. Can staff speak English? Most reliable Chinese mobile phone manufacturers will haveEnglish-speaking staff to help foreign customers. If no one can speak or write English, I wouldbe slightly concerned that they are too small a company to rely upon.

5. Are their phones certified in your part of Africa? This really should be a deal-breaker. Larger,more reputable, manufacturers will be aware of African phone certification standards, and will beable to make their phones up to specification.By choosing phones that are not certified, you open yourself up to problems in the future fromyour customers when things go wrong.

6. Can they offer flexible terms? A small family-owned business is probably friendly, but will onlybe able to accept a bank transfer of the full payment. They just don't have the capital and are toosmall to offer you good terms.If your manufacturer can offer you an account, with flexible payment terms, I would suggest thatthis shows that they are not only 'big' enough to be relied upon, but also that you can enjoy afruitful relationship with them for a long time.

Your Takeaway

Don't rush into dealing with the Chinese. Get over here, meet some different manufacturers, and you'llstart building up a contact list, and developing your China street smarts.

By vetting your manufacturers before making a payment you're going to be less likely to lose money,and will have a much more productive China business trip, culminating in some great phones to sellback in Africa!

These aren't the only barometers of how to find a reliable manufacturer of phones in China, but they'resome of the key ones. How do you decide upon the right manufacturer? Share your tips with us below.

If you are currently looking for a Chinese phone manufacturer, get acquainted with AMGOO Telecomco.! We're a specialist in making high-spec, but low-cost, smartphones for the developing world, andare here to help African distributors reach their business goals with a solid, long-term, relationship!

Click below to get in touch with us, and see how we go the extra mile to support our distributors:

Topics: hardware, How Tos, distributors