{"id":313,"date":"2018-04-25T16:08:31","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T20:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=313"},"modified":"2018-04-25T16:08:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T20:08:31","slug":"what-to-do-when-you-need-custom-materials-manufactured-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/what-to-do-when-you-need-custom-materials-manufactured-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do When You Need Custom Materials Manufactured For Your Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What To Do When You Need Custom Materials<\/b><\/h3>\n

Do you need specialized industrial materials or machinery for your business? Find out how to go about finding a manufacturer for your custom materials.<\/b><\/h4>\n

For most entrepreneurs, starting their business isn’t the hard part. Finding a manufacturer, on the other hand, is where things get difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting custom materials and creating enough products isn’t something you can do on your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that’s where manufacturers come in.<\/span><\/p>\n

But where do you find them, and how do you know which one is right for your business?<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at this guide to learn everything you need to know about finding the best manufacturer for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Kind of Manufacturer Are You Looking For?<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are at least two different terms that you’ll probably find used interchangeably (or at least used together) when you’re searching for a manufacturer. These two terms are manufacturer and wholesaler.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two, though they may seem similar at first, are actually quite different. So before you can even start looking for the right manufacturer, you have to understand the differences between these two things.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is a Manufacturer?<\/b><\/h3>\n

A manufacturer will make your personalized, one of a kind product for you out of custom materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Say you’re starting <\/span>your own sock business<\/span><\/a>. You have a bunch of original sock ideas, but you can’t make them all on your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, you get in touch with a manufacturer, show them what kind of socks you’re looking for, and they’ll make those socks for you just how you want.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Wholesaler?<\/b><\/h3>\n

A wholesaler lets you purchase already existing products for a much lower price than you could usually find them. This means you can take those products and sell them at a normal price and make a profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this case, instead of designing your own socks and finding a manufacturer to make them, you would simply buy already existing socks at a discounted price and sell them for profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

These socks might not necessarily be your own custom materials, but you can still create a successful sock business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Are These Two Words Used Together?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Most of the time, manufacturers are also wholesalers. So when you try to look up manufacturers you’ll find wholesalers, and if you try to look up wholesalers you’ll find manufacturers.<\/span><\/p>\n

This may not be a hindrance for you, but it’s good to know what these words mean so you can find exactly what you’re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overseas or Domestic Supplier?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Oversea suppliers can be located anywhere, but the most common overseas suppliers are in places like China, Taiwan, and India. Domestic suppliers are suppliers you’ll find in North America, like <\/span>this company<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these supplier types have their own advantages and disadvantages, and finding the best one depends on you, your products, and your business.<\/span><\/p>\n

But we’ve broken down the things you should be aware of for overseas and domestic suppliers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overseas Supplier<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are more oversea suppliers to choose from than domestic suppliers, and they usually have cheaper manufacturing costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, overseas suppliers also tend to have lower quality, and most customers know that. The differences in language can also lead to barriers and complications.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to visit your manufacturer before you start working with them, you have to prepare for an expensive trip. Your products will also have a longer shipping time than they would if you used a domestic supplier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Domestic Supplier<\/b><\/h3>\n

There may be fewer domestic suppliers to choose from, but they usually have higher product quality and manufacturing standards. Right away, your products will have the marketing appeal that comes with being created in North America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Language barriers aren’t a problem. Visiting and verifying your manufacturer isn’t a long or difficult process. And your shipping times are cut down.<\/span><\/p>\n

But these advantages come at a higher cost. Domestic suppliers are almost always much <\/span> than overseas suppliers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Do I Find a Manufacturer?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The best place to start is the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it’s not as easy as typing in a Google search and looking through the first page of results. When you’re looking for manufacturers, you’ll most likely have to dig all the way to the tenth or twelfth page of results before you find what you’re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which practically unheard of.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason you have to search this way is because most manufacturers don’t keep up with their websites, so they aren’t ranked very high. An old or empty website, in this case, doesn’t mean the manufacturer isn’t trustworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Online Directories<\/b><\/h3>\n

These directories<\/span><\/a> are where you’ll have the most luck. They list hundreds of manufacturers, and there are directories for both domestic and overseas suppliers.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Contact Your Supplier<\/b><\/h2>\n

Once you find a manufacturer, you have to contact them. Unfortunately, a lot of people who do this don’t get the responses they want, or any responses at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

It all comes down to asking the right questions in the right way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few things to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep Your Email Short<\/b><\/h3>\n

This is especially important if you are reaching out to an overseas supplier. They will most likely be using a tool to translate it, and if your email is too long, it might make things confusing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t Ask a Lot of Questions<\/b><\/h3>\n

This is just the first email. You’ll get your chance to ask all your questions later. For starters, just include a few, main questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spell Check Your Email<\/b><\/h3>\n

Again, people might need to translate your email, and sending them something with misspelled words is only going to lead to miscommunication.<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions You Should Include<\/b><\/h2>\n

Remember, you don’t want to bombard the manufacturer with too many questions right away. Stick with some of the following questions in your first email.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • What are your payment terms?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What is your MOQ (minimum order quantity)?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What is your production pricing? (Ask about several different quantities)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What is your sample cost?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These questions are enough to get you started. Once you get a response to these questions and start building a relationship with a manufacturer, you can ask more.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Find a Good Manufacturer For Your Custom Materials<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Finding a good manufacturer for your custom materials could take some time. Be prepared to work on this process for at least several months. Getting started with an overseas supplier could take even longer.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ready to get your business started? Make sure you read over <\/span> first.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What To Do When You Need Custom Materials Do you need specialized industrial materials or machinery for your business? Find out how to go about finding a manufacturer for your custom materials. For most entrepreneurs, starting their business isn’t the hard part. Finding a manufacturer, on the other hand, is where things get difficult. Getting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions\/315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}