China sourcing: sourcing from China, step by step

What is China sourcing?

China sourcing covers the work between a product requirement and delivered goods: preparing a brief, finding suppliers, verifying the actual manufacturer, approving samples, agreeing commercial terms, controlling production and arranging shipping and customs. Cambridge China Bridge does this for UK and overseas buyers, with its own staff in China, from a first trial order to scheduled full containers.

Product sourcing starts from what you want to sell: an idea, sample or reference product, matched to suppliers that can make it at your quantity and price. Factory sourcing starts from a specification: finding and qualifying a manufacturer, including a second supplier or a maker for drawing-led components. Most orders need both.

Bono Xu of Cambridge China Bridge recommends considering communication, management time and trial and error alongside price when choosing suppliers, forwarders and customs brokers.

Choose your route: the main ways to source from China

Choose the route around the product, order risk and work your team can undertake. A marketplace is a discovery channel: the seller you find there may be a factory or a trading company. An agent can also work with a supplier you already found. These routes can therefore overlap.

For your own office or staff in China, ask whether you want to employ and manage the people doing supplier checks, sampling and production follow-up yourself. Compare that responsibility with buying an agreed scope from an agent; do not assume a China presence alone qualifies a supplier.

Read our platform versus sourcing agent comparison and factory versus trading company guide before comparing offers.

Step 1 — Write the brief and define the buying arrangement

Write down the product, materials, critical dimensions, quantity, destination, required stock date, delivery terms and what you currently pay. Include photos, a sample or drawings where available, plus packaging, labelling and the product evidence required for the destination market.

Say whether you need a primary supplier, a second supplier alongside your existing one, or management of a supplier you already use. A finished drawing is not necessary for every product; drawing-led components need a controlled revision and acceptance criteria.

Ask every candidate to quote against the same brief. Identify what the price includes: goods, samples, tooling, checks, freight, clearance, taxes and delivery. The seller, sourcing agent, freight forwarder and customs broker have distinct responsibilities; write down who does what rather than assuming every offer is door to door.

Step 2 — Find and verify suppliers before paying

Candidates can come from existing China-side contacts, marketplaces or your own shortlist. Cambridge China Bridge uses its own China network and platforms where useful; every candidate still needs checking against the actual production site and your product.

Ask for the Chinese business licence and check the registered company and business scope against the public enterprise register. Confirm whether you are contracting with a manufacturer or a trader. Check the production address and request a live video walk of the relevant line; an appointed on-site visit can investigate what a video cannot.

Match the registered name on the licence, contract and receiving bank account. Check capacity and product-specific evidence for your exact configuration and destination. A certificate copy alone does not prove your product is covered: ask who holds the report, who issued it and what it checks. See how to distinguish a factory from a trading company.

Step 3 — Agree MOQ, approve samples and confirm the order

A factory's minimum order quantity comes from setup, materials, tooling or packaging requirements. There is no single typical MOQ to apply across products. Ask what drives this particular minimum and whether it applies to the total order or separately to each colour, size, material, logo and packaging design.

Stock products, existing moulds, standard materials, stock colours and plain packaging can reduce setup work. A smaller run may also be possible by paying setup separately. Discuss this with the supplier rather than assuming a lower MOQ is available; see our small-order guide.

Cambridge China Bridge adds no minimum of its own and can consider a single-unit trial; factory minimums still apply. Small runs generally cost more per unit. Do not promise unrealistic future volumes to obtain a trial concession.

Sampling separates design approval from production approval. A prototype can establish appearance and concept but may use different methods from bulk production. A pre-production sample should use production materials, tooling and processes. Approve that sample in writing, retain a sealed golden sample and reference it in the order. For drawing-led parts, approve first-article measurements against the agreed revision.

Ask for the actual factory sample charge, courier cost, revisions and tooling before authorising work. Budget for more than one sample where needed. Any later sample-cost credit needs written conditions. See MOQ and sampling.

Before accepting, retain the specification, sample approval, quotation and order terms together. Get separate trial and repeat quotations, including variant minimums, price validity, recurring charges and conditions for sample credits. A low trial MOQ does not establish an affordable reorder: use low-MOQ trial and repeat-order terms.

Payment terms: structure the deposit and balance around evidence

Our safe platform-buying guide describes a deposit with the balance against inspection as an example structure. Agree the actual amounts, triggers and deadlines for your order in writing. Do not assume a standard percentage split or that the balance waits until delivery.

Before paying, confirm who invoices you, the currency, bank charges, what starts production and the evidence required before each release of money. Define what happens if inspection fails: corrections, reinspection, extra charges and any revised payment dates. A delivery delay does not automatically alter an agreed payment deadline.

Avoid full payment before production that removes your leverage. Do not accept changed bank details solely by email: verify them by voice or video through a contact number you already know. Investigate personal accounts, unrelated company names and requests to split money between accounts before paying.

If relying on platform protection, pay through the platform and put the specification and commitments into the platform order. Protection depends on its terms and the order wording; a vague product description leaves little measurable evidence of failure.

Keep money available for samples, checks, freight, import charges and selling preparation after the purchase payments. Do not rely on untested early sales to fund committed bills. The first-order cash timeline follows these payment milestones.

If a refund is agreed, specify cash versus future-order credit, amount, currency, conversion method, bank deductions and the deadline for money to reach your account. Confirm receipt from your own bank record rather than a supplier's transfer screenshot. See Chinese supplier refund payment terms.

Step 4 — Manage production, inspection and release

Production follows approval of the sample, price and order terms. Confirm the deposit and material-procurement milestones rather than treating the order date as the production start. Request a production schedule with checkpoints and evidence of progress.

Agree checks during production, before shipment or at container loading according to the product and order risk. Write down the acceptance criteria, defects, corrective actions and who pays for any separately agreed work. Preserve time for inspection when the schedule tightens.

The China team or appointed inspection body should issue the agreed report in its own name. The buyer decides whether that evidence permits release under the contract. A factory audit, first-article record and batch inspection answer different questions; our report comparison explains the distinction.

Common failures include production differing from the approved sample, substituted materials or components, and packaging that cannot survive transport. Written criteria and checks can reveal problems while correction is still possible. No inspection guarantees that every defect is found.

Step 5 — Arrange shipping, customs and delivery

Choose sea or air freight against the shipment's cost and urgency, then agree collection, freight, clearance and final-delivery responsibilities. Confirm the seller, importer, delivery term and named destination in writing. The customs guidance here focuses on Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales); Northern Ireland has different arrangements, so confirm the applicable rules for that destination.

For imports into England, Scotland or Wales, the importer needs an EORI beginning with GB. Identify the commodity code, customs value and any required licences or certificates before shipping. GOV.UK's importing goods step-by-step guidance sets out these requirements; our UK customs clearance guide explains the process. If appointing a customs representative, give written instructions specifying direct or indirect representation; the importer remains responsible for due diligence.

Agree how Customs Duty and import VAT will be paid or accounted for. Reclaiming import VAT is subject to the normal input-tax rules. The usual evidence is a C79 certificate for import VAT paid, or a monthly postponed import VAT statement when using postponed VAT accounting; an ordinary supplier VAT invoice alone is not the usual evidence for reclaiming import VAT. Confirm the applicable treatment with your accountant.

Overseas buyers can use the same sourcing, sampling and inspection services. We can quote to the destination port; door-to-door delivery depends on the route and local arrangements. UK buyers can choose a landed price covering the agreed costs, an itemised quote or a direct-import arrangement, with seller, importer and tax responsibilities agreed.

Plan unloading and receipt of the goods, then retain the approved sample, inspection report, buyer release decision, shipping documents and customs and tax records as one order file.

Shipment documents and customs preparation

For a typical sea or air shipment, agree the commercial invoice, packing list and transport-document requirements with your forwarder or customs agent. Prepare the information needed for the import declaration, including the EORI, commodity code, customs value and any applicable licences or certificates. Confirm who will submit the declaration and when; requirements depend on the goods, route and customs procedure.

Use this as a practical planning checklist, not a universal list of mandatory documents that must all exist before dispatch. Cross-check documents as they become available. Names, product descriptions, quantities, values, weights and delivery terms should be consistent where they refer to the same information. Agree transport-document release arrangements with the supplier and forwarder before the goods travel.

Use our UK customs clearance documents guide as the detailed checklist. GOV.UK also requires importers to retain commercial invoices and customs paperwork.

Timeline from enquiry to delivery

Build the schedule backwards from the date you need sellable stock. A quotation turnaround, factory production lead time and freight transit time describe different parts of the journey. Do not add a generic delivery promise to a product that has not yet been specified.

The quotation timings below are Cambridge China Bridge's published timings, not industry-wide lead times. Obtain order-specific dates for sampling, production, inspection, transport and clearance instead of assuming fixed durations.

Tooling and first-article approval come before bulk production where required. Sample revisions, material availability, booking constraints and Chinese New Year can move later dates. Keep sample approval, inspection and freight booking visible in the plan. See shipping lead times and the first-order cash timeline.

What a UK-based agent does at each step

Cambridge China Bridge is a UK China sourcing agent with its own staff in China. The UK contact and China team coordinate the agreed work from trial orders to repeat full-container supply; our services explain the available scope.

The buyer still approves the specification, sample, commercial terms and release decision. Agree the agent's work and the separate seller, forwarder and importer roles in writing. See our partners for partner information.

What it costs to use an agent

For a goods order, Cambridge China Bridge charges no separate sourcing fee or retainer. Our margin is inside the landed price covering the agreed costs; an itemised quote can show the factory price and our margin separately. Direct-import arrangements are also available where agreed.

Confirm the inspection scope and charges in the written quotation. Any third-party inspection or standalone factory audit is subject to a separately agreed scope and price. Factory sample charges and sample courier costs should also be agreed in writing.

Compare the same specification, inspection scope, seller and importer roles, delivery terms, taxes and cost per sellable unit. A low factory price can become a higher delivered cost. Ask for a comparison against your present purchase; see our pricing and China sourcing agent costs in the UK.

When an agent earns its place

An agent is most useful when the supplier is unproven, the product is custom, the documentation needs checking or your team needs China-side oversight. If you already have a trusted factory and a repeat order you can manage, you may not need one.

You can also appoint support for an existing supplier's sampling, production and inspections rather than replacing the factory. Our guide on whether you need a sourcing agent works through the decision.

If you are considering travelling to meet suppliers, see whether the Canton Fair is worth going to. Whichever route you choose, retain a consistent file of the brief, supplier checks, sample approval, order, payment terms, inspection findings and shipping records.