Lower repeat-order prices when material costs fall
Ask the supplier to compare its actual material purchasing costs with the basis of your previous quote, identify older stock allocated to your orders and propose a dated reduction against the unchanged specification. Record the new price and exactly which orders it covers. Ask Cambridge China Bridge to coordinate the factory discussion.
Use the market fall to open a cost review
Send the supplier the material benchmark behind your request, identifying the grade, currency, market and comparison period. A falling benchmark is a reason to ask questions, rather than proof of what the factory now pays. The Office for National Statistics publishes broad-sector material and fuel purchasing indices; these cannot establish a particular Chinese factory's purchasing cost.
Keep the specification, order quantity, payment terms and delivery scope unchanged for the comparison. Use comparing supplier quotes to establish that baseline. The wider approach to negotiating with factories covers other bargaining points; this review should isolate the material saving.
Ask for evidence of actual purchasing costs
Request earlier and recent material invoices, matching purchase orders and goods-received records for the grade used in your product. Ask the supplier to show the currency, quantity basis, delivery charges, discounts and any rebates affecting the net cost. An upstream quotation supports a prospective saving; an invoice matched to received material supports an actual purchase.
Allow unrelated customer details to be obscured while keeping the relevant material, dates, quantities and cost basis visible. Use the BOM and agreed material consumption to translate the verified cost change into a proposed saving per finished item. Keep processing, packing and other cost changes separate, and ask for their explanation rather than applying the material fall to the whole product price.
Check the claim that expensive stock remains
Ask for a dated stock statement showing the relevant material batches, their purchase costs, usable quantities and allocation to your repeat orders. Reconcile it with receipts and production issues. Include material already in unfinished goods, and distinguish stock physically received from outstanding purchase commitments. A warehouse photograph alone does not show cost or allocation.
Ask how the factory will consume that stock and translate the allocated balance into finished goods using agreed consumption and wastage assumptions. Do not accept all factory stock as a reason to delay your reduction. If old and new purchases are blended, agree a transparent blended-cost transition. Set a review date so an old-stock explanation cannot continue without fresh evidence.
Document when the reduced price starts
Ask for a revised quotation and order amendment recording the unchanged specification, currency, delivery scope, new unit price and effective calendar date. State whether eligibility follows order acceptance, material issue or a named production batch. Identify affected orders and explain how mixed batches, existing deposits and orders already in production will be handled. Use writing a production purchase order to put the agreement into the order record.
If the reduction depends on old stock being exhausted, record the allocated stock balance and the evidence that will confirm exhaustion, alongside a calendar review date. Distinguish a promised reduction date from a date when the supplier will merely reconsider pricing. Ask the supplier to confirm the amendment before you place the repeat order.
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Check that the saving reaches the order
Compare the revised quotation, order acknowledgement and invoice with the agreement. Check that the material grade, consumption, finish, packing and inspection arrangements have not changed to fund the reduction. Use verifying negotiated savings to follow the saving through the order.
If purchasing evidence is unavailable, label the claimed cost reduction as unverified. You can still seek a commercial price offer against the unchanged specification, compare alternatives or agree a later evidence review. Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China can help request the records and discuss a documented transition with the factory.
Frequently asked questions
How do I ask a Chinese supplier for a lower repeat-order price?
Send the relevant material benchmark and request a cost review against the unchanged specification. Ask for purchasing evidence, allocated old stock and a revised quotation with a clear effective date.
What if the factory says it still has expensive material stock?
Ask for dated batch records, purchase costs, usable balances and allocation to your orders. Agree how that stock will be consumed and when the allocation will be checked again.
Should the product price fall as much as the raw-material price?
Calculate the material saving using verified purchasing costs and agreed consumption per item. Review other cost changes separately; a material benchmark does not describe the whole product cost.
What if my supplier will not share material invoices?
Offer a review of redacted records or an agreed cost summary supported by purchasing records. If evidence remains unavailable, treat the cost claim as unverified and negotiate a commercial offer separately.