We have heard from countless clients who have attempted to use overseas suppliers for their flexible retail packaging only to become completely frustrated, exasperated, and downright angry at a process that many would feel is flawed yet at the same time holds so much promise for cost reductions and improved quality and efficiency for protective packaging.  Dealing with overseas suppliers such as Chinese factories can and will work if, and only if, you know what you are doing and ask for help along the way.

The key to successfully working with overseas suppliers is to have representation and support from people who have your best interest in mind.  Often a company will reach out and connect with an Asian company via Alibaba or other overseas website portal and “chat” with someone having an American sounding name like Sam or Alice (remember rarely can you pick up the phone and call them…you can chat and send emails back and forth).  When someone tries to go it alone and handle things themselves, without question, 100% of the time, they will lose, end of story.  This isn’t meant to say they were screwed or that overseas companies cannot deliver, quite the contrary, but I am emphasizing the need for representation and support from a company that understands the culture, language, and nuances of the Chinese people and more importantly with the executive management of these companies, as they will be the ones making final decisions on your project.

Design--Artwork

Printed flexible retail packaging requires graphic design which leads to electronic proofs and printing cylinders that need to be precise and to the exact dimensions and colors of the protective packaging you desire.  To try to go this alone and trust that all the particulars will just “work out” is foolish and costly.  Consider a company that can be your representative that understands your needs and what you want the end result to be.

Costs--Negotiations

The Chinese are notorious for saying things you want to hear when quoting. They aren’t malicious by any means or having bad intent, they just really want you to be happy and when that happens often details are left out, such as who pays for what, what if there is a problem or issue, lead times, updates, etc.  The right representative will be your eyes and ears at the factory to make sure there are no surprises.

Manufacturing

Without question the Chinese are very, very good at manufacturing printed flexible retail packaging and frankly all types of protective packaging.  The point here is not that the quality will be substandard but your expectations need to be met, the critical points you want handled and the best way to make this happen is for you to have representation versus hoping all the details are done the way you want them.

Quality

Don’t settle for “you’ll be happy or we’ll do them again” for your packaging. While I completely agree the Chinese firms will ultimately provide you with protective packaging you’ll like, if they don’t make and deliver them on time and on budget, what good is it anyway? With representation, you will have all the details worked out ahead of time.  The Chinese do believe and subscribe to ISO and QS Quality Standards, however sometimes they don’t follow the steps and procedures explicitly. They’ll say they will but without someone working for you that could be a dangerous and expensive situation you will have to handle.

Shipping-Handling-Delivery

This is where most problems occur with flexible retail packaging.  The protective packaging is finally designed and manufactured but then they need to be shipped.  The Chinese will find a way to ship your product the fastest and cheapest way possible and this can lead to disaster especially if you want to receive your finished product in some timely manner.  To the Chinese, once they ship your product their job is done and out of their hands but to you your problems are just getting started.  There is sea freight and Customs and possible inspections and handling charges and then there are separate LTL charges to your location. The point here is if you try this alone you will learn all of these details the hard way and that just isn’t necessary.

Let me be perfectly clear, dealing with overseas suppliers for printed flexible packaging is a very viable option and one not to be discounted or avoided.  However, as I mentioned over and over, having someone or a company that works for you and your company as your representative will be worth their weight in gold.  Many firms will charge a small nominal fee to do this on top of the cost of the printed flexible retail packaging but in the long run having protective packaging when you need it and how you need it will allow your company to ship with confidence. Don’t go it alone.

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