Monday, November 28, 2016

Finding a Chinese Injection Mold Provider Consideration List


Searching for a China injection mold provider can be incredibly difficult and time consuming. There are plenty of blogs and articles that cover different aspects of what you need to consider, but you"ll need a list. This ensures that you look at all of your potential China injection mold source options and the range of questions you need to ask.
Remember, the cost is not your only consideration. Things like shipping time, communication, and QA process play very important roles in determining if a particular China injection mold provider is cost effective.
Your Sourcing Options
You have three options for finding a provider in China:
  • Direct Chinese source
  • Broker who recommend and negotiates with a Chinese source on your behalf
  • Domestic provider with a Chinese partner
Initially, this list appears to reflect the cost in ascending order. A direct source will often appear to be the most cost effective source and a domestic partner will appear to be the least cost effective.
However, when you take the following considerations into account, you will see the initial cost for the domestic provider has some distinct advantages, including easier negotiations, design time, and predictable delivery times.
Considerations and Questions
When you talk to each of your potential sourcing options, the following considerations and questions will help you determine if the source is likely to meet your needs.
Communication
This is one of the biggest potential issues, particularly during the design phase. You need to be able to talk to the people who are responsible for the designs. There are several potential communication issues to consider:
  • Time zones can pose a problem if you work directly with someone in China
  • Designs can be more difficult to finalize when you cannot speak directly to one of the professionals working on the design
  • Shipping times may be off because of holidays, so you need to know the production schedule for the entire time your product is being processed
Planning
Planning is one of the most important aspects as it sets the tone for the entire project. Here are the things to consider for the planning phase:
  • Materials
  • Design time
  • Production time frame
Quality Assurance and Shipping

Make sure that you discuss your QA needs and shipping expectations. If you are working on a tight deadline, you need to make sure that the product is high quality and can be turned around quickly.

Friday, November 25, 2016

The Right Choice for Chinese Injection Mold Makers - Domestic Versus Offshore



Finding the right China plastic injection molding provider is a difficult decision. With a number of different considerations to make, you want to get it right the first time. You will also need to be prepared to negotiate.
Research
Research is essential to avoid making the wrong decision, which can cost you not only money but a lot of time, and potentially customers. There are three sourcing options:
  • Direct sourcing
  • Broker sourcing
  • Domestic sourcing
Each of these options has their own appeal. To help you determine which is right for you, consider the following three points:
Finding the Right Material
The material used for the China plastic injection molding is one of the most important aspects because it determines the durability of your final product. If you do not specify what materials you want used at the beginning, you may end up with a product that does not meet your expectations.
Materials Originating in China
Many Chinese mold makers have their own material providers. This means without specifying the type of material, you are almost guaranteed to have a final product made that uses steel produced in China.
The Chinese regulations and standards are typically lower than steels made in Europe and North America. As a result, your final product may wear down faster, be more fragile, and require more frequent replacements.
Materials Originating in Europe
This is easily the most cost effective material. European standards are comparable to the standards of North America, but the product has a much shorter distance to travel.
Testing
Mold testing often requires the use of a representative to conduct a review at the facility to check the functionality and quality of the product. If you have tune-ins built into the contract, you will have a better product by the time you send your representative to conduct the review.
Lead Times
The shipping lead times are important because the different sourcing options handle shipping differently. Having excessively long lead times could end up negating cost savings. The following are important to know before you sign anything:
  • Time zone difference for communicating and shipping
  • Chinese holidays
  • The receipt of sample shots from T-0
  • Import duties
You need to know how each of these are handled so that you can plan accordingly.



Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Choose the Right China Injection Mold Supplier





Finding the right China injection molding supplier can be a very time consuming endeavor. You have three different channels to consider:
  • Find a direct Chinese mold maker
  • Hire a broker
  • Work with a domestic provider
Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Direct Chinese Mold Maker
Initially, this will seem like the most cost effective method of getting a reliable China injection molding supplier. You won’t have to pay for a middleman, substantially reducing the initial cost.
However, it can end up being the most costly. The biggest issues are the language barrier and additional QA efforts. It will be much more difficult to negotiate if you do not have a native speaker who can work with the supplier. While they will surely have an English speaker, you will need someone who speaks their language as well. This can be very costly. You will also need to manage more of the QA to ensure the product meets your needs.
China Injection Molding Broker
The issues you could encounter with a direct provider can be largely avoided by using a broker. It will also look a bit more expensive up front. This is because they have established connections to help you find the right provider, as well as managing the monetary conversions.
Do keep in mind that they are only brokers. You will not be able to discuss specifics with them, only the people at the companies they recommend. This can also create lag time in getting your questions answered.
Domestic Providers
Domestic providers will appear to be the least cost effective China injection molding provider, but ultimately, they can save you a lot of time. Not only will you avoid having to research companies, they have the necessary experts to answer your questions. This substantially speeds up the design and development process, reducing the amount of time required to complete the project. They also manage the QA aspects, so that you can focus on other projects.
Initially, they are the most expensive option. However, cost is the only major drawback, and it usually ends up being far less costly than it appears at first. Because you save time and have the necessary experts to answer your questions, the final cost for domestic providers is a lot more competitive than you may initially believe.