Seems most products sold on Amazon, other Ecommerce websites, or in retail stores are made in China. While other countries produce some consumer goods, China is by far the most competitive and complete sourcing location for consumer goods. Want to know why? In this article we’ll explain 3 key reasons China maintains a huge competitive advantage as a source of consumer products. Hello

1. Availability of components and materials

China is a primary producer of the components and materials used to manufacture consumer goods. Whether softgoods (fabric and textiles), electronics (PCB’s, screens) or hardgoods (plastic, metal and wood components), even if you manufacture in an alternative location, many of their components come from China. In many cases there are no other suitable alternative sources for them.

2. Infrastructure

China invested heavily in its infrastructure to service the manufacturing sector. That meant virtually open checkbooks to build ports, railways and highways needed to get goods from manufacturers out of the country. While nowadays other manufacturing countries such as Vietnam and India might have favorable wage rates compared to China, when factoring in costs of transporting goods, and lead times, China is still the best choice in most cases.

3. Alibaba

Alibaba was not the first sourcing platform, but it quickly became the most widely used tool for sourcing products from Chinese manufacturers. Yes, you can source from other countries through Alibaba, and there are alternative platforms focused on other locations, but Alibaba is still the most widely used platform to find suppliers. If you haven’t tried it before, check out our guide on how to find suppliers on Alibaba.

Source from China with less risk by utilizing Checkpoint’s on-demand sourcing support services.