When Barack Obama famously asked Steve Jobs why he manufactured the iPhone in China, he responded that iPhone users would not be able to afford what it cost, nor want to wait the years it would take, if it were manufactured in North America. North America is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers and it lacks the knowledge, machinery and technology that is currently in abundance in China. When it comes to “Made in the USA” and shopping locally, especially when referring to specialty, medical or technical devices, it is not as easy as it sounds. Jobs stated this was no longer a viable option for Apple. If you are a business looking to manufacture a high-quality product and are considering local vs. China, this article will dispel the myths and give you the true pros and cons of manufacturing in China, so you can make the right decision for you.
China’s cost of living, which includes wages, is very low compared to North America. This simple advantage gets added to the budgetary savings of manufacturing in China. Not just this, but because China has invested so much in its manufacturing sector, they already have the expertise, manpower, tooling and machinery needed to manufacture products quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.
Because the labour and tools are readily available, Chinese manufacturers can offer the right scalability options for you. This means if you have a product with low-volume manufacturing needs, you can still manufacture in China. If your product begins selling and you need production to ramp up output, Chinese manufacturers are capable of doing this easily at any point. The engineers and factory workers are well-trained to know how to avoid bottlenecks and can easily add fixtures, operators and machines to scale up or change production needs.
Even with the transport of the items from China, your product can get to market quicker than if it were manufactured in North America. This is because the labour pool and machinery are available almost immediately from when you have the need, including not only the production people, but the engineers and support staff as well. In North America, the tight market conditions, labour restrictions, staff retention issues and the needed staff training, mean waits of months or even years for production to start.
When working with a foreign country, there will be language barriers. This can make it difficult for you or the manufacturer to understand what is needed. In order to get around this, working with a partner who speaks the same languages is important. Kingstec ensures that everyone understands what was said and uses follow-up communication (visual/written) to ensure compliance. They also offer translation of technical documents so both parties are presented with everything in their own language.
While most Chinese facilities work around the clock, having team meetings with you (during your day hours, which is their night hours) is not always feasible. This means both sides have to compromise and most often, there are late evening or early morning meetings. With Kingstec as your partner, we are typically in your time zone (Eastern standard time) and we take care of communications with the factory so you don’t have to worry about meetings at odd hours.
Some factories in China want orders that are larger or a long-term commitment. If you are manufacturing something new, you may want to start out smaller. If you work with a partner who has stable relationships with manufacturers in China, you can often find a compromise. For example, your partner may convince the manufacturer of the worth of your product and ask them to take the risk and start with a low volume, knowing there will be a long-term gain. On the other hand, if you are willing, you could manufacture multiple batches of your products at once, storing the next batches at the warehouse in China, ready to ship when your products take off.
You can find the right solution for getting your end product to market. If you want faster, less-expensive production that you can scale and don’t mind the language and time zone barriers, manufacturing in China could be the answer for you. Working with a trusted partner, with many years of experience with manufacturing products in China will ensure your success if you choose to go this route. Contact Kingstec today to learn more.
