5 myths about packaging from China and cooperation with Chinese suppliers.

Terminy dostaw

Orders from China have to wait much longer than from Europe. Known view? Famous but fake. Today, the average lead time in European factories is 12-14 weeks. In the season, sometimes even longer. If, in the meantime, the manufacturer receives an order from its larger, priority customer, the waiting time will be extended by another 10 weeks. There is no need to explain what consequences a 2,5-month downtime leads to.

What about China? The average production time for bottles, jars and closures is about 4 weeks, with neither the size of the order nor the season being of great importance. It then takes an average of 5 to 6 weeks to deliver the batches by freight from China to the port of Hamburg. This means that 10-11 weeks pass from the moment the order is confirmed by the manufacturer to its delivery to the customer's warehouse. If you choose rail transport, you can get there in as little as 35-45 days. Just remember to reserve a seat on the train.

Quality,

Let's get straight to the numbers. According to the reports of our quality control laboratory, over the last 3 years, 500% of complaints occurred out of 6,6 Chinese projects, while in Europe this indicator is around 4,5% out of 3000 orders. The difference is really small. It will probably disappear completely in a few years.

Communication

We carry out 70% of all transactions with China through our own representative offices in Shanghai and Guangdong, the remaining 30% - directly through the manufacturer's English-speaking managers. Both models work perfectly, whether in the case of complex projects requiring advanced printing techniques or precise matching of closure colors. Even the most specific designs have never once caused any problems with understanding.

Assortment

In terms of creativity, Europe seems like an old lady of nobility, elegant, but completely lacking the courage to try something new. China is like a young, ambitious businessman-innovator. Where do such associations come from?

When approaching a European manufacturer with an ambitious project, let's say an innovative jar with a unique shape and a unique cap, you must be ready to invest EUR 50-100, and sometimes additionally commit to regular orders with an annual quantity of about a million pieces. Otherwise, the checkbox falls within the limits of ready-made, standard designs from 10 years ago. All creativity and innovation comes down to decoration: printing, varnishing or engraving. There are no other methods of visually standing out.

An alternative solution is to go to China, where the flexibility of manufacturers allows them to release new products every year, each time creating an original, unique design. How is this possible? The Chinese market is huge, with intense competition. Wanting to stay on the market, Chinese manufacturers have no choice but to choose a strategy of bold innovations. Moreover, production equipment in China costs much less than in Europe and the production of dies takes much less time. At the same time, no manufacturer will think of demanding a commitment for millions of repeated orders.

Attention to detail

Ordering packaging in China requires knowledge of certain details, which are sometimes decisive, but are not obvious to a person without specific knowledge and experience. This may include, among others, the quality of the raw material, dyes, specificity of printing methods and their synergy with the packaging material. Today, these details are the biggest obstacle to making the most of the potential and opportunities offered by the Chinese. Differences in standards and minor misunderstandings result in the final product turning out to be different than in the project. On the other hand, gaining appropriate experience opens up a wealth of opportunities that would be simply unavailable in cooperation with representatives of conservative Europe.