Working with Manufacturers: US vs China
If you currently have a planner product line, or are looking to start one, I’d like to give you some insight on the most important and complex component that goes into the product creation process: manufacturing.
The decision on which vendor to choose to produce your product line is one that could literally make or break your business.
I’m going to walk you through the differences between working with a manufacturer here in the US versus one overseas.
Before I dive in, there are 4 key questions that need to be answered by anyone looking for a vendor to provide any sort of service — whether for your home or business.
Does the vendor have the skills (and experience!) to complete the job?
Will the end result be of the highest quality, or at least meet your standards for quality?
How much will the job cost?
How long will it take to complete?
Now, let’s take a deep dive into each of these questions, applying them to planner production!
01. VENDOR CAPABILITIES
US
Here in the US we have many large factories capable of printing books and related products, and I worked with some in my time in the production department of a children’s book publisher. These US factories are best suited for jobs with an extremely large order quantity — somewhere in the tens of thousands, or more. Smaller companies like yours and mine don’t typically work with those numbers, so for planner production I’ve needed to consider other options outside the United States.
Quantity aside, I have yet to find a US factory that can accommodate all of the components of planner production under one roof. One print shop may be able to handle the printed interior pages, but they may not be able to die-cut the tab pages, or bind the entire planner together with the cover. So, it becomes a bit of a juggling act between all of the different manufacturers for each component of your planner and that can get really messy, very quickly. Plus, there are some things that US printers simply cannot do — metal corner embellishments on covers, for example. Now, that’s not to say it’s impossible. While I have communicated with several US printers, I have not researched them all. If you know a US manufacturer that can handle planner production, please reach out to me!
china
In China, there are factories that specialize in planner production, and are fully equipped to handle all of the bells and whistles you want to include in your design — tabbed pages, plastic bookmarks, keepsake boxes, shipping boxes, you name it! These factories have special equipment to handle even the smallest components. Finished corners? They have a machine that will perfectly fold the cover material over each corner . . . or add those metal embellishments!
Plus, the factories have access to a variety of material options like faux leather, custom printed fabrics, several color options for wire bindings, and so on. Most US manufacturers would have to source custom materials such as those from China. US manufacturers also don’t have the option of shopping the materials markets as often as the people in China do, so they are not as knowledgeable about what’s even available.
And the factories in China have an abundance of resources. If one planner factory in China cannot handle the production of your plastic bookmarks or shipping boxes, they have a network of specialists at their fingertips. So, the process of working with multiple vendors is seamless, and completely handled by your main contact at the factory you are ordering from — you will barely be aware that there is a multiple vendor cooperation going on behind the scenes.
So, regarding vendor capabilities, I would say that China wins. They can do more, and are more efficient in their operations.
For those keeping score: China 1, US 0
02. PRODUCT QUALITY
The quality of products that I’ve seen come out of China, compared to the US, is unmatched.
China is known as “The World’s Factory” for a reason. It has built an ecosystem that supports manufacturing and vendor cooperation between factories. Over the last 20 years of working with factories in China, I’ve seen it evolve into a great network of suppliers that all work together in a complicated mix of cooperation and competition. A quality supplier will strive to meet your expectations and will do whatever they can to win your business. They think outside of the box and will try new techniques in order to produce exactly what you are looking for. They are innovators and experts in what they do.
And their craftsmanship is superior. Much of the work is completed with a combination of machines and handwork, so as each piece is being worked on, it’s being looked at by a human and inspected along the way.
Another win for China.
For those keeping score: China 2, US 0
03. COST
Cost is typically the #1 deciding factor when it comes to making any purchasing decision.
And this one is easy. China wins the pricing game every time.
Prices in China are always going to be less than in the US.
It’s true, shipping costs have skyrocketed since COVID — and shipping products from overseas vs domestically is always going to be more expensive regardless. So let’s talk about that and break it down.
Pre-COVID, shipping used to be about 9% the cost of goods. At the peak of COVID, it was at 25% the cost of goods. It was a dark time. And while prices are starting to come down, I’m not sure we’ll ever see pre-COVID numbers again.
Tariffs also come into play when manufacturing in China. Under the Trump administration, a 25% import tariff was imposed on all planner products being imported from China. This was also a huge hit to my clients.
So, if you’re keeping up with the math, yes, that means that some of my clients were paying an additional 50% on top of their production costs — BUT after adding all of that up, the cost of producing in China vs the US was still less expensive. Trust me, I’ve spent the last 3 years gathering price quotes and comparing costs between several Asian and European countries, and I still haven’t found a better option than China.
For those keeping score: China 3, US 0
04. TIMELINE
Well, this is where the US finally gets a win.
Planner production takes about 6 weeks on average, regardless of where it’s manufactured.
Shipping from a domestic printer can take up to 1 week, where shipping overseas can take anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks. Again, thanks to COVID, overseas shipping timelines are no longer predictable. The max amount of time we’ve seen an ocean shipment take is about 12 weeks, when it took ½ that time pre-COVID. Shipping time has been improving, but we’re not out of the woods yet.
Because of this unpredictability, we’ve pushed our timelines back by 3 months for our agency clients to ensure they get their products on time.
So, for planning purposes, we estimate that producing a planner in the US can take about 3 months from start to finish (sampling and testing included), where producing a planner in China will take about 6 months.
For those keeping score: China 3, US 1
Producing a planner in the US will be quicker, but you’ll end up paying significantly more for a subpar product.
I’ve been working with factories in China to produce planners for nearly 20 years.
It’s not easy. It takes a long time and requires a lot of planning. And there can be a lot of hurdles along the way — like government regulations and shipping logistics. Many times I’ve had to pivot. But in the end, it’s always worth it.
The outcome has always been a high quality product that didn’t throw our budgets off track. And it’s a product that my clients are proud to put their names on and one that will be the foundation for a beautiful and successful product line for years to come.
If you’d like to get your planners printed in China, I’d love to help you too. Click here to learn more about my services.
Feeling ready to move production overseas?
I created a streamlined checklist so you know exactly what you need to do before making the leap to overseas manufacturing . . . and it’s available now at the link below.