Hiring a China Sourcing Manager: A Strategic Move for Efficient Supply Chain Management

China has become easier to source from. From your bedroom at home in your pajamas, you can find a supplier on Alibaba, put in some orders, and away you go. Advances in technology and education have allowed suppliers to get closer to foreign customers.

But what if I told you that the most profitable companies with suppliers in China have their own sourcing teams on the ground in China?

Why do they need sourcing managers if you can talk to suppliers from your HQ?

In this blog, we will look at this question. We’ll explore why you should hire a sourcing manager, what they should do on a daily basis, and what you should look for in the perfect candidate.

Why Hire a China Sourcing Manager?

One of the key reasons to hire a China-based sourcing manager is proximity to suppliers. Sourcing is not just about finding suppliers for your product – that’s easy. It’s about finding the right supplier.

When sourcing a supplier, you need to do credit checks – the best websites for this include Qichacha and Tianyancha – but hey presto, they’re all in Chinese. You need to be able to read and write Chinese to use these platforms effectively.

The second important part of sourcing a supplier is visiting them. While you can send a third party to do a quality audit – and there are some very good ones out there – they only have a checklist of information to collect, which is not a very qualitative assessment. Since 90% of problems come from miscommunication, you want to know who the key people you are dealing with really are. Can they actually speak English?

A sourcing manager in China can vastly improve your selection of suppliers. The sourcing strategy should not be about finding one good supplier; it should be about making sure you never choose the wrong supplier!

The right sourcing manager will have their ear to the ground and be constantly monitoring pricing and performance of vendors.

Core Responsibilities of a China Sourcing Manager

The responsibilities of a sourcing manager seem to be akin to a jack of all trades, but this is largely due to the multifaceted nature of sourcing, and the sourcing manager should ideally be backed up with a team of quality and supply chain personnel. Below are the core responsibilities they typically handle:

Supplier Identification & Evaluation

  • Source new suppliers for different categories based on your company’s needs.
  • Evaluate suppliers on quality, capacity, and pricing to ensure the best partnerships.

Price Negotiation

  • Leverage knowledge of materials, manufacturing processes, and market competition to negotiate pricing and payment terms.
  • Work with suppliers to secure competitive pricing while maintaining quality standards.

Supplier Relationship Management

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers.
  • Visit suppliers regularly to ensure compliance with standards and solve any ongoing issues.

Quality Assurance & Control

  • Work with quality teams to implement and oversee quality control processes.
  • Conduct factory audits to ensure suppliers adhere to your quality expectations and legal regulations.
  • Hold suppliers accountable for any poor performance in quality.

Risk Mitigation

  • Identify potential risks in the supply chain and work proactively to mitigate them. Consistently look for alternative supply chains.
  • Stay up-to-date with regulatory changes and compliance requirements to avoid disruptions.

What Should You Look for in a China Sourcing Manager?

Experience working with Chinese Suppliers

This may seem obvious, but many companies make the mistake of hiring someone from a factory sales team and expecting them to know how to negotiate pricing with suppliers. Yes, they will know local business culture, but that’s not enough. You must have experience dealing with tough factory bosses.

Excellent Negotiation Skills

Being able to negotiate pricing, terms, and quality standards is one of the most important aspects of sourcing. Your manager should be adept at securing favorable deals while ensuring long-term, positive supplier relationships.

Methodical Approach to Operating

Sourcing isn’t about winning with relationships; a detailed methodical approach is best. It’s a numbers game – the more suppliers you engage, the more informed you will be of the market price. Supplier benchmarking against criteria is actually done in the office, not on the factory floor, or at dinner with the boss. A systematic approach will produce all the cards they need for negotiating later on. A lot of the time, a sourcing manager will be doing their research on comparisons on a computer instead of travelling to factories all the time.

Attention to Detail

While quality assurance is not the principal responsibility of the sourcing manager, it impacts their role greatly. Therefore, a good sourcing manager will have a keen eye for detail to identify any issues in samples, processes, or final products.

Strong Communication Skills

Your sourcing manager will be the bridge between your company and suppliers in China. They should be native in Mandarin, but also have very strong English skills, so that issues can be communicated effectively back to HQ.

Understanding of Logistics and Compliance

Similar to quality, it is not a major part of the sourcing manager’s job, but it is important to have knowledge of the logistical challenges involved in international trade, such as shipping, tariffs, and customs procedures. Understanding challenges within compliance is essential, because although they are not responsible for assessing product samples, they will need to negotiate with the supplier if there is an issue.

Key Tips When Hiring a Sourcing Manager

The daily responsibilities of a China Sourcing Manager will revolve around communication, negotiation, and quality control. Below is a breakdown of what they typically manage:

Hire someone with an international background:

If you are hiring a sourcing manager remotely, they must be able to fit into your company culture from afar. This is very difficult to achieve if the person you hire has not had any experience working within an international sourcing office. Your new hire needs to be able to raise their concerns openly, and uphold good business practice on your behalf. We recommend that a sourcing manager has had experience working in the buying office of an international firm, or has experience working outside of China.

Be wary of ‘relationships’:

The best approach to sourcing is a systematic approach where multiple suppliers are assessed against a set of criteria. Be wary of candidates who say they can bring relationships to the table. Of course, if a sourcing manager has worked with suppliers in your product category before – that’s great, but this is something you need to consider.

Don’t isolate your sourcing manager:

Regular employee engagement is so important when hiring a sourcing manager. They will be representing your business in front of suppliers – and so they must be on side. If you isolate your sourcing manager, with little communication each week and no in-person engagement, then they may start to form their own relationships with suppliers.

Reward your sourcing manager:

Put in place key KPIs for the sourcing manager to hit, as well as sharing visibility over company KPIs and make the reward more visible throughout the year. This way your sourcing manager will see the value of their work and be more motivated to hit their goals.

How The China Desk Can Help

At Kinyu SCM, we understand the value of hiring an excellent sourcing manager, as well as the risks of hiring a poor one. As a supply chain focused Employer of Record, we know what to look for when recruiting these positions, as well as how to manage them effectively

If you are hiring a sourcing manager remotely – get in touch to learn how our employee management and engagement tactics can get the best results from your team on the ground.

Benjamin King

CEO, Kinyu

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