Direct sourcing involves purchasing directly from the manufacturer without any middlemen or sourcing agents in its supply chain. Though it is a popular method to buy products, it has several pitfalls. Hence, most builders go through sourcing agents. In this post, we will examine the various limitations of direct factory purchase and how sourcing agents can help improve the profit margins. One of the main disadvantages of direct sourcing building materials to supply wholesale is that it is a time-consuming process, which is difficult to scale up if your business starts to grow. Many buyers who use this model have trouble with suppliers not being able to meet their demands and product quality issues. Let us see each of these limitations in detail. Limited Product Offerings When sourcing directly from the manufacturer, you often have access to products offered only by that one supplier. This is problematic because sometimes the product offering may not meet your needs. If you find a similar item elsewhere, it may not be as high quality as the original product. Issues with Product Authenticity When purchasing directly from a manufacturer, there is no way one can guarantee that the products are authentic unless the manufacturer has...

When China underwent economic reforms and opened its doors to international business, it embarked on a transformative journey that would make it a manufacturing behemoth on the global stage. But recently media overseas have been keen on spreading words like reshoring,  decoupling, or even de-globalization. Anyone involved in manufacturing outsourcing understands that, for now, these are mostly thoughts with little reality to them. However, are we the last breaths of a golden age where everyone depended more or less on China for a large array of machinery, white goods, and fast-moving consumer goods? Title of an article from the “Reshoring Institue – Non-profit and Non-partisan” The above title accurately shows how ambivalent attitudes can be toward a trend called “de-globalization”. But in the end, most publications found by our team when searching on Google all agree on one point: this is not the end of globalization. However, most content found online implies that there is a willingness to take a step back and implement change to redistribute interconnections and leverage. With that in mind, let’s see what is at play regarding China. CHINA IS STILL THE WORLD’S FACTORY There is no doubt that, notwithstanding COVID-19 disruptions and all, China is...