Sourcing In India, China And Vietnam: Challenges And Opportunities

1. Product Selection 

• China is the world’s largest export of “anything”, if you are planning to build a brand it's challenging to get registrations and brand protections.
  
• India also produces a lot of things mostly medium quality mass-produced products for the domestic market and high-quality Handmade, unique products. Products for Living, giving and Dining, Artisanal wood, and Furniture, Home furnishings, Metalwork, Garment and textiles, Eco-friendly products, stationery, can find high-quality products in India (not just cheap (Mostly Low volume production)
  
• Vietnam produces Handbags, clothing, clothing, textiles, purses, bag packs, belts, etc fabrics of all kinds, Wood- High-end furniture, Homeware, Kitchenware, Plastic products- PPE.
  

2. Quality 

• China: From cheap to high end.
  
• India: High quality and Expensive.
  
• Vietnam: High quality and mix of expensive and moderately expensive.

3. Key materials 

• China: Wide range - textiles (synthetic and natural), metals, electronics, plastics, rubbers, etc.
  
• India: Natural materials - Artisanal wood (acacia, mango, teak), leather, metal (brass, copper, stainless steel (low end), wrought iron), organic cotton, jute, Eco-friendly materials
• Vietnam: Natural solid wood, electronics, steel and iron finished products and clothing and textiles- high end.
  

4. Labour cost 

• China: Moderate (Min wage $327/ month) Low skill- focus on mass production.
  
• India: Low (Min wage $90/ month), highly skilled maker communities.
  
• Vietnam: Moderate-but lower then China. (Min wage $155/ month)- Moderate skill.
  

5. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) 

• China: High - expect at least 500pcs/SKU
  
• India: Low - as few as 10 or 5K to $10k MIV (Min invoice value)
  
• Vietnam: High - expect at least 200-500pcs/ SKU.

6. Factory Production Time and payment terms

• China: Fast - production usually take a month to 75 days - 3-4 weeks by sea 30%-70% - 30% Down and 70% at time of shipment, people also work on Letter of credit.
  
• India: Slow -Takes 10 weeks and another month on the water to get to the port 30%-70% - 30% Down and 70% at time of shipment, people also work on Letter of credit6-12 Weeks. 30% down and 70%
  
• Vietnam: Lead times- demand has gone up, wait for capacity opens up, components sourced from china zipper and locks etc. 4-6 weeks, ports in Vietnam are smaller.
  

7. Ease of source 

• China: Moderate - Alibaba, trade shows like Canton fair
  
• India: Difficult - No simple online platform such as Alibaba; Delhi Fair, Sourcing companies, or CBP searches
  
• Vietnam: Prices are closer to real price, 50% are Vietnam owned.
  

8. Logistics 

• China: Smooth and easy to monitor
  
• India: India's infrastructure (roads, rails, etc) is not as developed - expect delays and keep a cushion in hand.
  
• Vietnam: infrastructure (roads, rails, etc) is moderately developed since the country is small - Minor delays and keep a cushion in hand.
  

9. Tariffs 

• China: 25%+
  
• India: 0-5%
  
• Vietnam: 0%, free trade agreement with the EU and Vietnam, also free trade agreement with Vietnam.

10. Language Barrier 

• China: Low to Moderate - most suppliers have English speaking staff for ease of business. 
  
• India: Virtually none - English is widely spoken in India
  
• Vietnam:Casual work culture.
  

11. Risks 

• China: Risk of the product being copied quickly, risk of the product being sold by Chinese sellers are very skilled, most e-commerce sourcing from china has no Brand identity. Lack of transparency
  
• India: Delays and longer lead times, potentially higher costs for higher quality products, need an inhouse member for executing the project. Lack of transparency
  
• Vietnam: Few multi-skilled workers, Worker loyalty to factories is low, Lack of transparency.
  

12. Vacation time

• China: Chinese new year
  
• India: Diwali and Eid and many others
  
• Vietnam: Lunar New Year, Tết, The Lunar New Year
  

13. Packaging facility

• China: Very superior
  
• India: Medium to Low-quality packaging infrastructure
  
• Vietnam: Quality is great and have everything from cardboard boxes, soda cans, plastic packaging, and much, much more.
  

14. Top websites for meeting suppliers

China:

1. Alibaba. https://www.alibaba.com 
   
2. DHgate. website: https://www.dhgate.com  
   
3. Global Sources. https://www.globalsources.com 
   
4. Made-in-China: https://www.made-in-china.com 
   
5. DHgate: https://www.dhgate.com 
   
6. GlobalSources: https://www.globalsources.com 
   
7. Hktdc: https://sourcing.hktdc.com
   
8. 1688: https://m.1688.com
   

India: 

1. Indiamart: https://www.indiamart.com 
   
2. Tradeindia: https://www.tradeindia.com 
   
3. Alibaba:  https://www.alibaba.com 
   
4. ExportersIndia : https://www.exportersindia.com
   
5. Connec2india:  https://connect2india.com
   
6. DHgate:  https://www.dhgate.com 
   
7. eWorldTrade : https://www.eworldtrade.com 
   
8. Global Sources: https://www.globalsources.com
   

Vietnam: 

1. Alibaba: alibaba.com/vn 
   
2. Vietnam Export: en.vietnamexport.com 
   
3. Vietnam Manufacturers: vietnammanufacturers.vn/en 
   
4. VTown : vtown.vn/en 
   
5. VietnamAZ : vietaz.com 
   
6. VietnameseMade :vietnamesemade.com 
   
7. VCCI News : vccinews.com 
   
8. Global Sources : Globalsources.com
   

15. Scalability and Flexibility 

• China: Very High but not flexible. 
  
• India: Low to Moderate, highly flexible
  
• High: Very High and moderatly flexible. 
  

16. Brand recognition

• China: Very High
  
• India: High and oppurtunity for great story telling
  
• Vietnam:High
  

Fig1: Table of comparison for sourcing from China, India, and Vietnam