China / Working for your business
From first quote to shipment readiness.
We help private-label brands and importers find the right factories, negotiate in Mandarin, and manage production on the ground.
A clear first step. A reply within 1 working day.
Why IE Sourcing
Your product, budget and order size shape the search. Our team in China speaks directly with factories, compares supplier routes and negotiates in Mandarin. You get clear options before committing to stock — and a team to coordinate the next steps.
Factories selected around your specification, order size, budget and branding needs.
Direct conversations with factory owners and production managers to clarify what they can deliver.
A team in China to coordinate factory visits, production updates and pre-shipment inspection.
Quotes negotiated in Mandarin and compared across suppliers, with minimums, lead times and tradeoffs made clear.
See exactly what that access costs.
View Pricing →Case Studies
Anonymised examples from real client briefs. Compare the order minimums, sample costs and lead times that shape a sourcing decision. Client and supplier identities are withheld under NDA.
Real briefs. Multiple China-side supplier routes.
Multiple Guangdong routes compared in one working day. This route carried the lowest entry order minimum, and the clearest path to a first order within budget.
Chosen when speed mattered more than order minimum — faster sample turnaround and shorter bulk lead time than the premium format, with a quicker packaging proof too.
Supported English packaging from the outset. First-round pricing wasn't strong enough, so alternative routes stayed open while negotiation continued with the strongest candidates.
Ready to see real supplier numbers for your product?
See Pricing & Get Started →On The Ground
Unedited photos and video from our team's own factory visits and shipment loadouts in China — not stock imagery.
Production line — a supplier route we've walked the floor of ourselves.
Cartons staged and ready — the point where a quote becomes real stock.
Loading out — shipment handed off and on its way.
Captured on-site by our China-side team during live client sourcing projects. Specific supplier and factory identities remain confidential, in line with our NDA commitments.
The Journey
Is this sourceable, and what will it cost?
Free Direction Check
We assess whether your idea is realistically sourceable, flag obvious order-minimum or budget issues, and give you an honest view on whether it's worth moving forward. No cost, no commitment.
Factory Intelligence Pack
Genuine, comparable intelligence from the China-side market — to help you choose a supplier that fits your brief. Pricing, minimum order quantity, sample cost, lead time and private label options, compared side by side.
Pick a route, then prove it with a sample.
Supplier Route Selection
You compare real options against your budget and goals, and choose the direction you want to develop.
Samples & Private Label
We coordinate samples, confirm your logo, packaging and materials, and compare samples across factories before you commit to production.
Production, inspection and shipment readiness.
First Commercial Order
Final negotiation, specification, production schedule and full China-side coordination — managed start to finish, with regular updates through production.
Quality Check
Inspection arranged before goods leave China, so problems get caught at the factory — not after they land on your doorstep.
Shipping & Handover
China-side documentation and freight forwarder coordination handled for you, right through to shipment readiness.
Repeat Orders
Once your supplier, spec and packaging are locked in, reordering is fast — this is where a proven product starts paying you back.
Around 2–3 working days applies to the Factory Intelligence Pack. Complex, technical or ODM projects are confirmed case by case and may take longer.
Is This Right For You
The barrier isn't your idea — it's finding supplier routes beyond public marketplace listings. Our team in China taps into an existing network of offline, local factories. We reach out to the right ones for your product and negotiate in Mandarin, on your behalf. You get screened supplier options and comparable supplier quotations, typically within 2–3 working days. No language barrier. Transparent service pricing.
There's no minimum budget to get started. The Free Direction Check and Factory Intelligence Pack work at any budget — the whole point is finding out what's realistic before you commit further. As a rough guide, viable first commercial orders often land around £3,000+ in goods value, with a total project budget of £5,000–£7,500+ once samples, branding, inspection, freight and duty are included. Lighter, high-margin or low-MOQ products can often work well below that. Tell us your numbers, whatever they are, and we'll give you a straight answer.
What It Costs
Start with a free direction check. Choose a sourcing pack when you’re ready for detailed supplier research. Production support is scoped separately.
Initial Sourcing Direction Check. An honest, China-side view on whether your product idea is realistically sourceable — before you spend a penny.
Factory Intelligence Pack. Know what it costs, who can make it, and which supplier route makes the most sense.
Supplier Verification Pack. The complete answer to "should I put money into this, and what route should I take?"
No sales call required — it's yours either way, with no obligation to place an order.
£249 and £499 cover everything above. Anything beyond that — custom ODM work, samples, first orders or repeat runs — is quoted separately and always agreed with you first.
See Exactly What You Get
Every Factory Intelligence Pack and Supplier Verification Pack follows the same structure. Here's a worked example for a private-label water bottle order, so you know exactly what lands in your inbox — not a vague email, a proper document.
↔ Swipe to see the full table
| Field | Client / Project Input |
|---|---|
| Project reference | IE-0142 — Insulated Water Bottle |
| Product | 750ml double-wall stainless steel water bottle |
| Target market | United Kingdom |
| Target quantity | 1,000 units (first order) |
| Target price / budget | £2.60–£3.00 landed unit cost |
| Private label / branding | Custom logo laser engraving, brand colour, gift box |
| Target timeline | Samples approved within 3 weeks |
If the brief is incomplete, the Sourcing Intelligence pack states assumptions clearly rather than presenting uncertain supplier information as confirmed.
| Metric | Route A | Route B | Route C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Cost-focused | Balanced | Premium capability |
| Unit price | £2.15 | £2.55 | £3.10 |
| Min. order | 1,000 | 500 | 1,000 |
| Sample cost | £38 · 5 days | £45 · 4 days | £60 · 6 days |
| Bulk lead time | 28 days | 22 days | 30 days |
| Private label | Laser logo only | Laser logo + colour box | Full custom tooling |
| Payment terms | 50/50 | 30/70 | 30/70 |
Full supplier company name, location and capability are shown — we don't hide who makes your product. Direct factory contact details aren't included, as building and managing that relationship is part of what you're working with us for. Pricing shown reflects our negotiated route and isn't guaranteed if a supplier is approached independently. All prices, order minimums and lead times are working quotations, reconfirmed before any production order.
| Assessment Area | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price competitiveness | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Order-size fit | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Lead time | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Branding / customisation | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Overall commercial fit | 3 | 5 | 3 |
Recommended route: B. Best balance of price, order minimum, lead time and branding for a first order at this budget — with room to negotiate the sample cost down before committing.
| Stage | Typical Next Action |
|---|---|
| 1. Sourcing Intelligence pack delivered | Review supplier routes, order minimums, price, lead time and risks |
| 2. Supplier route selected | Confirm preferred route and any remaining questions |
| 3. Sample / private label | Coordinate sample, branding, packaging and specification |
| 4. First production order | Confirm final PI, quantity, production plan and terms |
| 5. Production / inspection | Follow production, arrange inspection before shipment |
Freight, insurance, duty, VAT and destination customs are excluded unless specifically included. Full terms confirmed in your Sourcing Intelligence pack.
Get Started
Send a product idea or reference link, your target quantity and budget. We’ll assess whether it looks sourceable, flag obvious constraints and explain the next step. Your first direction check is free.
We reply within 1 working day. No spam, ever.
Questions
Yes. For most standard products where a factory already manufactures the base item, we can quote private labelling directly — unit price, minimum order quantity, logo/branding method, packaging options, sample cost and any setup or printing costs, compared across suppliers.
That's treated as a deeper project. Changing the design, formula, tooling or moulds means the factory needs a much more detailed brief before a quotation is meaningful — we'll scope this with you before starting.
For a clear, relatively standard product, around 2–3 working days once you've had your free direction check. More complex or technical products, and ODM work, are confirmed case by case.
There's no minimum budget to get started — the Free Direction Check and Factory Intelligence Pack work at any budget, and knowing your real numbers is often the fastest way to find out what's possible. As a rough guide, viable first commercial orders often land around £3,000+ in goods value, with a total project budget of £5,000–£7,500+ once samples, branding, inspection, freight and duty are included. Lighter, high-margin or low-MOQ products can often work well below that.
We coordinate the China-side documentation, packing information and freight forwarder handover. Your destination-side freight/customs provider handles the import process once goods leave China.
Reordering is fast. Once your supplier, specification and packaging are already established, we can reconfirm pricing, availability and the new production schedule within 1–2 working days.
