You can go to China and work directly with factories, use a broker, or work with a full-service provider like Sinotech.

	Direct	Broker
Factory identification	Haphazard	Only broker’s factories	From Approved Vendor List
Quality audits of the factory	Not without int’l travel	Audit meaningless — works for factory	Always — 100% independent of factory
Factory selection	With limited information	None - works for factory	Based on best of price, capability, experience
Engineers in US and China	Expensive to do	Limited or no engineering staff in either US or China	Fully staffed in both countries
Factory contract negotiations	Difficult without face-to-face meetings	Negotiation across oceans	On site: Chinese engineers negotiate with Chinese sales managers
Onsite tooling supervision	Not without int’l travel	Not available	On site: engineers are independent of factory
Onsite Production Supervision	Not without int’l travel	Not available	On site: engineers are independent of factory
Product liability insurance	Not available	Not available	Liability insurance on all products
Customs clearance	Work with customs brokerage	Not available	Shipments cleared by experienced logistics staff
Ocean shipping	Work with shipping company	Not available	Arranged according to your schedule
Domestic shipping	Work with shipping company	Not available	Coordinated with your receiving needs
Production scheduling	Customer works alone on scheduling	Not available	Cooperative planning
Warehousing	If room is available	Not available	Warehousing and logistics in many US cities
Payment terms	L/C or wire transfer in advance	L/C or wire transfer in advance	Credit terms on approved credit
Aftersale support and corrections	Work across oceans	Not available	Corrective Action Teams in US and China work 24/7