Foreword
If you plan to start the tool bag business or want to import/source/wholesale tool bags, you may have created many interesting ideas. The next question is how to find a tool bag supplier or tool bag manufacturer that can realize your idea and meet your requirements.
Many companies often run into trouble when sourcing products. For example: the supplier’s product quality is not good enough, the supplier can’t provide the product you want, the supplier’s price is too high, etc.
Suppliers are important to almost any business. They are expected to offer low prices so that you can make enough profit, they are expected to provide high-quality products so that you will not be plagued by customer complaints, they are expected to turn your ideas into actual products and thus improve your market competitiveness. If your suppliers can’t provide these, your business won’t grow.
In this article, I will introduce several kinds of tool bag suppliers, share several tips of finding and distinguishing tool bag suppliers, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.
What Is ‘Tool bag Supplier’？
Suppliers are enterprises or individuals that supply various required resources such as including raw materials, products, energy, labor, to buyers. In the tool bag business, supplier is company or individual that supplies the buyer with the required tool bag products. In different trade modes, there are several kinds of suppliers, the following are some of main:
Manufacturer
Manufacturer use raw materials or components (self-made or outsourced) to make consumer goods through relatively automated machinery and production processes. In addition to manufacturing capabilities, manufacturers with scale or brand reputation are usually engaged in marketing and physical distribution or international trade. In the tool bag industry, tool bag manufacturers refer to enterprises that produce, process, package and sell tool bag products. The features of tool bag manufacture are:
- Products Are Customizable. Professional tool bag manufacturers such as IRONLAND can manufacture tool bags according to clients’ ideas. For more customize tool bags tips, please refer to this article: How To Customize Tool Bags?
- Product Quality Is Guaranteed. Quality is the No. 1 priority of manufacturing and the No. 1 goal of producing tool bags. If you source tool bags from a manufacturer, you can get a clear idea of the manufacturer’s factory size and how they control quality, and you can also realize their strength through the goods they produce for other well-known clients. During the negotiation or cooperation, any quality problems can be answered and solved professionally by the manufacturer. In short, everything is guaranteed.
- Low Price. If you’re sourcing tool bags final good, the manufacturer is the source of the supply chain. This means that you can buy the product at the lowest price so that to get more profit for you.
Trader
This article refers specifically to international trading company, which does not manufacture any products, but finds manufacturers for clients. After receiving the inquiry from clients, find manufacturer that can produce the corresponding products in their supply chain resources, and rely on the manufacturer’s support to provide the clients with services such as quotation, sampling, customization, production, or packaging, etc. The features of traders are:
- High Prices. The price of the product from the trader will be higher than that of the manufacturer because they need to make a profit in the trade. Due to insufficient realizing of the market, many trading companies set unreasonable prices, which harmed the interests of many clients.
- Not Professional Enough Or Authentic Enough. Although traders may be in certain field for many years, their product knowledge is almost from the manufacturer, usually they do not know the product knowledge deeply enough to provide excellent solutions. In addition, traders often change information from manufacturers, which makes it difficult for clients to make judgments or make purchasing plans, for example, the manufacturer said that the MOQ for customizing certain product is 500pcs, but the trader may tell the client that the MOQ is 800pcs.
- Good Service. Traders can help clients find supply chain for almost any product, relying on their experience to find good manufacturers, which saves clients a lot of time in their purchases, it is definitely nice to have a trusted trader partner. In addition, excellent traders have extensive experience in handling import, export and shipping matters.
Wholesaler/Distributor
Wholesaler/Distributor is a kind of company or individual who purchases bulk products from manufacturer and stores the products for sale to clients, such companies exist both at home and abroad. The features are:
- Low MOQ: Since almost all products are in stock, the MOQ for buying products from wholesalers/distributors is usually very low, even if you only buy 1 piece, which offers more possibilities for many small buyers.
- High Prices: Like traders, wholesalers/distributors need to make a profit, so the prices of their products tend to be high.
- Not Selectable And Non-customizable: If you have your own design ideas or require more options, then sorry, it is very difficult for wholesalers/distributors to satisfy you, their products are almost in stock. Only if your order is large, you can require that they prepare stock specifically for your project, but you can trade with the manufacturer directly if you have large order.
- Popular Products In Stock: Generally speaking, wholesalers/distributors know which tool bag products are more popular, and the inventory they prepare will also be based on the principle of hot-selling, so after buyers purchase products, the risk of unsalable products is low.
Manufacturing And Trading Combo
Manufacturing and trading combo can not only produce products, but also build their own sourcing teams to help clients purchase the products they want. The manufacturing and trading combo is a kind of enterprises that combines the advantages of both manufacturer and trading company. IRONLAND is one of manufacturing and trading combo, we have a 10,000 square meter professional tool bag factory that allow us to provide clients with low-price and high-quality tool bag products, and we also have a trading company to help our clients and new partners purchase work gear such as: tool box, safety glove, etc., we are committed to building high-quality tool bag products line and providing useful work gear solutions for our clients.
Tips To Find Tool Bag Supplier On The Internet
Google.com
You know, google.com has almost the most abundant information resources on the Internet, you can find a lot of useful online resources such as news, knowledge, images, videos or products through google.com, also, you can search tool bag supplier or manufacturer on google.com. But you may not know the method, I will share some steps to help you find good tool bag suppliers efficiently and accurately.
1: Search Keyword=Sourcing Word + Product Word
When searching on Google, the keyword you are searching for should be the phrase of sourcing word + product word, for example: tool bag factory, tool bag manufacturer, tool bag supplier, wholesale tool bag, custom tool Bags, etc., if the keywords are just product words, the search results are usually retail websites, forums or other product usage information, which are mostly not what you want.
2: Distinguish Retailer And Supplier
Some sites cheat in order to get web traffic, claiming on their site that they are not only a retailer but also a manufacturer, so that they are more easily found in google.com and thus get more web traffic, but actually these descriptions are not true. For example, when you search ‘tool bag manufacturer’, there is a good chance that the search results will include the website of a retailer, and you have to distinguish what type of company they are based on their web page.
3：Distinguish Scammer, Business And Partner
There are a lot of scam gangs on the internet, I get a dozen of fake inquiries every day from scammers who usually show their website address in the email to confuse readers, and these websites may also be searched by you. If a website asks for your email password or sends you some emails with strange font styles, then they must be scammer.
After eliminating the scammer information, at least you can do business with regular supplier. Most suppliers only provide some basic services such as quoting, sampling, negotiation, and rejecting clients requirements.
Some suppliers just like Ironland not only provide basic supply chain services, but also share many useful tool bag industry knowledge and professional solutions, such suppliers can be called partners. With partners, your tool bag business will be very easy and efficient.
Alibaba.com
Alibaba.com belongs to Alibaba Group and is the largest B2B website in China and even in the world. Alibaba.com connects B2B buyers with suppliers and provides more possibilities for global cross-border trade. Please see the following steps to learn how to find and identify good tool bag suppliers or manufacturers on alibaba.com.
Step 1: Search
If you don’t know alibaba.com well enough, then searching is the best way. It is worth mentioning that the keywords you are searching for does not need to include the purchase word like searching on google.com. If you want to sourcing tool bags, just search keywords ‘tool bag” directly, then more than thousands of products will be shown to you.
Step 2: Select Products
In the search results page, you need to master some methods to find the product you want.
- Distinguish the ranking of advertisements and popular products, please see the picture below, the search results with the signs in the red circle are advertisements, usually sellers spend advertising fees to obtain search rankings, just like Google Ads, and products without these icons are the real popular products list.
- The filter on the left side of the page can help you filter products from different tags, which will save you a lot of time.
Step 3: Select Suppliers
You have to know how to select good suppliers on alibaba.com. IRONLAND has been a member of alibaba.com since 2014, we have met many partners through alibaba.com, this is our store: IRONLAND, so I know this B2B site well! You can click ‘Supplier’ button in the product information to open the home page of the supplier of that product, then click and visit the company profile page, I will share a few tips to help you find good suppliers.
- Store Age. The longer the supplier on alibaba.com has the more experience.
- Supplier Index. This is the mechanism which evaluates the comprehensive service level of sellers by alibaba.com . The more stars the better, the maximum number of stars is 5.
- Ignore The Evaluation. The evaluation is not of reference value, you can contact me to realize the reason.
- Refer To The ‘verified’ icon. Just like those advertisements above, the supplier could spend money to get this icon. This icon means that alibaba.com officially verifies that the images, videos or company information displayed by the supplier are true and reliable.
- Transactions Data. Which is the total sales of sellers within 6 months. The higher the amount, the better. The reference value of this data is very large, because this data is very real.
- Trade Assurance, a free service that protects your order from payment to delivery.
- Gold/Onsite Check Supplier. This means they pay for Alibaba membership.
- Business Type：According to this, you can judge whether the supplier is a manufacturer, a trading company or manufacturing and trading combo.
- Other Information. Such as: average response time, on-time shipment rate, etc., which can help you find good suppliers.
Made-in-china.com
Made-in-China.com is an web where Chinese product information gathers. It provides e-commerce services with rich products for domestic and foreign buyers, and aims to use the Internet to introduce Chinese suppliers’ products to domestic and foreign buyers. IRONLAND also has a free store for this site. Just like the alibaba.com, you’d better know what these icons on the page mean, and then you can judge according to those icons.
Dhgate.com
Dhgate.com is the world’s leading online foreign trade trading platform, dedicated to helping Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises enter the global market through cross-border e-commerce platforms, opening up a new international trade channel, making online transactions easier, safer and more efficient.
Globalsources.com
Globalsources.com is a professional B2B foreign trade platform that is deeply industrialized. It is also the preferred procurement platform and mainstream platform for global high-end buyers that has been recognized by the <International Business Daily> sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China.
China Domestic B2B
If you have the ability to communicate in Chinese, it is also a way to find suppliers through China domestic B2B websites, but it must be noted that some suppliers on these websites cannot provide export services, the following are two famous websites:
1688.com
Also belonging to Alibaba Group, is China’s leading domestic trade e-commerce platform for small enterprises. 1688.com represents the interests of enterprises in the CBBS e-commerce system, providing opportunity information and convenience for tens of millions of buyers and suppliers around the world. Safe online transactions are also a community where businessmen meet with friends and interact with each other in real life.
hc360.com
Which is China’s B2B enterprise service provider and industry portal. hc360.com has a large amount of industrial user data, provides services and builds a business platform through industrial Internet tools.
Social Web
You can find suppliers on social web such as
Our LinkedIn page: IRONLAND Tool Bag
Our Facebook page: IRONLAND Tool Bag
Our Twitter account: IRONLAND Tool Bag
Global B2B website
My foreign trade teacher Pew York has collected hundreds of global B2B website addresses and made a list. If you source tool bag not only from China, then this list can help you. The following is a part of the list, please contact us to get complete list.
| 32 | www.tpage.com |
| 33 | www.eworldtrade.com |
| 34 | www.win.mofcom.bov.cn |
| 35 | www.esources.co.uk |
| 36 | www.en.china.cn |
| 37 | www.exporters.sg |
| 38 | www.tradeindia.com |
| 39 | www.allproducts.com |
| 40 | www.hisupplier.com |
Tips To Find Tool Bag Supplier At The Fairs
Find tool bag supplier or manufacturer at the fairs, you can communicate with suppliers or manufacturers face-to-face, and it is easy to know the real strength and service capabilities of suppliers. However, compared with the Internet, this method costs more time and money, because you must be present at the exhibition site. Below are some of the fairs where you can find tool bag suppliers or manufacturers.
Canton Fair
It is a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, the highest level, the largest scale, the most complete variety of commodities, the largest number of buyers, the widest distribution of countries and regions, and the best transaction effect in China. It is known as “China’s first fairs”. It is worth mentioning that the Canton Fair also hold Internet fair, so that global buyers can find suppliers through the Internet. Website：www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US.
China International Hardware Fair
Formerly known as the National Hardware Fair, which started in 1952, it has been held for 117 consecutive sessions. It is the only handware fair in China with the longest history and the deepest foundation. It has developed into Asia’s largest, most specialized, the most influential international fair with world-famous. Website：www.hardware-fair.com.
China Hardware Fair
The key fair supported by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the government of Zhejiang province — Founded in 1996; a national-level international hardware event with large scale, good effect and wide influence. Website: www.chhwf.com.
China Labour Protection Products Fair
CIOSH for short, is a professional fair in the field of safety production and occupational health. Website: www.ciosh.com.
Tips To Find Tool Bag Supplier By Referrals Or Middlemen
Referrals
You may know some partners, it may be in your country or your other suppliers, you can consult them.
Middleman
In the field of international trade, there is a kind of role of middlemen, they may be companies or individuals, they have a lot of supplier resources, these resources are not limited to a certain industry, It’s easy to find suppliers from them, but just like trading company, they require profit, you can’t contact the tool bag manufacturer directly.
Summary
We shared about 20 different ways to find tool bag suppliers from three perspectives, not only that, but we also provide practical tips for each method, whether you are an online store owner or a professional purchase manager, whenever you want to find tool bag suppliers or manufacturers to wholesale tool bags, sourcing tool bags, custom tool bags, buy tool bags in bulk or OEM tool bags, the tips in this guide will be very helpful to you.
For more information in the tool bag industry, please follow the tool bag manufacturer–IRONLAND.
