How to find a good mold supplier in China

In the past few years, production costs in China have been substantially lower than their equivalent in Western countries. Although prices have been on the rise in the recent years, but it’s still cheaper to produce in China than anywhere else. Now it's easy to find several mold processing factory in China. 

Look at the scale of suppliers first.

There are two extremes to avoid. First, do not covet large-scale factories. Although large-scale mold suppliers have more standardized equipment and management, they often have a relatively fixed customer market, and their products are often more specialized. If you only need to open a relatively simple mold for the first cooperation, whether there are large orders in the back can attract suppliers, which can easily lead to suppliers not cooperating or simply refusing to cooperate. Even if you cooperate, it is difficult to manage such suppliers. For example, although he promised to test your mold within a month. but his main customers suddenly ordered him a large order with a very short lead time. Nine times out of ten he'll be delayed on your project .

The other extreme is to select the one with small scale, incomplete equipment, insufficient experience in mold manufacturing, and it is difficult to guarantee the quality and delivery date The ideal mold supplier scale is the same as that of your company. The price of the mold you want to make now is attractive to him, or your company can establish a long-term cooperative relationship with him, Or your company's industry is exactly what they want to get involved in (for example, your company is an industry for injection moulding products or auto mold industry. A supplier who has never produced automotive parts mold may be interested in you, because if he provides you with products, it can be said that he has entered the door of this industry and it will be more convenient to do it for other companies in the future.)

Look at the supplier's production capacity and quality control ability.

This principle is ok if the mold maker meets your mold quality sufficient. For example, if the accuracy of your mold is required to be within 0.01mm, the mold supplier may have to meet the requirements by slow wire cutting, EDM or even constant temperature workshop, and have inspection tools and equipment such as three coordinates with sufficient accuracy to ensure the delivery quality of the mold. Provide the test report to you for confirmation before the order is completed. If there are conditions, you can ask the supplier which customers have made products before, how the effect is, what precision can be achieved, and whether you have made similar products.

Then look at the lead time and quote of the supplier.

Before determining the cooperation relationship, the supplier should be required to list in detail the project cycle and time node of product processing, such as how long the technical exchange takes and what to do. How long does it take for blanking, roughing, finishing, heat treatment, fine grinding and other processes. Provide project schedule report every week.

About the RFQ,On the one hand, the quotation is to examine the supplier's cooperation attitude and cost control ability, on the other hand, it is also to examine the supplier's professional level in the industry, whether the expenses reported are reported, and whether the prices reported are objective. As for the prices, another thing to say is that don't be greedy for cheap, excessively depress the profits of suppliers, and even let suppliers do business at a loss. Because the wool comes from the sheep, the money he loses now, or find a way to earn it back in the future (no enterprise will really lose money), or if he can't earn it back, he won't do it for you. Cooperation must be win-win.