Your company currently wants to develop a new product line of fashion handbag or you just want to change your new handbag supplier. You are the company’s buyer. One day morning, your boss Mark sends you an email:

And then you replied as below:

But, you’re actually still in a foggy state of mind. That’s when you try to google and gather all the information you want about it.
Congratulations, you’ve found me!
It is very difficult to choose a reliable supplier because the suppliers are very far away from us. In order to minimize the risk and loss, it is very important to research and cultivate the suppliers beforehand, and fashion women’s bags are no exception. As a supplier from Guangzhou, China, we are well aware of the pain points you, our customers, have about finding a reliable supplier in China. For this reason, we have made the following summary, which is a total of 10 steps to develop reliable handbag suppliers from China

Supplier Classification
We can categorize suppliers in several ways:
- Based on the material used or function of bags: PU/Canvas/nylon/jacquard/leather, lady bags or men bags, large bags or wallet.
- Based on production capacity of supplier. small handbag MOQ with lots different bags styles, low production capacity, handbag industry expert, handbag Industry Leaders.
- Based on the business types of supplier: OEM/ODM/OBM which means whether they have developing new style ability or not. if you want to choose some styles from supplier, then ask if they develop new styles every month. if you want to do your own design, then don’t care if they could develop new styles or not. if you want to resell goods, maybe you could find some supplier that they have their own brand and to be one of the distributor.
Collecting Supplier Information
Searching any information from google like their website or if they do B2B platforms like made-in-china , globalsources , alibaba or SNS like instagram, facebook, pinterest etc.
Below information you would like to collect depends on your business:
- Location of the bags supplier: PU bags mostly from Guangdong province
- Whether they have any certification: BSCI, SEDEX, ISO9000 etc.
- How many workers they have
- Production capacity monthly
- Development ability
- Sample lead time: normally it’s 5–7business days
- Production Lead time: 35-45business, but it depends on the quantity you order and if it is sample bag style.
- Payment terms
Supplier Surveys
- You could come to the supplier location.
- Communicate with suppliers directly.
- Ask your agent to contact with supplier.
Establishing Assessment panels
You could establish a buying team or just discuss with your partner. You never go wrong by listening to more than one person.
Evaluation of Supplier Surveys
Is the person you’re interfacing with communicating well with you?
Does the vendor capacity match yours?
After you discussed and communicate with the supplier, you will have a rough idea of which suppliers could be on your supplier list.
Quote&Price Comparison
When you have a supplier list, contact with them to quote some styles you want and find the perfect supplier. It’s not that high prices are bad or low prices are great, it’s about finding the one that works best for you!
Sample/Small Order Test
In this case, you could ask them to make some sample or place small order to them.
This is a good way to see their sample quality and production quality, communication ability, compatibility, and how fast and how good they could do things as your request. All of those will give you a general impression and it’s a good foundation whether you should continue to work with them or not.
Supplier Assessment
When you received the samples and quotes, and maybe you negotiate with supplier about price, volume production, lead time again. And know their quick response time, supplier cost variations and liability compensation. You should know the whole information of each supplier now.
Selecting Supplier
So now you have all information and do a SWOT survey of each supplier. You know and take note of the strengthens and weaknesses of each of them. You could select the right supplier for each kind of bags or small leather goods.
Finalization of Suppliers
Now you have your final list of suppliers, contact with them and wish do better business together!
Congratulations, after following the above 10 steps, I’m sure you’ve found the right one or several bag suppliers for you. Next, you can work with your supplier’s step by step to grow your business, and don’t forget to develop some new suppliers in the process too oh. It’s not easy to find a supplier that’s right for you, and if it’s meant to be, we’re happy to be your supplier.
So, let’s discuss, what kind of suppliers are you most afraid to come across?