WEBVTT
00:00:03.742 --> 00:00:22.910
when we're working with companies, I would say 80 plus percent of the time, they think that they need full custom manufacturing, but really there's already a great product on the marketplace now that from a great factory and all they need to do is just private label it to start off, and they're able to get the market way faster with, way less invested.
00:00:23.074 --> 00:00:26.824
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you are in the world.
00:00:27.335 --> 00:00:35.085
This is the Digital Supply Chain podcast, the number one podcast focusing on the digitization of supply chain, and I'm your host, Tom Raftery.
00:00:35.887 --> 00:00:36.457
Hi everyone.
00:00:36.457 --> 00:00:40.417
And welcome to episode 303 of the digital supply chain podcast.
00:00:40.777 --> 00:00:44.076
My name is Tom Raftery, and I'm delighted to be here with you today.
00:00:44.076 --> 00:00:47.137
Sharing the latest insights and trends in supply chain.
00:00:48.036 --> 00:00:49.476
Before we kick off today's show.
00:00:49.476 --> 00:00:55.837
I want to take a quick moment to express my sincere gratitude to all of our amazing supporters.
00:00:56.167 --> 00:01:02.466
Your support has been really instrumental in keeping this podcast going, and I'm truly grateful for each and every one of you.
00:01:03.244 --> 00:01:11.135
If you're not already a supporter, I'd like to encourage you to consider joining our community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about supply chain.
00:01:12.215 --> 00:01:18.275
Supporting this podcast is easy and affordable with options starting as low as just three euros or $3.
00:01:19.025 --> 00:01:24.724
That's less than the cost of a cup of coffee and your support will make a huge difference in keeping this show going strong.
00:01:25.685 --> 00:01:30.875
To become a supporter to you simply click on the support link in the show notes of this or any episode.
00:01:31.564 --> 00:01:32.105
Or visit.
00:01:32.435 --> 00:01:36.004
Tiny url.com/d S C pod.
00:01:36.935 --> 00:01:37.204
Now.
00:01:37.715 --> 00:01:38.644
Without further ado.
00:01:38.704 --> 00:01:40.444
I'd like to introduce my special guest today.
00:01:40.474 --> 00:01:41.015
Isaac.
00:01:41.495 --> 00:01:43.025
Isaac welcome to the podcast.
00:01:43.055 --> 00:01:44.495
Would you like to introduce yourself?
00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:46.531
Thanks, Tom.
00:01:46.531 --> 00:01:47.551
Appreciate you having me.
00:01:47.820 --> 00:01:49.441
Yeah, so I'm Isaac Hetzroni.
00:01:49.631 --> 00:01:51.001
Also known as a sourcing guy.
00:01:51.361 --> 00:01:57.311
I am Founder and CEO of Imprint Genius We are a global product sourcing agency based in the US.
00:01:57.881 --> 00:02:02.656
And I'm also the owner, I guess, of The Sourcing Guy.
00:02:03.385 --> 00:02:04.305
It is my personal brand.
00:02:04.305 --> 00:02:17.116
It's a blog and uh, course content creation kind of group where we go and teach people about product sourcing, supply chain, and just trying to make the entire concept of sourcing easy.
00:02:18.445 --> 00:02:19.026
Okay.
00:02:19.026 --> 00:02:20.806
And why?
00:02:21.645 --> 00:02:23.955
As in, how did you get into this?
00:02:23.955 --> 00:02:30.825
What, what, what was the kind of genesis for you waking up one morning and deciding to start Imprint Genius and The Sourcing Guy?
00:02:32.265 --> 00:02:35.385
Yeah, so I'm kind of a sourcing baby of sorts.
00:02:35.806 --> 00:02:45.526
Uh, on my mom's side, my family owned a small apparel factory, uh, in, based in Canada and my dad's side for the last 20 years, he owned an electronics factory in China.
00:02:45.735 --> 00:02:49.705
So, since I was a little kid, I was always in manufacturing and supply chain.
00:02:50.466 --> 00:02:58.290
And then decided to start my own kind of agency starting off first in commercial products and sourcing those kinds of products.
00:02:58.320 --> 00:03:02.610
And then, into general product sourcing, kind of growing my own agency.
00:03:02.670 --> 00:03:09.480
I just saw there was so much need in the space for companies to get assistance with their sourcing.
00:03:09.841 --> 00:03:12.811
So decided to, you know, kind of create that whole company around that.
00:03:12.811 --> 00:03:17.191
And then I also realized that, you know, some people just need more education.
00:03:17.191 --> 00:03:23.806
It was very hard for me to, about sourcing other than going to my family and asking them questions and or physically sourcing.
00:03:24.135 --> 00:03:38.265
So I wanted to create an easy place on the internet for people to be able to go and learn and, you know, especially learn, uh, not just China, but learn about how to source from countries all around the world.
00:03:39.582 --> 00:03:40.039
Okay.
00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:52.099
And for people who want to know more about that, they just go to the website, The Sourcing Guy, and is it, are they free resources?
00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:53.750
Are they paid resources?
00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:54.710
Is there a mixture?
00:03:54.715 --> 00:03:55.550
How does all that work?
00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.889
Yeah, so you go on the sourcing guy.com.
00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:03.620
We have about 35 articles finished, uh, teach people about supply chain.
00:04:03.650 --> 00:04:08.254
I'm launching a full sourcing course in about a month that's gonna be primarily free.
00:04:08.254 --> 00:04:10.025
There are gonna be some paid sections on that.
00:04:10.444 --> 00:04:16.454
Um, and then also we're on YouTube and TikTok, posting a little more general content and education stuff on there.
00:04:18.064 --> 00:04:18.694
Okay, cool.
00:04:19.024 --> 00:04:23.404
And I mean, you mentioned China, but also the rest of the world.
00:04:23.404 --> 00:04:29.134
So is the, uh, material there, very China focused?
00:04:29.134 --> 00:04:31.144
Is it mildly China focused?
00:04:31.204 --> 00:04:33.245
Is, you know, where, where does China fit into all this?
00:04:33.250 --> 00:04:37.425
Because obviously China's a big place to source stuff for many companies.
00:04:38.685 --> 00:04:41.584
Yeah, so I would say it's primarily China focused.
00:04:41.884 --> 00:04:43.535
But it's also just fundamentals.
00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:55.987
So learning about the concepts around the freight forwarding and, you know, quality control inspections, uh, managing production, negotiating with factories, building out tech packs, packaging.
00:04:56.017 --> 00:05:02.137
So these are, these are lessons that can apply no matter where you're manufacturing and then we're also building out the global guide.
00:05:02.228 --> 00:05:13.358
And the goal of the global guide, is to be an atlas for every country that you know, has manufacturing where you're gonna be able to go and get all the, you know, important information about that country.
00:05:13.358 --> 00:05:17.396
So it's okay, I've never thought about sourcing from Sri Lanka.
00:05:17.697 --> 00:05:27.896
What do I need to know about Sri Lanka and the economy and the production types and, you know, well there all the different pieces that I need to know before going in, right?
00:05:27.896 --> 00:05:27.987
Mm-hmm.
00:05:28.226 --> 00:05:29.937
, it's very hard to find all this stuff.
00:05:29.937 --> 00:05:45.012
So, when we were going, when I flew to Sri Lanka for two months to, you know, go source products for our customers, It took a really long time to get a hang of, you know, what business is like there and what kind of production is best to be done there.
00:05:45.281 --> 00:05:48.882
We do a lot of research, so now we're just taking all the research that we did.
00:05:49.225 --> 00:05:51.716
and then we're creating articles and guides around that.
00:05:52.975 --> 00:05:53.396
Okay.
00:05:53.755 --> 00:05:59.185
And, you know, what are the differences between sourcing in somewhere like China and somewhere like Sri Lanka?
00:06:00.776 --> 00:06:02.815
Yeah, I mean, so look, China's still king.
00:06:03.305 --> 00:06:04.511
But not for everything.
00:06:04.661 --> 00:06:20.300
What I would say is, China is fantastic, especially when you're starting out with sourcing because they're able to work with much, shorter lead times, they're able to do a lot of technical production, fantastic for electronics.
00:06:20.305 --> 00:06:25.730
They're able to work on and lower volume overall, and they're gonna be a lot more catalog based.
00:06:26.071 --> 00:06:32.391
So, you know, you can go to the factory in China and say, you know, that makes water bottles and you get a whole catalog of their bottles.
00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:43.190
But if you're able to, if you're going to a different country, for the most part, it's going to be higher volume production but you will see some cost savings all the time.
00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:48.110
So how, how I recommend it is when you're getting started out, start with China.
00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:52.050
Um, it's gonna be a really great way, especially if you're gonna do like private labeling or white labelling.
00:06:52.961 --> 00:07:00.305
And then once you start to get to serious scale, you know, you're, the product that you're doing has volumes in the thousands, tens of thousands.
00:07:01.326 --> 00:07:09.036
You might then see some benefits of going overseas to other countries, because of savings in mostly labor costs.
00:07:09.396 --> 00:07:09.696
Right?
00:07:09.755 --> 00:07:21.004
Some other ways that you might see some savings has to do with raw materials, but it's, it's rare for the most part when you're working with another, let's say you're working with Vietnam or Sri Lanka.
00:07:21.363 --> 00:07:25.653
These places are getting a lot, of the raw materials from outside of that country.
00:07:25.983 --> 00:07:28.324
So a lot of times that they're even getting it from China.
00:07:28.624 --> 00:07:40.113
So you still kind of are working with China, but your savings are gonna be because your cost of labour might be half then comparatively to China, which wasn't the case before, right.
00:07:40.233 --> 00:07:48.103
Before it was pretty, pretty, uh, fair game across mm-hmm, different countries, but the, the cost of labor, as you know, has skyrocketed in China.
00:07:48.413 --> 00:07:48.504
Okay.
00:07:49.244 --> 00:07:52.713
And what about things like, uh, regulatory issues?
00:07:53.014 --> 00:07:57.843
Is there a big difference between dealing with regulations in China versus other countries in the region?
00:07:59.824 --> 00:08:41.807
What I would say with regulation is that, you know, it depends on the product, but for the most part, the factories, the products that have a lot of regulation, a lot of times are in China, right?
00:08:41.807 --> 00:08:52.081
So think about like electronics being a really big one, and, the factories are gonna have a lot more experience dealing with, you know, let's say UL and dealing with the different certifications there.
00:08:52.532 --> 00:09:04.355
When you're going to another fact, let's say you're producing in Cambodia, um, I, I couldn't really see you efficiently producing, complex electronics and making it all up the spec, within those countries.
00:09:04.515 --> 00:09:08.285
They're just not specialized enough in, in those industries.
00:09:09.155 --> 00:09:17.706
So yeah, from a regulatory standpoint, if you do have a practice that's pretty regulatory focused, I would go with countries that either have a very strong expertise, right?
00:09:17.706 --> 00:09:24.066
So like South Korea is fantastic for cosmetics and they're gonna, the factories they're gonna have the certifications to be able to export.
00:09:24.696 --> 00:09:29.135
And then from a regulatory standpoint as well, it's also important when you're looking at what factories you're gonna work with.
00:09:29.466 --> 00:09:32.525
You know, where, where are they currently selling, right?
00:09:32.525 --> 00:09:36.576
So if you're working with a factory, let's say you found a factory on 1688, right?
00:09:36.576 --> 00:09:39.395
1688 is like the Chinese equivalent of Alibaba.
00:09:39.525 --> 00:09:39.925
Mm-hmm.
00:09:40.005 --> 00:09:45.365
. Well, a lot of times the, the suppliers on 1688, um, are gonna be focused on the Chinese marketplace.
00:09:45.816 --> 00:09:46.055
Right?
00:09:46.060 --> 00:09:52.745
So if majority of their exports are, you know, either, you know, selling to non westernized countries right?
00:09:53.466 --> 00:10:01.966
Then there's a good chance that they haven't set themselves up, properly from a regulatory standpoint and the procs aren't up to kind of that US code.
00:10:01.966 --> 00:10:08.300
So a very easy way to kind of figure that out is ask the factory, you know, what's your breakdown for your exports?
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.920
What countries are you currently exporting to?
00:10:09.925 --> 00:10:10.490
And that should help.
00:10:11.530 --> 00:10:11.980
Okay.
00:10:12.040 --> 00:10:24.461
And how do you assure the quality of the goods that you get from, whether it's Cambodia or Sri Lanka or Vietnam or China or wherever?
00:10:24.461 --> 00:10:43.331
Yeah, so what I would say is, uh, you know, the most important thing, I guess the best sourcing tip I can give is hire inspection agencies, especially ones that you can trust, reputable ones, because they're gonna be, if you can't physically be there, they're gonna be your team on the ground at the factory inspecting the goods.
00:10:43.870 --> 00:10:50.980
Giving a really, really good spec sheets or tech packs, or whatever you wanna call it to your inspection agencies, is gonna be crucial, right?
00:10:50.980 --> 00:10:54.280
Because they have to understand what are they comparing it against?
00:10:54.461 --> 00:10:56.890
What, what's the benchmark here?
00:10:58.170 --> 00:10:59.386
So, that's one huge piece.
00:10:59.667 --> 00:11:07.076
Sourcing based off of import records is also a, a pretty, you know, a great way to source that we like to do.
00:11:07.076 --> 00:11:16.976
So you can use stuff like, uh, sites like Import Genius, uh, import Yeti, and look at where some major companies are manufacturing their goods and try to utilize the same factories.
00:11:16.976 --> 00:11:17.216
Right?
00:11:17.216 --> 00:11:29.826
So if I, if I know that, Alpha Elite is using this one factory and they're doing tons and tons of volume with that factory, you know, they're, they're a multi multimillion dollar brand.
00:11:30.396 --> 00:11:43.026
Then that factory that I'm utilizing, if they're able to go and sell to a major retailer or, or sell to a major brand, then their quality levels are probably at the level that I'm gonna need, and it helps, you know, reduce the risk.
00:11:43.506 --> 00:11:45.187
So I guess you, you could go through input records.
00:11:45.187 --> 00:11:46.586
You can also ask who do you currently sell to?
00:11:46.586 --> 00:11:54.231
if they're selling to places like Walmart, there's gonna be a lot more certifications and, and inspections are gonna go into that whole process.
00:11:55.221 --> 00:12:02.241
And then to backtrack a bit from a quality standpoint, I, I have another piece, but, uh, we can just continue on.
00:12:03.531 --> 00:12:04.011
. .
00:12:03.531 --> 00:12:04.011
Tom Raftery: Okay.
00:12:04.312 --> 00:12:04.731
And.
00:12:05.346 --> 00:12:14.076
how about ensuring that the manufacturers are, you know, partaking in ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices?
00:12:14.286 --> 00:12:15.067
Is it, is it the same thing?
00:12:15.067 --> 00:12:18.516
Is it inspection teams or are there other, other ways of ensuring that?
00:12:20.216 --> 00:12:25.851
Yeah, so, so there are certifications out there already.
00:12:26.031 --> 00:12:34.192
So you don't necessarily have to go and you can have, you know, a private company go in and, and run, you know, those kind of inspections and, and check for that.
00:12:34.221 --> 00:12:43.641
But there are reports, let's say like the BSCI report, uh, which is a kinda like a social audit and responsibility audit, and that needs to be updated every year.
00:12:44.151 --> 00:12:51.081
So being able to look at those audits and kind of see how socially responsible the factory's doing.
00:12:51.495 --> 00:12:55.605
The organization doing the BSCI reports are interviewing employees anonymously.
00:12:56.326 --> 00:12:57.975
Um, they're getting a lot of the really great data.
00:12:58.185 --> 00:13:02.115
So the BSCI report looks good for the most part.
00:13:02.415 --> 00:13:05.326
You know, you should be, you should be in good shape.
00:13:05.805 --> 00:13:17.985
There are instances of, you know, people kind of bribing or people, you know, factories showing fake bsi, BSCI reports, but all of the kind of global reports can be cross-referenced.
00:13:18.045 --> 00:13:28.816
So if you go and you get the BSCI report, you can go to the, essentially to the inspection agency or the organization and you can verify and say, you know, Hey, I have this report from this factory.
00:13:28.821 --> 00:13:32.235
I just wanna verify this is, um, true and accurate.
00:13:32.745 --> 00:13:42.850
And then Alibaba additionally has, um, a verified batch where they are cross-referencing with the agencies.
00:13:43.081 --> 00:13:51.451
And if a factory is Alibaba verified, that's gonna mean that all of the certifications and reporting is accurate, which is a huge help as well.
00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:53.071
Okay.
00:13:53.071 --> 00:13:56.790
And what are your thoughts on using Alibaba for sourcing goods?
00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:10.140
So I think Alibaba definitely gets a bad rap, but mostly because it's a search engine that no one knows how to use.
00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:17.341
So just like Google, there's a lot of things that you can do to kind of filter results to find the best pieces.
00:14:17.341 --> 00:14:20.701
But a lot of times it, you know, it can be hard to find exactly what you're looking for.
00:14:20.971 --> 00:14:23.640
And Google is the best search engine in the world.
00:14:23.910 --> 00:14:28.020
Alibaba is not necessarily the best search engine in the world, but with, that's what it is, right?
00:14:28.025 --> 00:14:30.270
It's an engine to find factories and suppliers.
00:14:30.691 --> 00:14:39.813
So, I'm doing like within the sourcing course that we built out, that there's a full Alibaba breakdown, um, explaining how we filter through Alibaba.
00:14:39.813 --> 00:14:42.874
That the biggest thing is utilizing the filters on the side, right?
00:14:43.173 --> 00:14:47.223
Being able to kind of filter for what you're looking for for top suppliers.
00:14:47.937 --> 00:14:50.756
Search for, also don't search your products.
00:14:50.756 --> 00:14:51.996
Search for suppliers.
00:14:52.317 --> 00:14:53.906
That's a really big piece on Alibaba.
00:14:54.297 --> 00:15:05.292
So if you're looking for socks, don't type in socks in the product category, type in socks in the supplier category, right?
00:15:05.292 --> 00:15:10.422
So, so that way you can be filtering based and you could just be looking at supplier to supplier.
00:15:10.991 --> 00:15:16.781
And, because at the end of the day, you're trying to find not the best sock, trying to find the best sock supplier, right?
00:15:16.786 --> 00:15:17.711
The best partner for you.
00:15:18.001 --> 00:15:18.491
Okay.
00:15:18.496 --> 00:15:36.072
Um, so I think with Alibaba's trade insurance program, with the, you know, different verification pieces and if you're able to kinda if you're able to learn how to filter Alibaba and also filter out all the agencies on Alibaba that aren't real factories, then you're in really good shape, right?
00:15:36.072 --> 00:15:40.121
You're able to utilize it to find amazing suppliers, and you shouldn't be too scared.
00:15:40.991 --> 00:15:43.206
Okay, Covid zero.
00:15:43.505 --> 00:15:49.685
That policy seems to have been, well, it, it's gone away, uh, following the protests.
00:15:49.985 --> 00:15:54.836
That obviously had huge implications for people who were sourcing from China.
00:15:55.501 --> 00:15:56.221
Is that it?
00:15:56.281 --> 00:15:58.322
Do we think, is it, is it likely to come back?
00:15:58.351 --> 00:16:02.192
Is how did, how did it affect your, your sourcing up until now?
00:16:02.221 --> 00:16:08.611
You know, what were the, the implications of it and, and what do you think about the, the future based on that, that instance?
00:16:09.634 --> 00:16:22.833
Well, I would say that we are doing our best to build out other supply chains outside of China and remove our full dependency on it just due to how insane the last few years have been.
00:16:23.313 --> 00:16:25.293
Um, unpredictable the last few years have been.
00:16:26.271 --> 00:16:32.542
If I could perfectly predict how China's gonna react, then I would be putting my money in the stock market.
00:16:32.781 --> 00:16:39.501
Um, but what I would say is that, you know, the big issue with China is that they had the Covid zero policy, right?
00:16:39.501 --> 00:16:39.591
Mm-hmm.
00:16:39.831 --> 00:16:44.211
. So they weren't, they, they weren't allowing for herd immunity.
00:16:45.526 --> 00:16:46.792
And they're just being super strict.
00:16:46.792 --> 00:16:50.121
So one person gets sick, they lock down, you know, a whole factory.
00:16:50.302 --> 00:16:51.621
They lock down whole regions.
00:16:51.831 --> 00:16:57.442
Now that they've loosened up and, you know something, huge percentage of China got covid within a few week period.
00:16:57.442 --> 00:17:01.881
Once they, uh, open things up, now people kind of have this, this immunity.
00:17:02.062 --> 00:17:09.082
Um, so I'm hoping that they're gonna kind of keep things pretty lax and I think that it's gonna be hard to push people back.
00:17:09.082 --> 00:17:16.102
But again, I don't want to again depend on China as much as possible.
00:17:16.106 --> 00:17:23.902
So for all of our customers, we're, we're actively working on, you know, building out other solutions, other supply chains, backup suppliers outside of China.
00:17:23.902 --> 00:17:27.892
So if anything does happen like that, again, we're gonna be, you know, prepared.
00:17:28.792 --> 00:17:29.422
Okay, cool.
00:17:30.652 --> 00:17:35.402
How do you maintain strong relationships with your clients and your suppliers?
00:17:35.402 --> 00:17:39.082
I mean, what are some of the key factors that contribute to successful partnerships?
00:17:39.082 --> 00:17:40.492
It's gotta be challenging when.
00:17:40.957 --> 00:17:46.326
You know, I, I, I know you're, you're based out of, uh, is it the US or Canada?
00:17:46.326 --> 00:17:50.647
You're based outta North America anyway, and, and they're, you know, in Southeast Asia.
00:17:52.086 --> 00:17:52.507
Yeah.
00:17:52.507 --> 00:17:56.797
So, you know, face-to-face is, is obviously a huge part of things.
00:17:56.797 --> 00:18:03.307
So I'm, what I'm doing is half the year I'll be in Southeast Asia, uh, visiting factories and making that home base.
00:18:03.307 --> 00:18:07.582
And the other half of the year, in the US dealing with the customer side, the team side.
00:18:08.332 --> 00:18:15.817
From a relationship standpoint I think that people undervalue, just being kind of genuine.
00:18:16.237 --> 00:18:16.326
Mm-hmm.
00:18:16.567 --> 00:18:27.307
. So treating things like a friendship, you know, FaceTiming your suppliers, talking about, you know, the bar you went to last night, telling them fun stories about America.
00:18:28.207 --> 00:18:30.217
They, they want to hear that kind of stuff, right.
00:18:30.397 --> 00:18:34.777
If you're able to break past the, you know, very business-like, Hey, I need pricing on this.
00:18:34.777 --> 00:18:45.967
I need better terms on this and you're able to build even the slice, bit of personal relationships, you know, send'em a gift every once in a while, you know, just stay on top of, you know, building a personal relationship.
00:18:46.237 --> 00:18:47.317
It goes so far.
00:18:47.707 --> 00:18:50.167
Um, so what I would say is, yeah, just be human.
00:18:50.167 --> 00:18:51.037
Treat them like buddies.
00:18:51.037 --> 00:18:54.487
Send them pictures of stuff that you're doing, updates in your life.
00:18:54.714 --> 00:19:02.644
Try remember to touch base every once in a while and yeah, you'll, you, you'll be surprised how far it goes.
00:19:03.444 --> 00:19:03.894
Okay.
00:19:03.954 --> 00:19:10.584
And in terms of your customers, I mean, what is it that you are supplying for them typically?
00:19:12.384 --> 00:19:16.824
Yeah, so what we try to do is be more than the agency, right?
00:19:16.824 --> 00:19:31.764
Because obviously you can go to China and find a sourcing agent and, but what we're trying to do is really become, you know, a part of their supply chain, part of their procurement process and look at the program holisticly.
00:19:31.778 --> 00:19:47.199
So instead of saying, okay, you know, we're gonna go and get you, you know, these yoga pants and they're going to cost you $12, and that's delivered and that's the whole piece of relationship, it's more of a holistic approach of like, okay, let's look at all your product types.
00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.019
How can we create consolidation within your different products?
00:19:50.199 --> 00:19:51.969
How can we recommend new products to you?
00:19:52.538 --> 00:19:56.184
Um, how can we improve your overall logistics.
00:19:56.274 --> 00:19:58.524
What are you guys doing for your three pl?
00:19:58.524 --> 00:19:59.423
How is that working?
00:19:59.874 --> 00:20:06.294
Could we do any type of, you know, domestic production or demand production to, you know, improve your supply chain?
00:20:06.624 --> 00:20:13.024
Um, so I mean, a good customer example is that we have on our website, we made a video for, you know, we were going and sourcing their products.
00:20:13.879 --> 00:20:21.954
And, you know, they're, they're a subscription box company, so we were producing, you know, tens of thousands of boxes a month and producing everything that goes inside the box.
00:20:22.163 --> 00:20:22.854
And that was great.
00:20:22.854 --> 00:20:32.484
But when we came in to really build a relationship with them and learn about their business, we were able to create a bunch of supply chain efficiencies from, uh, doing, doing, uh, kitting overseas.
00:20:33.384 --> 00:20:54.586
Essentially moving the entire production overseas so we can do all the kitting there, having everything fully consolidated and then shipped over, you know, that process, aside from the savings on the unit cost, the process just on like a supply chain consolidation standpoint, saved them probably between 150 and $200,000 a year.
00:20:55.607 --> 00:20:55.937
Wow.
00:20:56.781 --> 00:21:03.761
And what kind of technology or digital tools do you use to streamline your supply chain processes and improve efficiency?
00:21:05.331 --> 00:21:05.691
Yeah.
00:21:05.691 --> 00:21:11.721
So, there's definitely a, a lot of different ways that you can, you know, uh, look at it.
00:21:11.726 --> 00:21:18.531
So from a basics perspective, if we're building a, a complex supply chain building, using Gantt charts is super powerful.
00:21:18.651 --> 00:21:28.711
So taking a Gantt chart and, and really breaking down all the different orders and all the different steps within a process that you have.
00:21:29.061 --> 00:21:33.771
So if you're able to visualize, you know, when do we need all of the artwork done?
00:21:34.071 --> 00:21:35.661
When do we need a finalized product?
00:21:35.721 --> 00:21:37.461
When do we need to send a deposit?
00:21:37.466 --> 00:21:40.131
When do we have to have all the items, uh, finished?
00:21:40.191 --> 00:21:43.551
You're able to kind of visualize, like a map, right?
00:21:43.791 --> 00:21:57.761
Say, okay, all this stuff needs to be done, but these pieces that we're able to go and execute on all this properly, we're gonna be able to consolidate all the shipments together and then we're gonna be able to, uh, get everything done when you, when you look at your entire supply chain on the product by product basis.
00:21:58.441 --> 00:22:01.086
it's very hard to run it efficiently, right?
00:22:01.086 --> 00:22:06.436
But it, but once you're able to put everything together into something visual, you're able to find efficiencies.
00:22:06.696 --> 00:22:15.216
Um, and then from a technology standpoint, uh, softwares like Anvil are fantastic for, you know, managing all of your purchase orders and productions and shipments.
00:22:15.456 --> 00:22:24.396
So, you know, if you do have a lot of things going on and production going on, getting a software like that, like a production software can be really helpful.
00:22:24.776 --> 00:22:28.824
Okay, Do you have any customer success stories you can speak to?
00:22:30.774 --> 00:22:40.944
Yeah, I mean, so, what we'd like to do, I mean, like I, like I just mentioned, that Created With Love one, uh, with subscription boxes is, is uh, something that we're really proud about.
00:22:41.454 --> 00:22:48.834
And, you know, we'd love taking, you know, complex supply chains with lots of different products and then consolidating and adding those efficiencies.
00:22:49.374 --> 00:23:07.295
Some other, customer pieces have been within, like the apparel space, so, well, we, we have a large business in the corporate merchandising space, so essentially doing product sourcing for companies that need all their, their uniforms, all their companies swag and that kind of stuff.
00:23:07.715 --> 00:23:18.125
We've built out their own app and technology, that builds out online storefronts so that people, um, can go and choose whatever swag they want versus being just given an item.
00:23:18.305 --> 00:23:18.515
Right.
00:23:18.515 --> 00:23:24.785
And that's like kind of the biggest waste piece within promo is that you go to a conference, you get a bunch of stuff that you don't really want.
00:23:24.915 --> 00:23:25.435
Mm-hmm.
00:23:25.475 --> 00:23:30.815
Um, so we built up these online storefronts where people can choose from, you know, a hundred items, a thousand items, 10,000 items.
00:23:30.815 --> 00:23:31.894
It's really up to the company.
00:23:32.134 --> 00:23:37.144
We produce primarily on demand, uh, but we have a hybrid based supply chain system for that.
00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:40.965
So, you know, someone sees a drone or a water ball or a backpack.
00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:46.940
90% of the time it's gonna be on demand and then 10% of the time it's going to be some, it's gonna be an inventory.
00:23:47.930 --> 00:24:04.190
So we were able to build up, you know, obviously we have tons of case studies on the corporate side of how this, you know, is a way more efficient system for, you know, companies to manage their swag, cutting costs, lowering risks, and then creating a better customer experience.
00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:09.019
But what's a really fun is taking that technology and applying that on the e-commerce side, right?
00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:20.030
To, to other businesses that are, you know, apparel based businesses that traditionally either had to choose, like, are am I going to build an apparel based business that's fully on demand, right?
00:24:20.040 --> 00:24:20.240
Mm-hmm.
00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:25.250
, so I'm taking basic SKUs and like using a PrintFI or Printful, and that's my supply chain.
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.759
Or am I doing a straight inventory program, right?
00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:32.150
So I go and I produce everything overseas or some stuff domestically.
00:24:32.150 --> 00:24:37.955
I have everything on shelves, and now I have to, you know, sell through my inventory when it sells out, it sells out, right.
00:24:38.405 --> 00:24:56.884
So where we're seeing a lot of success is kind of utilizing our on-demand and hybrid based supply chain systems over on the e-commerce side for these stores so that they can go and we can take the top items and more unique SKUs, do all that overseas, put that in inventory.
00:24:57.485 --> 00:25:05.315
Then taking, everything that is, you know, the more generic items, the stuff that's gonna really fill up the catalog, we can go and do those on demand.
00:25:05.525 --> 00:25:07.085
And then everything in the middle, right?
00:25:07.085 --> 00:25:13.925
So, okay, if we need to produce 50 t-shirts of a certain piece, um, or we need a laser engrave 40, right?
00:25:13.925 --> 00:25:20.134
So those kind of mid, mid-tier quantities we're able to go and do domestic production and domestic decoration.
00:25:20.615 --> 00:25:36.185
So we're, I'm just very excited about this kind of new age supply chain within apparel merchandising, and e-commerce merchandising because it creates a lot of efficiencies, um, and while also giving a better kind of customer experience.
00:25:37.475 --> 00:25:37.894
Okay.
00:25:38.345 --> 00:25:49.305
And in terms of schwag, should, should companies white label or should it be custom manufactured or what's kind of best, best practice there?
00:25:50.894 --> 00:26:02.205
Yeah, so I think, I think for swag, White labeling and, and utilizing, you know, preexisting SKUs is gonna be your best bet, unless you're at a certain scale.
00:26:02.265 --> 00:26:14.415
So, you know, if you need to produce, you know, a few hundred t-shirts or whatever it is, um, or a few hundred water bottles, go and utilize an existing stock, right?
00:26:14.415 --> 00:26:23.180
So either use a factory that's already producing a water bottle, pick from their catalog, have 'em decorat it for you with your artwork and your logos.
00:26:23.570 --> 00:26:25.280
Same thing with any type of domestic production.
00:26:25.280 --> 00:26:32.030
You can go through a distributor like us and we can kind of produce yourself, um, for, you know, your, your general goods.
00:26:32.150 --> 00:26:40.157
But the one exception I would say is on the, on the swag side, is if you have the volume for it, right?
00:26:40.157 --> 00:26:48.572
Let's say you're, you're, you're a Google or a Facebook, go and do a full cut and sew sew production for your apparel and for your clothing.
00:26:48.572 --> 00:26:48.812
Right?
00:26:48.842 --> 00:26:59.038
Make those hoodies super customized with custom tags and different, you know, small decoration pieces and elements to really create a retail grade product.
00:26:59.669 --> 00:27:07.589
And I a really think if you have the volume to do it, and you have the resources to do it, it goes a really long way, on the swag side.
00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:16.989
But unless you are at kind of a place where you're buying thousands of units, I would say white labeling is gonna be the most cost efficient way for you to do your swag.
00:27:17.979 --> 00:27:18.339
Okay.
00:27:18.399 --> 00:27:18.909
Makes sense.
00:27:19.989 --> 00:27:23.859
Where do you see the future of this market going in the next five, 10 years?
00:27:25.778 --> 00:27:26.919
Uh, like the swag market?
00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:27.909
Yeah.
00:27:28.389 --> 00:27:29.528
And, and sourcing in general.
00:27:29.949 --> 00:27:31.689
I mean, seeing as you're the sourcing guy.
00:27:33.788 --> 00:27:34.269
Yeah.
00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:43.899
So I think that there's going to obviously be a, a, a big shift as, as there is right now, a much larger shift to production to other countries.
00:27:44.169 --> 00:27:57.578
I think that a lot of other countries are going to become a lot more nimble and allow for lower minimums and that they're going to be able to start servicing, US based or global companies just like China does.
00:27:57.668 --> 00:28:04.698
And so I think a lot of countries, a lot of factories in other countries are gonna start creating catalogs, allowing for catalog based production.
00:28:06.173 --> 00:28:13.563
I think on the swag side, I think that there is going to be, you know, a massive shift over on demand, on demand swag.
00:28:14.073 --> 00:28:26.113
I think that the cost basis to decorate something on demand versus decorate it, you know, in bulk, at least domestically, is getting closer and closer to being the same.
00:28:26.623 --> 00:28:30.043
So, you know, as that they kind of catch up to each other.
00:28:30.463 --> 00:28:39.478
It becomes inefficient for brands to go and produce massive amounts of inventory, and to kinda warehouse these goods for their swag store programs.
00:28:39.483 --> 00:28:45.388
It's gonna be a lot more efficient to just have stuff on demand, make it produced, you know, on demand.
00:28:46.078 --> 00:28:51.473
And, at the, they give people more options, more flexibility with the, what they wanna get to get.
00:28:52.906 --> 00:28:55.246
We're coming towards the end of the podcast now, Isaac.
00:28:55.246 --> 00:28:58.286
Is there any question that I haven't asked you that you wish I had?
00:28:58.286 --> 00:29:03.181
Or, any aspect of this we haven't touched on that you think it's important for people to think about?
00:29:04.708 --> 00:29:13.798
Yeah, well you mentioned something about kind of white labeling versus, uh, custom manufacturing that I think it's really important to talk about.
00:29:13.803 --> 00:29:24.040
So I think that a lot of people, when they go into producing, their first product, they assume that they, need to do something full custom, right?
00:29:24.040 --> 00:29:29.266
They need to go and create a tech pack for this new, t-shirt.
00:29:29.266 --> 00:29:36.046
And they have to build, you know, uh, create all this, these complex drawings and hire engineers or whatever the product is.
00:29:36.586 --> 00:29:42.316
But the majority of products on the market, in any country are gonna be white labeled products, right?
00:29:42.316 --> 00:29:47.716
They're going to be products that people are just going to factories and they're producing based off of preexisting specs.
00:29:50.581 --> 00:29:58.740
If, if your product, if the main selling point of your product is your marketing and your designs, you should be white labeling.
00:29:58.861 --> 00:30:05.521
You should, it's gonna reduce your cost basis, it's gonna reduce your MOQs, it's gonna reduce overall risk of, of your production.
00:30:05.551 --> 00:30:05.821
Right?
00:30:05.821 --> 00:30:11.011
Because the fact is producing stuff that, that's tried and true, they're not gonna, they're not doing anything full custom for you.
00:30:12.605 --> 00:30:20.115
And then go focus on what is your differentiating factor, your designs, your marketing, your sales pitch, your branding, all those different pieces.
00:30:20.926 --> 00:30:32.506
If you are building something that you know is very, very focused on the features and you know that there's nothing like it on the market, and that is your main selling point, yeah, go and do your custom manufacturing and go through the whole process.
00:30:32.806 --> 00:30:53.233
But at least when we're working with companies, I would say 80 plus percent of the time, they think that they need full custom manufacturing, but really there's already a great product on the marketplace now that from a great factory and all they need to do is just private label it to start off, and they're able to get the market way faster with, uh, way less invested.
00:30:54.613 --> 00:30:55.393
Makes a lot of sense.
00:30:55.923 --> 00:30:56.223
Great.
00:30:56.228 --> 00:31:03.003
Isaac, if people would like to know more about yourself or any of the things we discussed on the podcast today, where would you have me direct them?
00:31:03.053 --> 00:31:07.423
Yeah, so, uh, you obviously go to sourcingguy.com.
00:31:07.442 --> 00:31:12.303
I'm at the Sourcing Guy on TikTok and YouTube for you to learn more about sourcing and supply chain.
00:31:12.903 --> 00:31:16.863
If, uh, if you wanna learn more about our agency and kinda what we do, we're Imprint Genius, imprintgenius.com.
00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:21.590
And you know, feel free to follow me on Instagram if you want, at Isaac Hetz.
00:31:21.610 --> 00:31:25.540
Um, I'm always posting, you know, fun factory tours and stuff that I'm up to, so
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:31.720
If you shoot me across those links, I'll stick 'em on the show notes and that way everyone will have access to them Isaac.
00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:31.900
Perfect.
00:31:32.230 --> 00:31:32.710
Thanks Tom.
00:31:32.710 --> 00:31:33.400
Appreciate you having me.
00:31:33.970 --> 00:31:35.470
Thanks a million for coming to the podcast today.
00:31:40.095 --> 00:31:41.865
Okay, we've come to the end of the show.
00:31:42.225 --> 00:31:43.305
Thanks everyone for listening.
00:31:43.995 --> 00:32:05.144
If you'd like to know more about digital supply chains, simply drop me an email to TomRaftery@outlook.com If you like the show, please don't forget to click Follow on it in your podcast application of choice to be sure to get new episodes as soon as they're published Also, please don't forget to rate and review the podcast.
00:32:05.325 --> 00:32:08.325
It really does help new people to find a show.
00:32:09.134 --> 00:32:11.265
Thanks, catch you all next time.
00:00:03.742 --> 00:00:22.910
when we're working with companies, I would say 80 plus percent of the time, they think that they need full custom manufacturing, but really there's already a great product on the marketplace now that from a great factory and all they need to do is just private label it to start off, and they're able to get the market way faster with, way less invested.
00:00:23.074 --> 00:00:26.824
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you are in the world.
00:00:27.335 --> 00:00:35.085
This is the Digital Supply Chain podcast, the number one podcast focusing on the digitization of supply chain, and I'm your host, Tom Raftery.
00:00:35.887 --> 00:00:36.457
Hi everyone.
00:00:36.457 --> 00:00:40.417
And welcome to episode 303 of the digital supply chain podcast.
00:00:40.777 --> 00:00:44.076
My name is Tom Raftery, and I'm delighted to be here with you today.
00:00:44.076 --> 00:00:47.137
Sharing the latest insights and trends in supply chain.
00:00:48.036 --> 00:00:49.476
Before we kick off today's show.
00:00:49.476 --> 00:00:55.837
I want to take a quick moment to express my sincere gratitude to all of our amazing supporters.
00:00:56.167 --> 00:01:02.466
Your support has been really instrumental in keeping this podcast going, and I'm truly grateful for each and every one of you.
00:01:03.244 --> 00:01:11.135
If you're not already a supporter, I'd like to encourage you to consider joining our community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about supply chain.
00:01:12.215 --> 00:01:18.275
Supporting this podcast is easy and affordable with options starting as low as just three euros or $3.
00:01:19.025 --> 00:01:24.724
That's less than the cost of a cup of coffee and your support will make a huge difference in keeping this show going strong.
00:01:25.685 --> 00:01:30.875
To become a supporter to you simply click on the support link in the show notes of this or any episode.
00:01:31.564 --> 00:01:32.105
Or visit.
00:01:32.435 --> 00:01:36.004
Tiny url.com/d S C pod.
00:01:36.935 --> 00:01:37.204
Now.
00:01:37.715 --> 00:01:38.644
Without further ado.
00:01:38.704 --> 00:01:40.444
I'd like to introduce my special guest today.
00:01:40.474 --> 00:01:41.015
Isaac.
00:01:41.495 --> 00:01:43.025
Isaac welcome to the podcast.
00:01:43.055 --> 00:01:44.495
Would you like to introduce yourself?
00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:46.531
Thanks, Tom.
00:01:46.531 --> 00:01:47.551
Appreciate you having me.
00:01:47.820 --> 00:01:49.441
Yeah, so I'm Isaac Hetzroni.
00:01:49.631 --> 00:01:51.001
Also known as a sourcing guy.
00:01:51.361 --> 00:01:57.311
I am Founder and CEO of Imprint Genius We are a global product sourcing agency based in the US.
00:01:57.881 --> 00:02:02.656
And I'm also the owner, I guess, of The Sourcing Guy.
00:02:03.385 --> 00:02:04.305
It is my personal brand.
00:02:04.305 --> 00:02:17.116
It's a blog and uh, course content creation kind of group where we go and teach people about product sourcing, supply chain, and just trying to make the entire concept of sourcing easy.
00:02:18.445 --> 00:02:19.026
Okay.
00:02:19.026 --> 00:02:20.806
And why?
00:02:21.645 --> 00:02:23.955
As in, how did you get into this?
00:02:23.955 --> 00:02:30.825
What, what, what was the kind of genesis for you waking up one morning and deciding to start Imprint Genius and The Sourcing Guy?
00:02:32.265 --> 00:02:35.385
Yeah, so I'm kind of a sourcing baby of sorts.
00:02:35.806 --> 00:02:45.526
Uh, on my mom's side, my family owned a small apparel factory, uh, in, based in Canada and my dad's side for the last 20 years, he owned an electronics factory in China.
00:02:45.735 --> 00:02:49.705
So, since I was a little kid, I was always in manufacturing and supply chain.
00:02:50.466 --> 00:02:58.290
And then decided to start my own kind of agency starting off first in commercial products and sourcing those kinds of products.
00:02:58.320 --> 00:03:02.610
And then, into general product sourcing, kind of growing my own agency.
00:03:02.670 --> 00:03:09.480
I just saw there was so much need in the space for companies to get assistance with their sourcing.
00:03:09.841 --> 00:03:12.811
So decided to, you know, kind of create that whole company around that.
00:03:12.811 --> 00:03:17.191
And then I also realized that, you know, some people just need more education.
00:03:17.191 --> 00:03:23.806
It was very hard for me to, about sourcing other than going to my family and asking them questions and or physically sourcing.
00:03:24.135 --> 00:03:38.265
So I wanted to create an easy place on the internet for people to be able to go and learn and, you know, especially learn, uh, not just China, but learn about how to source from countries all around the world.
00:03:39.582 --> 00:03:40.039
Okay.
00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:52.099
And for people who want to know more about that, they just go to the website, The Sourcing Guy, and is it, are they free resources?
00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:53.750
Are they paid resources?
00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:54.710
Is there a mixture?
00:03:54.715 --> 00:03:55.550
How does all that work?
00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.889
Yeah, so you go on the sourcing guy.com.
00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:03.620
We have about 35 articles finished, uh, teach people about supply chain.
00:04:03.650 --> 00:04:08.254
I'm launching a full sourcing course in about a month that's gonna be primarily free.
00:04:08.254 --> 00:04:10.025
There are gonna be some paid sections on that.
00:04:10.444 --> 00:04:16.454
Um, and then also we're on YouTube and TikTok, posting a little more general content and education stuff on there.
00:04:18.064 --> 00:04:18.694
Okay, cool.
00:04:19.024 --> 00:04:23.404
And I mean, you mentioned China, but also the rest of the world.
00:04:23.404 --> 00:04:29.134
So is the, uh, material there, very China focused?
00:04:29.134 --> 00:04:31.144
Is it mildly China focused?
00:04:31.204 --> 00:04:33.245
Is, you know, where, where does China fit into all this?
00:04:33.250 --> 00:04:37.425
Because obviously China's a big place to source stuff for many companies.
00:04:38.685 --> 00:04:41.584
Yeah, so I would say it's primarily China focused.
00:04:41.884 --> 00:04:43.535
But it's also just fundamentals.
00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:55.987
So learning about the concepts around the freight forwarding and, you know, quality control inspections, uh, managing production, negotiating with factories, building out tech packs, packaging.
00:04:56.017 --> 00:05:02.137
So these are, these are lessons that can apply no matter where you're manufacturing and then we're also building out the global guide.
00:05:02.228 --> 00:05:13.358
And the goal of the global guide, is to be an atlas for every country that you know, has manufacturing where you're gonna be able to go and get all the, you know, important information about that country.
00:05:13.358 --> 00:05:17.396
So it's okay, I've never thought about sourcing from Sri Lanka.
00:05:17.697 --> 00:05:27.896
What do I need to know about Sri Lanka and the economy and the production types and, you know, well there all the different pieces that I need to know before going in, right?
00:05:27.896 --> 00:05:27.987
Mm-hmm.
00:05:28.226 --> 00:05:29.937
, it's very hard to find all this stuff.
00:05:29.937 --> 00:05:45.012
So, when we were going, when I flew to Sri Lanka for two months to, you know, go source products for our customers, It took a really long time to get a hang of, you know, what business is like there and what kind of production is best to be done there.
00:05:45.281 --> 00:05:48.882
We do a lot of research, so now we're just taking all the research that we did.
00:05:49.225 --> 00:05:51.716
and then we're creating articles and guides around that.
00:05:52.975 --> 00:05:53.396
Okay.
00:05:53.755 --> 00:05:59.185
And, you know, what are the differences between sourcing in somewhere like China and somewhere like Sri Lanka?
00:06:00.776 --> 00:06:02.815
Yeah, I mean, so look, China's still king.
00:06:03.305 --> 00:06:04.511
But not for everything.
00:06:04.661 --> 00:06:20.300
What I would say is, China is fantastic, especially when you're starting out with sourcing because they're able to work with much, shorter lead times, they're able to do a lot of technical production, fantastic for electronics.
00:06:20.305 --> 00:06:25.730
They're able to work on and lower volume overall, and they're gonna be a lot more catalog based.
00:06:26.071 --> 00:06:32.391
So, you know, you can go to the factory in China and say, you know, that makes water bottles and you get a whole catalog of their bottles.
00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:43.190
But if you're able to, if you're going to a different country, for the most part, it's going to be higher volume production but you will see some cost savings all the time.
00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:48.110
So how, how I recommend it is when you're getting started out, start with China.
00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:52.050
Um, it's gonna be a really great way, especially if you're gonna do like private labeling or white labelling.
00:06:52.961 --> 00:07:00.305
And then once you start to get to serious scale, you know, you're, the product that you're doing has volumes in the thousands, tens of thousands.
00:07:01.326 --> 00:07:09.036
You might then see some benefits of going overseas to other countries, because of savings in mostly labor costs.
00:07:09.396 --> 00:07:09.696
Right?
00:07:09.755 --> 00:07:21.004
Some other ways that you might see some savings has to do with raw materials, but it's, it's rare for the most part when you're working with another, let's say you're working with Vietnam or Sri Lanka.
00:07:21.363 --> 00:07:25.653
These places are getting a lot, of the raw materials from outside of that country.
00:07:25.983 --> 00:07:28.324
So a lot of times that they're even getting it from China.
00:07:28.624 --> 00:07:40.113
So you still kind of are working with China, but your savings are gonna be because your cost of labour might be half then comparatively to China, which wasn't the case before, right.
00:07:40.233 --> 00:07:48.103
Before it was pretty, pretty, uh, fair game across mm-hmm, different countries, but the, the cost of labor, as you know, has skyrocketed in China.
00:07:48.413 --> 00:07:48.504
Okay.
00:07:49.244 --> 00:07:52.713
And what about things like, uh, regulatory issues?
00:07:53.014 --> 00:07:57.843
Is there a big difference between dealing with regulations in China versus other countries in the region?
00:07:59.824 --> 00:08:41.807
What I would say with regulation is that, you know, it depends on the product, but for the most part, the factories, the products that have a lot of regulation, a lot of times are in China, right?
00:08:41.807 --> 00:08:52.081
So think about like electronics being a really big one, and, the factories are gonna have a lot more experience dealing with, you know, let's say UL and dealing with the different certifications there.
00:08:52.532 --> 00:09:04.355
When you're going to another fact, let's say you're producing in Cambodia, um, I, I couldn't really see you efficiently producing, complex electronics and making it all up the spec, within those countries.
00:09:04.515 --> 00:09:08.285
They're just not specialized enough in, in those industries.
00:09:09.155 --> 00:09:17.706
So yeah, from a regulatory standpoint, if you do have a practice that's pretty regulatory focused, I would go with countries that either have a very strong expertise, right?
00:09:17.706 --> 00:09:24.066
So like South Korea is fantastic for cosmetics and they're gonna, the factories they're gonna have the certifications to be able to export.
00:09:24.696 --> 00:09:29.135
And then from a regulatory standpoint as well, it's also important when you're looking at what factories you're gonna work with.
00:09:29.466 --> 00:09:32.525
You know, where, where are they currently selling, right?
00:09:32.525 --> 00:09:36.576
So if you're working with a factory, let's say you found a factory on 1688, right?
00:09:36.576 --> 00:09:39.395
1688 is like the Chinese equivalent of Alibaba.
00:09:39.525 --> 00:09:39.925
Mm-hmm.
00:09:40.005 --> 00:09:45.365
. Well, a lot of times the, the suppliers on 1688, um, are gonna be focused on the Chinese marketplace.
00:09:45.816 --> 00:09:46.055
Right?
00:09:46.060 --> 00:09:52.745
So if majority of their exports are, you know, either, you know, selling to non westernized countries right?
00:09:53.466 --> 00:10:01.966
Then there's a good chance that they haven't set themselves up, properly from a regulatory standpoint and the procs aren't up to kind of that US code.
00:10:01.966 --> 00:10:08.300
So a very easy way to kind of figure that out is ask the factory, you know, what's your breakdown for your exports?
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.920
What countries are you currently exporting to?
00:10:09.925 --> 00:10:10.490
And that should help.
00:10:11.530 --> 00:10:11.980
Okay.
00:10:12.040 --> 00:10:24.461
And how do you assure the quality of the goods that you get from, whether it's Cambodia or Sri Lanka or Vietnam or China or wherever?
00:10:24.461 --> 00:10:43.331
Yeah, so what I would say is, uh, you know, the most important thing, I guess the best sourcing tip I can give is hire inspection agencies, especially ones that you can trust, reputable ones, because they're gonna be, if you can't physically be there, they're gonna be your team on the ground at the factory inspecting the goods.
00:10:43.870 --> 00:10:50.980
Giving a really, really good spec sheets or tech packs, or whatever you wanna call it to your inspection agencies, is gonna be crucial, right?
00:10:50.980 --> 00:10:54.280
Because they have to understand what are they comparing it against?
00:10:54.461 --> 00:10:56.890
What, what's the benchmark here?
00:10:58.170 --> 00:10:59.386
So, that's one huge piece.
00:10:59.667 --> 00:11:07.076
Sourcing based off of import records is also a, a pretty, you know, a great way to source that we like to do.
00:11:07.076 --> 00:11:16.976
So you can use stuff like, uh, sites like Import Genius, uh, import Yeti, and look at where some major companies are manufacturing their goods and try to utilize the same factories.
00:11:16.976 --> 00:11:17.216
Right?
00:11:17.216 --> 00:11:29.826
So if I, if I know that, Alpha Elite is using this one factory and they're doing tons and tons of volume with that factory, you know, they're, they're a multi multimillion dollar brand.
00:11:30.396 --> 00:11:43.026
Then that factory that I'm utilizing, if they're able to go and sell to a major retailer or, or sell to a major brand, then their quality levels are probably at the level that I'm gonna need, and it helps, you know, reduce the risk.
00:11:43.506 --> 00:11:45.187
So I guess you, you could go through input records.
00:11:45.187 --> 00:11:46.586
You can also ask who do you currently sell to?
00:11:46.586 --> 00:11:54.231
if they're selling to places like Walmart, there's gonna be a lot more certifications and, and inspections are gonna go into that whole process.
00:11:55.221 --> 00:12:02.241
And then to backtrack a bit from a quality standpoint, I, I have another piece, but, uh, we can just continue on.
00:12:03.531 --> 00:12:04.011
. .
00:12:03.531 --> 00:12:04.011
Tom Raftery: Okay.
00:12:04.312 --> 00:12:04.731
And.
00:12:05.346 --> 00:12:14.076
how about ensuring that the manufacturers are, you know, partaking in ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices?
00:12:14.286 --> 00:12:15.067
Is it, is it the same thing?
00:12:15.067 --> 00:12:18.516
Is it inspection teams or are there other, other ways of ensuring that?
00:12:20.216 --> 00:12:25.851
Yeah, so, so there are certifications out there already.
00:12:26.031 --> 00:12:34.192
So you don't necessarily have to go and you can have, you know, a private company go in and, and run, you know, those kind of inspections and, and check for that.
00:12:34.221 --> 00:12:43.641
But there are reports, let's say like the BSCI report, uh, which is a kinda like a social audit and responsibility audit, and that needs to be updated every year.
00:12:44.151 --> 00:12:51.081
So being able to look at those audits and kind of see how socially responsible the factory's doing.
00:12:51.495 --> 00:12:55.605
The organization doing the BSCI reports are interviewing employees anonymously.
00:12:56.326 --> 00:12:57.975
Um, they're getting a lot of the really great data.
00:12:58.185 --> 00:13:02.115
So the BSCI report looks good for the most part.
00:13:02.415 --> 00:13:05.326
You know, you should be, you should be in good shape.
00:13:05.805 --> 00:13:17.985
There are instances of, you know, people kind of bribing or people, you know, factories showing fake bsi, BSCI reports, but all of the kind of global reports can be cross-referenced.
00:13:18.045 --> 00:13:28.816
So if you go and you get the BSCI report, you can go to the, essentially to the inspection agency or the organization and you can verify and say, you know, Hey, I have this report from this factory.
00:13:28.821 --> 00:13:32.235
I just wanna verify this is, um, true and accurate.
00:13:32.745 --> 00:13:42.850
And then Alibaba additionally has, um, a verified batch where they are cross-referencing with the agencies.
00:13:43.081 --> 00:13:51.451
And if a factory is Alibaba verified, that's gonna mean that all of the certifications and reporting is accurate, which is a huge help as well.
00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:53.071
Okay.
00:13:53.071 --> 00:13:56.790
And what are your thoughts on using Alibaba for sourcing goods?
00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:10.140
So I think Alibaba definitely gets a bad rap, but mostly because it's a search engine that no one knows how to use.
00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:17.341
So just like Google, there's a lot of things that you can do to kind of filter results to find the best pieces.
00:14:17.341 --> 00:14:20.701
But a lot of times it, you know, it can be hard to find exactly what you're looking for.
00:14:20.971 --> 00:14:23.640
And Google is the best search engine in the world.
00:14:23.910 --> 00:14:28.020
Alibaba is not necessarily the best search engine in the world, but with, that's what it is, right?
00:14:28.025 --> 00:14:30.270
It's an engine to find factories and suppliers.
00:14:30.691 --> 00:14:39.813
So, I'm doing like within the sourcing course that we built out, that there's a full Alibaba breakdown, um, explaining how we filter through Alibaba.
00:14:39.813 --> 00:14:42.874
That the biggest thing is utilizing the filters on the side, right?
00:14:43.173 --> 00:14:47.223
Being able to kind of filter for what you're looking for for top suppliers.
00:14:47.937 --> 00:14:50.756
Search for, also don't search your products.
00:14:50.756 --> 00:14:51.996
Search for suppliers.
00:14:52.317 --> 00:14:53.906
That's a really big piece on Alibaba.
00:14:54.297 --> 00:15:05.292
So if you're looking for socks, don't type in socks in the product category, type in socks in the supplier category, right?
00:15:05.292 --> 00:15:10.422
So, so that way you can be filtering based and you could just be looking at supplier to supplier.
00:15:10.991 --> 00:15:16.781
And, because at the end of the day, you're trying to find not the best sock, trying to find the best sock supplier, right?
00:15:16.786 --> 00:15:17.711
The best partner for you.
00:15:18.001 --> 00:15:18.491
Okay.
00:15:18.496 --> 00:15:36.072
Um, so I think with Alibaba's trade insurance program, with the, you know, different verification pieces and if you're able to kinda if you're able to learn how to filter Alibaba and also filter out all the agencies on Alibaba that aren't real factories, then you're in really good shape, right?
00:15:36.072 --> 00:15:40.121
You're able to utilize it to find amazing suppliers, and you shouldn't be too scared.
00:15:40.991 --> 00:15:43.206
Okay, Covid zero.
00:15:43.505 --> 00:15:49.685
That policy seems to have been, well, it, it's gone away, uh, following the protests.
00:15:49.985 --> 00:15:54.836
That obviously had huge implications for people who were sourcing from China.
00:15:55.501 --> 00:15:56.221
Is that it?
00:15:56.281 --> 00:15:58.322
Do we think, is it, is it likely to come back?
00:15:58.351 --> 00:16:02.192
Is how did, how did it affect your, your sourcing up until now?
00:16:02.221 --> 00:16:08.611
You know, what were the, the implications of it and, and what do you think about the, the future based on that, that instance?
00:16:09.634 --> 00:16:22.833
Well, I would say that we are doing our best to build out other supply chains outside of China and remove our full dependency on it just due to how insane the last few years have been.
00:16:23.313 --> 00:16:25.293
Um, unpredictable the last few years have been.
00:16:26.271 --> 00:16:32.542
If I could perfectly predict how China's gonna react, then I would be putting my money in the stock market.
00:16:32.781 --> 00:16:39.501
Um, but what I would say is that, you know, the big issue with China is that they had the Covid zero policy, right?
00:16:39.501 --> 00:16:39.591
Mm-hmm.
00:16:39.831 --> 00:16:44.211
. So they weren't, they, they weren't allowing for herd immunity.
00:16:45.526 --> 00:16:46.792
And they're just being super strict.
00:16:46.792 --> 00:16:50.121
So one person gets sick, they lock down, you know, a whole factory.
00:16:50.302 --> 00:16:51.621
They lock down whole regions.
00:16:51.831 --> 00:16:57.442
Now that they've loosened up and, you know something, huge percentage of China got covid within a few week period.
00:16:57.442 --> 00:17:01.881
Once they, uh, open things up, now people kind of have this, this immunity.
00:17:02.062 --> 00:17:09.082
Um, so I'm hoping that they're gonna kind of keep things pretty lax and I think that it's gonna be hard to push people back.
00:17:09.082 --> 00:17:16.102
But again, I don't want to again depend on China as much as possible.
00:17:16.106 --> 00:17:23.902
So for all of our customers, we're, we're actively working on, you know, building out other solutions, other supply chains, backup suppliers outside of China.
00:17:23.902 --> 00:17:27.892
So if anything does happen like that, again, we're gonna be, you know, prepared.
00:17:28.792 --> 00:17:29.422
Okay, cool.
00:17:30.652 --> 00:17:35.402
How do you maintain strong relationships with your clients and your suppliers?
00:17:35.402 --> 00:17:39.082
I mean, what are some of the key factors that contribute to successful partnerships?
00:17:39.082 --> 00:17:40.492
It's gotta be challenging when.
00:17:40.957 --> 00:17:46.326
You know, I, I, I know you're, you're based out of, uh, is it the US or Canada?
00:17:46.326 --> 00:17:50.647
You're based outta North America anyway, and, and they're, you know, in Southeast Asia.
00:17:52.086 --> 00:17:52.507
Yeah.
00:17:52.507 --> 00:17:56.797
So, you know, face-to-face is, is obviously a huge part of things.
00:17:56.797 --> 00:18:03.307
So I'm, what I'm doing is half the year I'll be in Southeast Asia, uh, visiting factories and making that home base.
00:18:03.307 --> 00:18:07.582
And the other half of the year, in the US dealing with the customer side, the team side.
00:18:08.332 --> 00:18:15.817
From a relationship standpoint I think that people undervalue, just being kind of genuine.
00:18:16.237 --> 00:18:16.326
Mm-hmm.
00:18:16.567 --> 00:18:27.307
. So treating things like a friendship, you know, FaceTiming your suppliers, talking about, you know, the bar you went to last night, telling them fun stories about America.
00:18:28.207 --> 00:18:30.217
They, they want to hear that kind of stuff, right.
00:18:30.397 --> 00:18:34.777
If you're able to break past the, you know, very business-like, Hey, I need pricing on this.
00:18:34.777 --> 00:18:45.967
I need better terms on this and you're able to build even the slice, bit of personal relationships, you know, send'em a gift every once in a while, you know, just stay on top of, you know, building a personal relationship.
00:18:46.237 --> 00:18:47.317
It goes so far.
00:18:47.707 --> 00:18:50.167
Um, so what I would say is, yeah, just be human.
00:18:50.167 --> 00:18:51.037
Treat them like buddies.
00:18:51.037 --> 00:18:54.487
Send them pictures of stuff that you're doing, updates in your life.
00:18:54.714 --> 00:19:02.644
Try remember to touch base every once in a while and yeah, you'll, you, you'll be surprised how far it goes.
00:19:03.444 --> 00:19:03.894
Okay.
00:19:03.954 --> 00:19:10.584
And in terms of your customers, I mean, what is it that you are supplying for them typically?
00:19:12.384 --> 00:19:16.824
Yeah, so what we try to do is be more than the agency, right?
00:19:16.824 --> 00:19:31.764
Because obviously you can go to China and find a sourcing agent and, but what we're trying to do is really become, you know, a part of their supply chain, part of their procurement process and look at the program holisticly.
00:19:31.778 --> 00:19:47.199
So instead of saying, okay, you know, we're gonna go and get you, you know, these yoga pants and they're going to cost you $12, and that's delivered and that's the whole piece of relationship, it's more of a holistic approach of like, okay, let's look at all your product types.
00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.019
How can we create consolidation within your different products?
00:19:50.199 --> 00:19:51.969
How can we recommend new products to you?
00:19:52.538 --> 00:19:56.184
Um, how can we improve your overall logistics.
00:19:56.274 --> 00:19:58.524
What are you guys doing for your three pl?
00:19:58.524 --> 00:19:59.423
How is that working?
00:19:59.874 --> 00:20:06.294
Could we do any type of, you know, domestic production or demand production to, you know, improve your supply chain?
00:20:06.624 --> 00:20:13.024
Um, so I mean, a good customer example is that we have on our website, we made a video for, you know, we were going and sourcing their products.
00:20:13.879 --> 00:20:21.954
And, you know, they're, they're a subscription box company, so we were producing, you know, tens of thousands of boxes a month and producing everything that goes inside the box.
00:20:22.163 --> 00:20:22.854
And that was great.
00:20:22.854 --> 00:20:32.484
But when we came in to really build a relationship with them and learn about their business, we were able to create a bunch of supply chain efficiencies from, uh, doing, doing, uh, kitting overseas.
00:20:33.384 --> 00:20:54.586
Essentially moving the entire production overseas so we can do all the kitting there, having everything fully consolidated and then shipped over, you know, that process, aside from the savings on the unit cost, the process just on like a supply chain consolidation standpoint, saved them probably between 150 and $200,000 a year.
00:20:55.607 --> 00:20:55.937
Wow.
00:20:56.781 --> 00:21:03.761
And what kind of technology or digital tools do you use to streamline your supply chain processes and improve efficiency?
00:21:05.331 --> 00:21:05.691
Yeah.
00:21:05.691 --> 00:21:11.721
So, there's definitely a, a lot of different ways that you can, you know, uh, look at it.
00:21:11.726 --> 00:21:18.531
So from a basics perspective, if we're building a, a complex supply chain building, using Gantt charts is super powerful.
00:21:18.651 --> 00:21:28.711
So taking a Gantt chart and, and really breaking down all the different orders and all the different steps within a process that you have.
00:21:29.061 --> 00:21:33.771
So if you're able to visualize, you know, when do we need all of the artwork done?
00:21:34.071 --> 00:21:35.661
When do we need a finalized product?
00:21:35.721 --> 00:21:37.461
When do we need to send a deposit?
00:21:37.466 --> 00:21:40.131
When do we have to have all the items, uh, finished?
00:21:40.191 --> 00:21:43.551
You're able to kind of visualize, like a map, right?
00:21:43.791 --> 00:21:57.761
Say, okay, all this stuff needs to be done, but these pieces that we're able to go and execute on all this properly, we're gonna be able to consolidate all the shipments together and then we're gonna be able to, uh, get everything done when you, when you look at your entire supply chain on the product by product basis.
00:21:58.441 --> 00:22:01.086
it's very hard to run it efficiently, right?
00:22:01.086 --> 00:22:06.436
But it, but once you're able to put everything together into something visual, you're able to find efficiencies.
00:22:06.696 --> 00:22:15.216
Um, and then from a technology standpoint, uh, softwares like Anvil are fantastic for, you know, managing all of your purchase orders and productions and shipments.
00:22:15.456 --> 00:22:24.396
So, you know, if you do have a lot of things going on and production going on, getting a software like that, like a production software can be really helpful.
00:22:24.776 --> 00:22:28.824
Okay, Do you have any customer success stories you can speak to?
00:22:30.774 --> 00:22:40.944
Yeah, I mean, so, what we'd like to do, I mean, like I, like I just mentioned, that Created With Love one, uh, with subscription boxes is, is uh, something that we're really proud about.
00:22:41.454 --> 00:22:48.834
And, you know, we'd love taking, you know, complex supply chains with lots of different products and then consolidating and adding those efficiencies.
00:22:49.374 --> 00:23:07.295
Some other, customer pieces have been within, like the apparel space, so, well, we, we have a large business in the corporate merchandising space, so essentially doing product sourcing for companies that need all their, their uniforms, all their companies swag and that kind of stuff.
00:23:07.715 --> 00:23:18.125
We've built out their own app and technology, that builds out online storefronts so that people, um, can go and choose whatever swag they want versus being just given an item.
00:23:18.305 --> 00:23:18.515
Right.
00:23:18.515 --> 00:23:24.785
And that's like kind of the biggest waste piece within promo is that you go to a conference, you get a bunch of stuff that you don't really want.
00:23:24.915 --> 00:23:25.435
Mm-hmm.
00:23:25.475 --> 00:23:30.815
Um, so we built up these online storefronts where people can choose from, you know, a hundred items, a thousand items, 10,000 items.
00:23:30.815 --> 00:23:31.894
It's really up to the company.
00:23:32.134 --> 00:23:37.144
We produce primarily on demand, uh, but we have a hybrid based supply chain system for that.
00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:40.965
So, you know, someone sees a drone or a water ball or a backpack.
00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:46.940
90% of the time it's gonna be on demand and then 10% of the time it's going to be some, it's gonna be an inventory.
00:23:47.930 --> 00:24:04.190
So we were able to build up, you know, obviously we have tons of case studies on the corporate side of how this, you know, is a way more efficient system for, you know, companies to manage their swag, cutting costs, lowering risks, and then creating a better customer experience.
00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:09.019
But what's a really fun is taking that technology and applying that on the e-commerce side, right?
00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:20.030
To, to other businesses that are, you know, apparel based businesses that traditionally either had to choose, like, are am I going to build an apparel based business that's fully on demand, right?
00:24:20.040 --> 00:24:20.240
Mm-hmm.
00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:25.250
, so I'm taking basic SKUs and like using a PrintFI or Printful, and that's my supply chain.
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.759
Or am I doing a straight inventory program, right?
00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:32.150
So I go and I produce everything overseas or some stuff domestically.
00:24:32.150 --> 00:24:37.955
I have everything on shelves, and now I have to, you know, sell through my inventory when it sells out, it sells out, right.
00:24:38.405 --> 00:24:56.884
So where we're seeing a lot of success is kind of utilizing our on-demand and hybrid based supply chain systems over on the e-commerce side for these stores so that they can go and we can take the top items and more unique SKUs, do all that overseas, put that in inventory.
00:24:57.485 --> 00:25:05.315
Then taking, everything that is, you know, the more generic items, the stuff that's gonna really fill up the catalog, we can go and do those on demand.
00:25:05.525 --> 00:25:07.085
And then everything in the middle, right?
00:25:07.085 --> 00:25:13.925
So, okay, if we need to produce 50 t-shirts of a certain piece, um, or we need a laser engrave 40, right?
00:25:13.925 --> 00:25:20.134
So those kind of mid, mid-tier quantities we're able to go and do domestic production and domestic decoration.
00:25:20.615 --> 00:25:36.185
So we're, I'm just very excited about this kind of new age supply chain within apparel merchandising, and e-commerce merchandising because it creates a lot of efficiencies, um, and while also giving a better kind of customer experience.
00:25:37.475 --> 00:25:37.894
Okay.
00:25:38.345 --> 00:25:49.305
And in terms of schwag, should, should companies white label or should it be custom manufactured or what's kind of best, best practice there?
00:25:50.894 --> 00:26:02.205
Yeah, so I think, I think for swag, White labeling and, and utilizing, you know, preexisting SKUs is gonna be your best bet, unless you're at a certain scale.
00:26:02.265 --> 00:26:14.415
So, you know, if you need to produce, you know, a few hundred t-shirts or whatever it is, um, or a few hundred water bottles, go and utilize an existing stock, right?
00:26:14.415 --> 00:26:23.180
So either use a factory that's already producing a water bottle, pick from their catalog, have 'em decorat it for you with your artwork and your logos.
00:26:23.570 --> 00:26:25.280
Same thing with any type of domestic production.
00:26:25.280 --> 00:26:32.030
You can go through a distributor like us and we can kind of produce yourself, um, for, you know, your, your general goods.
00:26:32.150 --> 00:26:40.157
But the one exception I would say is on the, on the swag side, is if you have the volume for it, right?
00:26:40.157 --> 00:26:48.572
Let's say you're, you're, you're a Google or a Facebook, go and do a full cut and sew sew production for your apparel and for your clothing.
00:26:48.572 --> 00:26:48.812
Right?
00:26:48.842 --> 00:26:59.038
Make those hoodies super customized with custom tags and different, you know, small decoration pieces and elements to really create a retail grade product.
00:26:59.669 --> 00:27:07.589
And I a really think if you have the volume to do it, and you have the resources to do it, it goes a really long way, on the swag side.
00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:16.989
But unless you are at kind of a place where you're buying thousands of units, I would say white labeling is gonna be the most cost efficient way for you to do your swag.
00:27:17.979 --> 00:27:18.339
Okay.
00:27:18.399 --> 00:27:18.909
Makes sense.
00:27:19.989 --> 00:27:23.859
Where do you see the future of this market going in the next five, 10 years?
00:27:25.778 --> 00:27:26.919
Uh, like the swag market?
00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:27.909
Yeah.
00:27:28.389 --> 00:27:29.528
And, and sourcing in general.
00:27:29.949 --> 00:27:31.689
I mean, seeing as you're the sourcing guy.
00:27:33.788 --> 00:27:34.269
Yeah.
00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:43.899
So I think that there's going to obviously be a, a, a big shift as, as there is right now, a much larger shift to production to other countries.
00:27:44.169 --> 00:27:57.578
I think that a lot of other countries are going to become a lot more nimble and allow for lower minimums and that they're going to be able to start servicing, US based or global companies just like China does.
00:27:57.668 --> 00:28:04.698
And so I think a lot of countries, a lot of factories in other countries are gonna start creating catalogs, allowing for catalog based production.
00:28:06.173 --> 00:28:13.563
I think on the swag side, I think that there is going to be, you know, a massive shift over on demand, on demand swag.
00:28:14.073 --> 00:28:26.113
I think that the cost basis to decorate something on demand versus decorate it, you know, in bulk, at least domestically, is getting closer and closer to being the same.
00:28:26.623 --> 00:28:30.043
So, you know, as that they kind of catch up to each other.
00:28:30.463 --> 00:28:39.478
It becomes inefficient for brands to go and produce massive amounts of inventory, and to kinda warehouse these goods for their swag store programs.
00:28:39.483 --> 00:28:45.388
It's gonna be a lot more efficient to just have stuff on demand, make it produced, you know, on demand.
00:28:46.078 --> 00:28:51.473
And, at the, they give people more options, more flexibility with the, what they wanna get to get.
00:28:52.906 --> 00:28:55.246
We're coming towards the end of the podcast now, Isaac.
00:28:55.246 --> 00:28:58.286
Is there any question that I haven't asked you that you wish I had?
00:28:58.286 --> 00:29:03.181
Or, any aspect of this we haven't touched on that you think it's important for people to think about?
00:29:04.708 --> 00:29:13.798
Yeah, well you mentioned something about kind of white labeling versus, uh, custom manufacturing that I think it's really important to talk about.
00:29:13.803 --> 00:29:24.040
So I think that a lot of people, when they go into producing, their first product, they assume that they, need to do something full custom, right?
00:29:24.040 --> 00:29:29.266
They need to go and create a tech pack for this new, t-shirt.
00:29:29.266 --> 00:29:36.046
And they have to build, you know, uh, create all this, these complex drawings and hire engineers or whatever the product is.
00:29:36.586 --> 00:29:42.316
But the majority of products on the market, in any country are gonna be white labeled products, right?
00:29:42.316 --> 00:29:47.716
They're going to be products that people are just going to factories and they're producing based off of preexisting specs.
00:29:50.581 --> 00:29:58.740
If, if your product, if the main selling point of your product is your marketing and your designs, you should be white labeling.
00:29:58.861 --> 00:30:05.521
You should, it's gonna reduce your cost basis, it's gonna reduce your MOQs, it's gonna reduce overall risk of, of your production.
00:30:05.551 --> 00:30:05.821
Right?
00:30:05.821 --> 00:30:11.011
Because the fact is producing stuff that, that's tried and true, they're not gonna, they're not doing anything full custom for you.
00:30:12.605 --> 00:30:20.115
And then go focus on what is your differentiating factor, your designs, your marketing, your sales pitch, your branding, all those different pieces.
00:30:20.926 --> 00:30:32.506
If you are building something that you know is very, very focused on the features and you know that there's nothing like it on the market, and that is your main selling point, yeah, go and do your custom manufacturing and go through the whole process.
00:30:32.806 --> 00:30:53.233
But at least when we're working with companies, I would say 80 plus percent of the time, they think that they need full custom manufacturing, but really there's already a great product on the marketplace now that from a great factory and all they need to do is just private label it to start off, and they're able to get the market way faster with, uh, way less invested.
00:30:54.613 --> 00:30:55.393
Makes a lot of sense.
00:30:55.923 --> 00:30:56.223
Great.
00:30:56.228 --> 00:31:03.003
Isaac, if people would like to know more about yourself or any of the things we discussed on the podcast today, where would you have me direct them?
00:31:03.053 --> 00:31:07.423
Yeah, so, uh, you obviously go to sourcingguy.com.
00:31:07.442 --> 00:31:12.303
I'm at the Sourcing Guy on TikTok and YouTube for you to learn more about sourcing and supply chain.
00:31:12.903 --> 00:31:16.863
If, uh, if you wanna learn more about our agency and kinda what we do, we're Imprint Genius, imprintgenius.com.
00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:21.590
And you know, feel free to follow me on Instagram if you want, at Isaac Hetz.
00:31:21.610 --> 00:31:25.540
Um, I'm always posting, you know, fun factory tours and stuff that I'm up to, so
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:31.720
If you shoot me across those links, I'll stick 'em on the show notes and that way everyone will have access to them Isaac.
00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:31.900
Perfect.
00:31:32.230 --> 00:31:32.710
Thanks Tom.
00:31:32.710 --> 00:31:33.400
Appreciate you having me.
00:31:33.970 --> 00:31:35.470
Thanks a million for coming to the podcast today.
00:31:40.095 --> 00:31:41.865
Okay, we've come to the end of the show.
00:31:42.225 --> 00:31:43.305
Thanks everyone for listening.
00:31:43.995 --> 00:32:05.144
If you'd like to know more about digital supply chains, simply drop me an email to TomRaftery@outlook.com If you like the show, please don't forget to click Follow on it in your podcast application of choice to be sure to get new episodes as soon as they're published Also, please don't forget to rate and review the podcast.
00:32:05.325 --> 00:32:08.325
It really does help new people to find a show.
00:32:09.134 --> 00:32:11.265
Thanks, catch you all next time.
