Summertime is the perfect time to… 

Kick back and… talk to your factories. 

Most western brands are quiet in the summer. Chinese factories have a rare moment of available bandwidth. 

Remember, the big Chinese Lunar New Year vacation is in the winter. So, factory office employees are around and eager to connect. 

This is the perfect time to discuss: 

1.) Production capacity and scheduling

Chat about arrangements for the next year to ensure they know your schedule, growth goals, and can deliver on time to prevent out of stock situations. 

2.) Cost negotiation

Explore ways to decrease your costs without compromising quality. Think: volume discounts, product changes, packaging changes, etc. 

3.) New product development 

Dust off those old product ideas and move through ideation and sampling with your factories. 

4.) Feedback and review

Share customer feedback and work together with your factory to further optimize quality and customer satisfaction. More 5 star reviews = more sales. 

Don’t wait until September

Don’t wait until the fall when factory inboxes fill up and their WeChat message notifications are exploding to start your discussions. 

Your factories will always tell you they are available, but if you want to get their *full attention* then now is one of the best times of the year!

How about you? Are you chatting with your factories this summer?