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Email Address
info@ims4usa.com
Call Us
+1 619 477 1893
Address
225 West Street, National City, CA 91950
F.A.Q
Frequently Asked Questions
Outsourcing manufacturing involves a lot of moving parts, including ensuring the products you’ve ordered come to you timely and are of the quality you’ve defined. IMS provides full-service quality assurance. Once your product is made and reaches you, we guarantee your defined standards.
What if there is a problem and the products don’t meet your requirements? We will handle everything.
First, you don’t pay for bad quality products. Second, we will remedy the issue. Third, we will work to ensure it doesn’t happen again by implementing production and inspection procedures.
The items and information described below will help us to find the right manufacturer for your product needs:
- Samples
- Drawings or cutting patterns for engineering the product.
- Material specifications (what and how much)
- Bill of materials
- Estimated quantities, both per shipment and annual total
- Target pricing
- Location of delivery
- Special requirements for the product (standards, certifications, regulations, testing)
- Requirements for packaging
We must have this information before we can begin the sourcing process.
We do. It is included in your quoted price. We handle customs, Ocean/Air freight, duties, clearance and delivery to door.
Part of our full-service package is that we have built a solid plan with our factories. We have put confidentiality agreements in place with our manufacturers.
However, your biggest risk is from copying after being bought from the store. At that point, the product could be sent anywhere and copied. Your best bet is to seek out legal protections for your intellectual property.
Look into patents, copyrights, trademarks and industrial design rights.
We will do all we can on our side, but we can’t protect you once the item is bought by someone else.
Each step of the way takes a different amount of time, the first being sourcing a factory. The sourcing process generally takes about 2 to 4 weeks.
Next, once you have chosen a manufacturer based on our sourcing, and you place an order, it takes about 1 to 4 months before the first delivery.
However, it is important to note that it can take longer depending on how long each of the steps within the production process takes. Factors such as tooling, sample approval, raw materials orders, and others can affect the overall length.
Once the first order has been finished, reorders run much faster, about 30 to 60 days.
Several aspects work together to accomplish the task of quality assurance, like a system of checks and balances. IMS has worked to develop relationships with our factories. We look for factors that tend to ensure good quality control standards.
To do this, we closely examine the factories we source. If the owners or engineers of the factory in China have degrees from the US, Europe or Japan, the factory will likely have a high quality control system in place already. There are other factors we look for as well.
IMS also has separate quality assurance processes for different production categories. Medical equipment and electronics, for example, high much more rigid requirements. Depending on the product and its sophistication level, your own specific requirements will also need to be met.
In fact, some products will even best test in independent labs before they can be shipped back to you. Remember, if there is a problem, we are here to help fix it.
You need to know that mass production is the manufacturing model in China. So the expectation is that you will place large orders and how much or how little you order can affect the ability to contract with factories in China.
Similarly to buying in bulk at a warehouse store, larger orders also affects the total ratio cost. That said, the rule of thumb generally is that you should expect to place a minimum order of $20,000-$25,000, especially in demanding product categories.
If you’re looking into manufacturing products in high-technology components, medical equipment, medical instruments or other complex area, you should consult with IMS.
Experience is key. IMS has been working together with U.S. based companies and Chinese manufacturers since 1974. We have worked hard to develop trustworthy relationships. We have proven ourselves over and over again that we have the most experience and satisfied customer base of our competitors. Our knowledgeable staff bring their procedural smarts of the industry and combine that with our trusted sources to help you find the best fit for your company’s product.
There is no upfront cost for sourcing. We believe in what we do. IMS makes a serious and concerted effort to source your project and find the right fit for your product. It’s only after we find what we believe is the best factory for your needs and provide you with a competitive proposal that we believe our work will speak for itself and you will strongly consider IMS for your business.
Of course! It’s all up to you. Some of our customers enjoy visiting the factories on a regular basis. Other customers have never gone. Either way is fine. Should you decide to visit, it will likely be very interesting and beneficial, but don’t feel like you’re required.
We mostly manufacture in China, to the tune of about 95%. The other 5% Taiwan. We have multiple offices in these locations and we continue to see the best in value, service and quality in these areas.