Gary Huang describes himself as Born in USA, Made in the China. He’s living in Shanghai these days and in addition to running his own very successful Amazon business, is the founder of 80/20 sourcing and the 7-figure seller summit. He’s a busy man.
He’s an expert on sourcing and was one of
the senior coaches at the India Sourcing Trip so we struck up a friendship
together while we were there.
Today I thought it’d be great to get his take on sourcing from India and the differences between China and India.
For the Free Sourcing from India Cheat sheet we spoke about: https://www.8020sourcing.com/auseller/
Raw Machine Translated Transcript:
Chris: [00:00:00] welcome back to another episode of the Australian seller
podcast. today I am thrilled to have grant Gary Huang, who I met recently at
the Indian sourcing trip in new Delhi at the trade show there.
[00:00:10] The, . India home and
handicrafts show, I think it was called Gary, is that right?
Huang: [00:00:15] Yeah, I think you’re right. The Dehli Fair.
[00:00:18] Yeah. Yeah. Much easier. Um, and we had a great trip. I
mean, it was a week of not only sourcing from the trade show, but a lot of
[00:00:27] We learned a lot about the sorts
of products that you can source from India. We had an extraordinary day where
we went down to the Taj Mahal and many other things that we did too – a day
trip around India. Really? wish! Uh, around new Delhi and um, yeah, it’s just
amazing. So what I wanted to do today was really just pick your brains, because
I think this was your first trip to Uh, to India, and you’ve done a lot of
sourcing – in fact that you own a sourcing agency out of, uh, at a Shenzhen,
[00:00:52] Or no, you’re actually in
Huang: [00:00:54] that right? I used to, um, I used to offer
sourcing services previously, and I’m based in Shanghai. That’s right. Yeah.
[00:01:02] Cool. Anyway, I’m so sorry. I’m kind of just talking and
sort of holding an interview all by myself, so why don’t we just, uh, get, get,
get on with this show and let’s, let’s have an introduction from you.
[00:01:13] Tell us about you and your
Huang: [00:01:16] Excellent. Thank you so much, Chris. First of all,
for having me, I’m very honored to be on the Australian seller podcast and I
know there’s a lot of enthusiastic and eager entrepreneurs down to under, so
I’m happy to.share anything of value that can help out.
[00:01:31] And I’m super honored to be with
your two, uh, with you today. Um, so quick intro, I’m so, I’m, my name is Gary
and I was born and raised in the U S. Uh Hmm. You can’t tell by my accent. I’m,
I like to say that I was made in the U S a and exported to China. So, uh, born
and raised in Los Angeles, grew up there, went to university there, and I came
[00:01:56] Uh, long story short. Uh, I kind
of stumbled into a job doing sourcing from China based in Shanghai, uh, did
that for many years. Um, so basically I’ve helped clients, uh, manage
multimillion dollar stores in campaigns. Um, so I visited like over a hundred
Chinese factories. So I’ve really seen like the good, the bad, and the ugly
sides of the whole, you know, trying sourcing.
[00:02:18] Um, so. Um, it was about 2016
when I created a website called 80, 20 sourcing. So I really wanted to bring
some light into what some people call it, like a black box, because there’s a
lot of unknown unknowns in sourcing world. A lot of, you know, tricks people
play. So I’m, so I run a site called 80, 20 sourcing.
[00:02:36] And also, um, I, um, host an
online virtual summit called the seven figure seller summit where I interview
various million dollar e-commerce sellers and entrepreneurs. Um, and then, um,
you know, learn how they do it. So, um, the listeners can do it too. And yes,
going back to your question, this was my first time going to India.
[00:02:57] It was a very amazing
experience, not just on the business side, but also on the cultural side. I’m
just learning about the vast differences and some similarities, uh, you know,
sourcing from China. So I’m, uh, happy to share more at five, if that’s a good,
good enough intro for you.
[00:03:12] That sounds fantastic.
[00:03:13] That’s exactly what I want to
focus on today. So, um, obviously there are some pretty big differences. So why
don’t we just sort of talk first off about the main differences that you see
between, um, sourcing obviously from China and versus sourcing from India. What
were the main sort of takeaways there for you.
Huang: [00:03:30] Yeah. I think the number one thing that a lot of
sellers are worried about right now, sourcing from China is the trade tariffs,
you know, with the whole U S China trade war. So that could add another, you
know, 25% or 30% on top of your already, you know, your, your costs. Right? So.
Number one biggest difference is if you source from India, you can really
circumvent these tariffs, so you won’t be privy to the same 25%.
[00:03:54] Um, I think that that is the
biggest thing, um, in terms of the cost savings. But number two, the biggest
difference is, um. Just in terms of this selection of the products, because you
know, obviously China has had a headstart, you know, in, in terms of the whole
manufacturing world, the whole export world, I’d say they’re probably the 15
years ahead of where India is at.
[00:04:15] So you really cannot find the
same broad selection of products that you can find in China. I mean, there are
some, some strong, um, you know, industries that we can find. In India, I
think, you know, we can talk more about that if you’d like, but just in terms
of the selection, don’t expect you can replace, um, you know, China with the
[00:04:35] Um, I think those are some of
the key differences. Um, one of the biggest surprises for me personally, I
don’t know about you, Chris, is the fact that in India they’re willing to do.
Minimum order quantities or MOQ as low as like 25 pieces or 50 pieces. If I
talk, you know, went up to a Chinese supplier and I say, I want to order 50
pieces, there’ll be like, get out of here.
[00:04:55] You know, by, you know, they’re,
I mean, interested in talking to you, unless you’re talking at least like 500
to a thousand. Yeah. So I think that’s another, um, you know, big difference
that I was surprised about. They can work in your favor. Um, if you are e-comm
seller because you can, you know, afford to place a smaller bets, you know,
smaller initial trial orders to kind of test out these products.
[00:05:15] Um, just, yeah, just some high
level thoughts that come to mind.
[00:05:18] Yeah, I agree. And one of the things that they
entertained as well often was like an MOA. So. That was sort of saying, well,
if you spend $5,000 with us, everything that’s on show here at our booth is,
um, is up for grabs. You can order, you know, one of those and 10 of those.
[00:05:32] And you know, so the MOA or the
minimum order amount was a, another really interesting approach that they took.
Uh, but the MIQ is, I was just ridiculous. And you could have quite a big range
of products that you can be hitting Amazon hard with, uh, for not very much
money and, uh, and have a wide variety of, so you don’t sort of load up on one
[00:05:53] Um, you can, you can sort of
find some little test shots with some of the products that you find it
Huang: [00:05:58] there, the new daily trade show.
[00:05:59] So. Yeah, it was. It was super cool. Um, yeah, I think
Huang: [00:06:04] right about the
[00:06:05] kind of the product selection you can’t really go to the
India, trade show and expect to, or the new Delhi new Delhi trade show and
expect to pick up like Silicon spatulas for example, is sort of, yeah, there’s,
there’s not a lot of that sort of Silicon spatula plastic molding side of
things happening there at all.
[00:06:22] Um, and very little electronics
as well. It was much more kind of handicraft wood, leather. Uh, what else? They
have a lot of textiles. Glass heaps of Christmas decorations and things like
that as well, which were really good. A lot of metal. And yeah, quite a lot of
furniture too, which was quite interesting.
Huang: [00:06:40] That would also eco friendly products as well.
Chris with like eco-friendly, biodegradable products. Um, I think some of them
were made from recycled, um, like water bottles. You know, I think they were
very innovative in terms of doing that. And he, India’s really big on, um, you
[00:06:57] The whole equal friendly scene.
And I think the local law in Delhi is that they don’t even allow any plastic
bags anywhere. So if you go to a supermarket where you go to like a convenience
store, they don’t even give you like a plastic bag. You can’t even pay for one.
You know, there is like no option.
[00:07:13] So it just goes to show there
and they really have like a very equal, friendly attitude. Um, when it comes to
[00:07:21] I do. It’s funny, I was talking to one of the locals
there who was saying that. Five years ago in India, or maybe even 10 years ago
in India, or particularly new deli, there were like plastic bags just being
thrown around in the wind.
[00:07:33] And now today you just don’t see
any plastic rubbish really much at all. So, uh, yeah, it’s been extraordinary
the way that they’ve turned things around there. And, um, yeah, they’re trying
to do their bit. There was a lot of, just on the product side, just talking
about eco friendly products, there was a lot of, uh, things like Palm leaf plates,
um, for example, a lot of, um, kind of bamboo, you know, forks and spoons and
[00:07:56] People might use it, a party,
you know, sort of, um, compostable and degradable biodegradable products. The
gassy was one as well, which is a cornstarch, um, material. It’s kind of like a
paper, sort of semi cardboard made from waste, cornstarch, or on a, I can’t
remember exact material that was made from, but again, totally compostable,
[00:08:17] Uh, yeah. So there was a lot of
those sorts of products as well, which is really exciting.
Huang: [00:08:21] Yeah, definitely.
[00:08:23] What’d you think of the quality is some of the products
Huang: [00:08:26] I think the quality at the show, I was surprised
the quality was quite high. It was higher than I expected. I mean, this was my
first time going to India, and I had always heard about like, you know, the,
the cheap labor for us, I assumed the quality would be cheaper or lower than
China, but I mean, maybe it was this trade fair, you know, they just specialize
in high quality products.
[00:08:49] But I was very surprised. I
mean, in terms of like some of the lighting fixtures, you know, I. You know, I
would see the same thing in like a, you know, like a lamps are us, or like, you
know, one of the top notch, you know, lighting supply stores that you see in
the U S um, so I was pleasantly surprised.
[00:09:06] Um, what do you think, Chris?
[00:09:08] Oh, stunned. Actually, just by the quality of, of the
production, the timber, the finishes, the, uh, the joinery that, you know, the,
the ceramics, the glass. Uh, even the leather products, you don’t like the
bags. the other things like aprons and oven mitts, made from leather, that was
[00:09:28] And the stitching and the
quality of those products was, was fabulous. And just on the leather, I mean,
we were lucky enough to also enjoy a factory visit as well to a leather leather
factory, didn’t we? So, yeah. what was
your impressions of that? So compared with the leather factories of, say,
Huang: [00:09:43] Yeah. Um, so this factory I’d say was about one
hour outside of downtown Delhi. And, um, this was, it actually was a couple of
factories adjacent to each other, if I remember correctly. So it’s the main one
specialized in like leather manufacturing, like leather bags on leather
[00:10:04] And then, um. I noticed that one
of the key things there is just like, everything was like very manual labor
intensive. So they, the workers had, you know, in the workshop it was very, um,
you know, close quarters, but it was still very organized. It wasn’t dirty at
all. You know, it was nearly like, um, you know, like dirt list.
[00:10:25] I don’t know if they like. No,
clean it up because they knew we were coming, but at least, you know, when I
was there, I was pretty impressed by that. Um, in terms of the equipment, I saw
like more reliance on like very traditional sewing machines as they were sewing
the leather. Um, you know, these are like the machines from like our parents’
[00:10:42] So I mean, they’ve been around
for maybe like a hundred years, you know. Um, and then, um, in terms of, um.
You know, they were like hand finishing and a lot of like, you know, the
leather, they were like hammering it. They were cutting it and sewing it. Um,
if you compare that to China, um, typically you, you do have manual labor, but
you have more machinery, more automation.
[00:11:06] Um, so for example, the
following week I went to Shenzhen, I visited a factory there and granted they
weren’t doing leather. They were doing like backpacks and bags. Um, I, I saw.
Another sewing machine, but this sewing machine was semiautomated. It had like
a nice L LCD monitor with like a passion OD.
[00:11:28] So basically like the stitching
was already digitally saved and inputted into the sewing machine. So all the
worker had to do was just like place the fabric there and then the machine does
all the sewing itself. So I have removed some of that labor, uh, the manual
labor out of it. Kind of like the human error and also in terms of like the
[00:11:47] So I think that’s one of the key
differences between India and China, because India is still very relying on the
labor force because they still can do it because the labor force is a lot
cheaper in India than in China. Whereas China on a whole, you know, they’ve.
Progressed over the last 15 years.
[00:12:04] Now they’re trying to rely more
on automation, um, equipment to take advantage of that. Um, yeah. If that makes
sense. And just one other thing. One of the thing that jumped out to me on when
we were at the factory, Chris was, um, you know, the leather was domestic,
right? It was from India, but some of like the trim and like the zippers and
stuff, I noticed like I saw it in the hallway, there was a box there, like a
paper carton, and then it had Y K, K, you know, like the white kids zippers and,
[00:12:34] It’s a Chang HAI, China. So
apparently they’re importing like a lot of You know, maybe like the more high
quality zippers or like these types of, um, you know, buttons, et cetera, you
know, from overseas. So I think that that’s a difference as well. If you do
want to get like some of, like, the nicer, like, um, what do you call it?
[00:12:52] Like yeah, you may want, the
factory may have to be import from China, which is fine, but you have to
consider the additional lead time and the cost. I think the lead time that,
that’s another key difference. Um, you know. Kind of, I’m on a side tangent,
just talking to the suppliers that we met at the fair, um, delete times will be
significantly longer from India than China.
[00:13:13] You know, I was getting quoted
like 10 weeks, you know, factory production time. Whereas normally in China we
expect about, you know, four weeks, a month, six weeks tops, and when they’re
busy, so definitely there will be a longer be time. Um, those were some of my
impressions from the factory.
[00:13:30] Totally. And I think as well, from that factory visit
that. It just to your point on the automation, one thing that you probably need
to anticipate or expect is that there will be slight inconsistencies because of
the handmade nature of a lot of the products that you would be ordering from,
[00:13:45] Because pretty much everything
is slightly, I mean, they do a really good job at creating like consistent, for
example, patterns. A lot of, , like on a lot of this ceramics for example, , like on a plate. , they actually do it all by hand. It’s not
sort of like a, a stamped kind of print, , so they haven’t
Huang: [00:14:02] noticed
[00:14:03] all that they use and they, but, but you get that it’s
actually a really nice feature, but it does create some potential, ,
consistency issues, which may be a customer,
Huang: [00:14:11] used to.
[00:14:11] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it’s
like a double edged sword, Chris. You know, like on one hand, you know, maybe
there are imperfections. If you want like a machine, lot of like 10,000 of
these, like, I don’t know, like stainless steel, like water bottles. Then maybe
if there’s imperfection it’s not, it’s not a good thing.
[00:14:30] But if you’re doing like.
Handmade, you know, like handicraft or like gift items. It kind of adds to that
like rustic charm, uh, you know, depending on, on your niche and your product.
So I think, you know, it could be good, but it could be, it could be bad, you
know, it’s like how you can market it.
[00:14:48] Yeah, totally. Great. did you happen to see any other
Amazon sellers at the show?
Huang: [00:14:55] Um, I did actually, um, yeah, because it’s funny
because I run 80, 20 sourcing and I have like a free email newsletter. And then
some people actually came up to me like, Hey, you’re guarantee, right?
[00:15:09] Like, I, I follow you, you’re
useless. And then they, they, they, um, they explained to me that are Amazon
sellers one, um. One guy is an American guy. He’s actually working in India and
yeah, he, he was selling on Amazon. I think he’s, he’s no longer, but, uh,
another one of our friends that we met, um, Aaron in India, he’s selling on
[00:15:31] He’s also an, an American based
in, based in India. Do you remember
[00:15:36] from him on the show a couple of weeks ago? Yeah. You had
Huang: [00:15:39] Aaron on the show that I remember. Yeah, an Amazon
seller, and then I also met an Indian seller as well. He’s doing very well. Um,
rune Varun from, no, yeah, he’s one of the coaches.
[00:15:49] He’s, yeah, he’s, he’s. Blowing
it up. I’m done, India, so I definitely, it can be done. Yeah. I’ve
[00:15:57] actually put a little video that he filmed of his
operation as chaotic as it looked,
Huang: [00:16:02] but there were
[00:16:03] surely thousands of bags of parcels going out to Amazon
customers. Hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of units a day, and he had a
little kind of fulfillment house of his own,
Huang: [00:16:14] which is totally Caterpillar.
[00:16:15] Like anything in India, it seems to work. Right. So,
Huang: [00:16:18] yeah. Yeah. Just
[00:16:19] extraordinary. Yeah. He’s really blowing it up. Low, low
margin, but massive volumes flying through there.
Huang: [00:16:25] Huge. Right. Absolutely.
[00:16:28] the other question I had for you as well, and just your
thoughts on using an agent out of India versus maybe going directed someone at
the booth that you might be thinking of sourcing from it as, let’s say, a trade
[00:16:38] would you be leaning towards
more going direct. Through a manufacturer or distributor, or would you perhaps
lean towards more, , . Looking at getting an agent to assist with, with your
Huang: [00:16:49] So, I mean, from my perspective, to be totally
transparent, this is my first time going to India and first time sourcing from
[00:16:57] And my answer will be yes and
yes. So I would both get a quote from a sourcing agent and I would get a quote
from the people that I met at, uh, at the show. This way at least I can
compare. And then not only like the bottom line price, but also like the
communication process in terms of, you know, maybe the sourcing agent can find
like a broader selection of products I can’t find on my own.
[00:17:23] Um, so for me, at least at this
stage, I’m kind of having like a beginner’s mindset. I’m just leaving my
options open. Um, you know. In China, I always say to cast a wide net, you
know, if you can, you know, get RF cues, you know, send out RFQ, request for
quotations to as many suppliers as possible.
[00:17:40] And then once you have this
initial pool of the information, you know, the specifications, the pricing, the
lead time, payment terms, then you can kind of, you know, get a lay of the land
and then decide, you know, short list from there. Based on what you’re getting.
So I’m applying a similar approach.
[00:17:55] By no means am I an expert, but,
um, that, that’s just what I’m doing right now. I’m curious. What about you,
Chris? Same question. What would you do?
[00:18:05] I’m definitely leaning more towards. Probably going with
an agent just because of the, some of the information that we were, educated
about, particularly around, packaging
material, you know, like products to be sent from India.
[00:18:18] So it’s really important to
understand, say the climate, you know, just little things like that,
[00:18:23] if a, if you make an order for, I dunno, some. Some
textile products in there. They’re packed.
somewhere where the humidity is really high. You might end up with
products arriving in the United States, for example, that are slightly moldy,
[00:18:35] Yeah. That sort of maybe just
having somebody on the ground there that, that kind of knows the logistic layer
of the land, which was kind of coming out to my next question, but also the
gotta negotiate a little bit better for you. I wasn’t. But you know, one of the
things that we say a lot in China is it sort of the China price for Chinese.
[00:18:53] And of course then there’s a
Western price didn’t seem to be as much as that. I don’t think happening in
India. I think that the pricing seemed reasonably, , stable. Um, but I do think
that a, a sourcing agent can provide a lot of comfort. So they might be paying
a, a slightly higher, you know, kind of percentage, uh, to, to have a sourcing
[00:19:14] But maybe for your first couple
as a new seller and a new sourcing, you know, dude from, from India might be
Huang: [00:19:20] worthwhile. Yeah, no, I think that makes a lot of
sense. I mean, especially if you’re dipping your toe in the water for the first
time, you know, it’s like a whole new culture, a whole new environment, like
what you said with the humidity and you know, like you might have to like
include in anti humidifier in the past, in the, uh, in the container just to
make sure, you know, like all of these potential pitfalls.
[00:19:42] If you can find someone
trustworthy, like a sourcing agent, I think that that could add a lot of value.
So, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
[00:19:49] That was the thing I think that I noticed the most from
my conversations with Hanoz. And , Gunjan even Aaron, you know, who, who does
sourcing as well or works for a sourcing company over there and sales and
[00:20:01] So. Yeah. It was a, it was a
really learning the intricacies of, of sourcing products. where are those products in may aid has
different areas of, like some of the paper products are handmade. Paper was
done up in Jophour or I think,, because it’s quite close to, like the desert
[00:20:16] So it’s quite dry, which means
they can dry the paper and whereas there were other. Yeah, I met a lot of the
textiles based more on the Seth or the silk. I think his source from the North
side. It’s kind of, you know, really interesting the way the geography works
Huang: [00:20:30] yeah, yeah, that’s a great point, Chris.
[00:20:32] And then, you know, people
actually say that India really isn’t one country. There was like, you know,
different regions that have different cultures and you know, like this region
maybe strongly led or the other maybe strong in wood for example. And then I
was really surprised, um, like the different parts of India.
[00:20:48] The Indians speak different
languages. So, you know, I was trying to learn some words of Hindi, you know,
from a, from ADI and some of the other guys on the trip. And then I tried to
practice it with some of the other Indians that I met. They’re like, Oh, I
don’t speak Hindi. And you know, he looked Indian, but you know, apparently,
you know, he was from the South of India and they were Tamil.
[00:21:07] And then they used to be like a
totally different language. And then I said, so how do you communicate? He
says, Oh, when I come to Delhi, I only speak English. So I was really shocked
that, you know, India, I mean, it’s not just one country there you have to have
like the separate mentality. You know, there’s like different regional
[00:21:23] I think in this sense it’s a
little bit like China because in China, even though everyone you know speaks
Mandarin, that’s the standard, you know, official language. You know, if you,
in Shanghai there’s a local Shanghainese diet. Like if you’re in quango there
was a Cantonese style, like, and they sound very different.
[00:21:40] So they have like different
cuisines, different habits, and you know, different strengths as well. You
know, like in terms of manufacturing for electronics, definitely you would go
down to but if you want like some other products yet, you would have to, you
know, go somewhere else. So I think that’s another similarity with the
different regional differences in India.
[00:21:57] In China. What did you think
[00:21:59] communication skills? obviously you’re on the ground in
China. English is a unifying language of India. , thanks to the British, I
guess, but, I’ve had a lot easier to
communicate with, with potential suppliers in India, than I did, on occasion in, in, in China.
[00:22:14] What were your thoughts
Huang: [00:22:14] here. Yeah, I thought that the communications, you
know, when I’m in India, I, I could just rely on English and that was fine. Um,
you know, at the fair and following up over WhatsApp, um, it was pretty, uh,
pretty smooth. Um, I, I did. Um, get some advice from some of the sourcing
agencies that, um, you know, for anything from or important and you want to go
to email and like, don’t keep it too loose on WhatsApp if, you know, whether
it’s like specifications, you know, we’re talking about samples, right?
[00:22:46] Like with one of the suppliers
that I’m talking with in leather. And then, um. You know, we were like going
back and forth over WhatsApp. I just wanted to make sure that you send me an
email with like a full spec sheet. So you know, nothing is off. Um, in terms of
like the actual communications, like the words, I mean, that’s totally
comprehensible, but if you kind of read behind the lines, like, I think one of
the examples that we noticed on the trip was like the concept of being on time.
[00:23:12] Um, if you say like, Let’s meet
at two o’clock right? I mean, two o’clock couldn’t mean like two 30 it could
mean three o’clock when, you know, even though we’re speaking in English, I
came to India, like the, the, the punctuality and like the tightness of time
could be something different. I think there’s some cultural nuances behind it,
but I mean, there, there was like a, one of the key words that we learned was a
[00:23:35] So have haka. So that means
like, for sure. So you would have to say. Two o’clock PACA and then, you know,
they would kind of like, Hmm. Like, you know, they would’ve, you know, of think
twice to see if they can really do it at two or maybe it’s actually like three
o’clock. So even though, you know, we’re speaking the same English, there’s
like, you gotta read behind the lines things a little bit in terms of like the
whole background behind it.
[00:23:57] W, what do you think? Yeah, what
were your, what are your thoughts about
[00:24:02] that? Yeah, absolutely. I look at, you know, Pakka was
explained to us that it is a sort of a, it’s, it’s a way of trying to get a
really solid answer on a question that you might be asking and, um, often,
yeah, there’s sort of sense of time.
[00:24:16] Is that, that it’s often
explained by, well, you know, I could have been there at one o’clock when you
asked me to, but I was. Kind of spending quality time with somebody that’s
really important to me. Or, you know, I was in a meeting with someone else and
I didn’t want to cut it short because I really respected our time that we were
[00:24:31] So they were actually quite
often quite good reasons for this, sort of the looseness of the, of the, the
meeting, meeting, punctuality and experience there. So that kind of made sense
to me. And yeah, I think you’ve just got, yeah. Kind of rolled with the punches
a bit. You know, the country does in a lot of ways, flow like water, as I
describe it quite accurately.
[00:24:47] There’s, it’s kinda like an
hourglass of traffic, for example. This is a lot of people might be trying to
get through an intersection and then it all sort of fans back out again. Um,
yes. It’s, yeah, it’s a really, really dynamic and fascinating place to visit.
Absolutely. So that was my sense of it yet.
[00:25:02] Um, we have to wrap up shortly.
I’m sorry, but I was just sorta thinking, um. Just a random logistics, I think
was one area that we haven’t really covered. What were your thoughts there
about, I’m getting imagery out of India. Okay.
Huang: [00:25:17] Right. So in terms of logistics, um, my
understanding is the whole logistics network in India isn’t as developed as
China, so it could take longer to move goods from your factory to your port.
[00:25:32] And also because. Of India,
like, you know, geographically, you know, it’s surrounded by the water, like
the ocean on two sides, right? So depending on where you’re shipping to, um,
you could save some time or you can waste a lot of time as well, like in terms
of logistics. So, for example, um. I believe if you know, you know, I’m not
very good at geography, but if you are shipping, you know, India is like this.
[00:26:02] If you are shipping from, I’m
the closest port to Delhi, I think it was, um, Nima, Shiva, that was the name
of the port, if I remember correctly. So if you go from Neeva Shiva, um, when
you shipped to the U S the shortest route is actually to New York. It’s not too
Los Angeles long beach, you know, at the same as.
[00:26:19] Thai nausea would go, Zoe, you
will from Geneva to New York, I believe it would take about, um. 28 days, if I
remember correctly. But if you go to, um, Los Angeles, it would take like two
weeks longer. I mean, like, I, I’m not sure if the dates are a hundred percent
correct, but you would have to like strategically ship to the closest port.
[00:26:41] So if you’re used to shipping
from China, you know, typically you’re going from Shanghai to LA, you know,
that could take about three weeks, right? But if you’re sourcing from India,
you have to consider, you know, both, like the inland transportation, they say
that it can take longer. Um. And also, you know, going promotion, you may want
to ship to the East coast.
[00:26:59] I think, um, you know, and one
of the, the other coaches in our group, um, you know, margin, Kevin, um, they
share this experience as well. Um, the other thing that, that was unique to
India is, um, monsoon season. And I was talking to some of the, the sourcing
agents there. They said, especially in the Fall, you have to be careful of
monsoon season because it can disrupt the whole road network, the
transportation network and cause a lot more delays.
[00:27:25] I mean, because I believe some
of the factories, they are actually like partially open. I mean like they may
have a roof, but maybe like there’s like walls or no walls. Um, so you really
have to be aware of this and factory in about two weeks, buffer time on top of
your, um, the time and also in October that there’s like 17 days of holidays,
your rally, and then there’s some other ones also you, you know, so I guess
it’s kind of like Chinese new year almost.
[00:27:52] Um, I leave a decent this time
of year, so it’s like a whole new, um, you know, calendar and, you know,
logistics that, that you’re, you’re going to deal with. I mean, it was just not
to say I’m not trying to. To discourage people, but just be aware anytime
you’re going, you’re shifting your production from one country to another.
[00:28:09] Um, just be aware of these,
[00:28:12] Fantastic. Gary, I totally agree with that. I mean, I
think they’ve got more holidays. In India than pretty much any other country
Huang: [00:28:20] got to really watch Japanese. New year is pretty
long. That’s true. You know how many people, how long they are going to take
off and yeah, you’re right.
[00:28:28] Well that’s a very secular society. So there’s, you know,
we’ve got, um, Islamic, we’ve got Hindu, we’ve got seek, we’ve got Christianity.
So they tend to observe. Holidays for just about everybody
Huang: [00:28:38] and everybody gets
[00:28:40] to celebrate with everybody else, which is really fun,
fun to say. Yeah, it kind of makes sense.
[00:28:44] It’s quite a unifying thing. Um,
anyway. Um, have you got any final thoughts on the trip itself? Uh, mega trip.
It was extraordinary. The, uh, you know, the, the trade show as well, and, and
just sourcing from India. Is that something that you’re really excited about
and we’ll be certainly considering or in data that you actually acting on it
Huang: [00:29:05] Definitely. Um, so first off the trip was really
excellent. Um, the India sourcing trip that megla Bhardwaj put together. Um,
you know, I’ve known megla for many years and she has a lot of experience
sourcing from China and also from India. So I think if anyone’s going to put it
together, I think she is the right person to do this.
[00:29:27] Right. And as you know, as we saw
from the trip, um, it was, it was kind of like a crash course in. India
sourcing, doing business and culture wrapped into one, at least for me. Um, I
was going in with like a blank slate. So, I mean, I learned so much in terms of
sourcing. Um, you know. The basics of doing business.
[00:29:47] Also, I made some really good
friendships, you know, yourself included Chris, and thank you. Some of the
other great people on the trip. I really enjoyed it. Um, I think that it is an
investment. Um, you know, it’s, it may not be for everyone, but if you do want
to, you know. Maybe shortcut the process.
[00:30:03] I think it could be, um, a great
way to do it. And you, you can also, you know, get some cultural, um, you know,
experiences as well. So I think, you know, I do recommend it if you, if anyone
that’s interested. Um, I think sourcing from India is very important right now
given the trade war. If you look at the big players, like, um, the Nike’s, the,
you know, the Adidas is the Walmarts.
[00:30:27] You know, they’re already,
they’ve been going out of China since 2014. Um, so naturally, you know, it
makes sense to diversify. Um, for me personally, I am getting some samples
made. I’m sending out some are of cues from some of the suppliers that I’ve
met, and also I’m contacting some of the sourcing agencies in India.
[00:30:45] Um, I was surprised to find some
products that I have not seen in China before. So I think it can be a good way
to differentiate yourself, um, versus just like me. Two products you find in all
the Baba. Um, you know, most of the Indian suppliers that I’ve met different on
Alibaba, so just, you know, getting your, you know, getting your feet wet,
[00:31:05] I think that that could be one
way you can differentiate your products. Um, but it is a lot to learn. I mean,
like, even for someone like me, I mean, I don’t call myself an expert, but I’ve
been doing this many years and I just tried to go in with like a beginner’s
mindset. Um, you know, so I learned a lie and I, I think that is one of the
[00:31:23] Does that work? Hang on, I’m not
going into 20, 20 and gone. And, um, I actually, I prepared something from, for
your, um, your podcast and listeners, Chris, uh, I didn’t tell you about this.
Ah, yeah. So I prepared, uh, India sourcing cheat sheet. So it talks about some
of the best practices that we mentioned, and also some of the, the key
industries that you can find in India.
[00:31:48] Um, and if your viewers are
interested on me, is it okay if I share the URL? That’d
[00:31:55] be awesome. Yeah.
Huang: [00:31:56] Excellent. So, um, you can get it at www. Di. 80
20 sourcing.com/a U seller. So that’s as in Australia. So then, yeah. So yeah,
that’s true. You know, maybe if you want to link it up in the show notes,
[00:32:13] People know. And also they can
also sign up for my free email newsletter if they’re interested, um, to get
more updates about sourcing best practices. So, um, yeah, I just really appreciate
your time, Chris. Thank you so much for, for having me on. I really enjoyed it.
I hope it’s valuable for you and your listeners.
[00:32:30] I’m sure it will be Gary. And it was an absolute joy to,
I think, actually catch up with you again. I think we did stumble across it
each other in 2016 maybe at the global source of summit, but it was wonderful
to, to really, uh, connect seriously connect, uh, in India only a few short
[00:32:45] And yeah, I can’t wait to, uh,
to hang out with you again and hopefully we can do it all again maybe in April
Huang: [00:32:51] So, yeah, I’m
[00:32:52] definitely going so. So, yeah, I’ll be there. Um,
hopefully you will be too, and thanks. Haste.
Huang: [00:32:58] I will be going, I just, I just confirmed it with
megla so I will be there as well.
[00:33:03] Brilliant. Yes. We’ll have
round, right, my friend. Yeah.
[00:33:08] It’s awesome. Excellent. Just dropped out there, the, the
video. But, uh, thanks. Thanks Matt. And that taught you talk to you real soon.
Huang: [00:33:16] Perfect. Thanks so much. Talk
The post TAS 079 : Gary Huang – China Vs. India sourcing appeared first on The Australian Seller.
