Dealing with eyeglass manufacturers! How to cooperate to work better?
I have been in work with many eyeglass manufacturers since 2001. We learned and communicated with each other, and made a lot of useful experience in working with glasses manufacturers.
As an eyeglass manufacturer, I always remember what the teacher said: win-win! Regardless of customers or manufacturers, we should always keep the idea of “win-win” in mind.
But with the progress of the times, young people like fast fashion and make quick money, business rules have been slowly changing, slowly, people of this era have gradually disliked rules, or say they only like the rules they set themselves, everything is about money.
As Marx said: When the profit reaches 10%, they will be restless; When the profit reaches 50%, they will take risks; When the profit reaches 100%, they dare to trample all laws; When the profit reaches 300%, they dare risk the gallows.
Summarizing the experiences of many years of working with eyeglass manufacturers, we always believe: mutual respect and professional communication are the requirements needed for high-quality long-term cooperation with sunglasses manufacturers.
The blog focuses on defining how to work better with eyeglass manufacturers, with 11 key details as follows:
1. Understand intellectual property protection before working with eyeglass manufacturers
You have to take measures to explain to eyeglass manufacturers the need for strict protection of intellectual property. This includes patents or trademarks. For more information on trademarks, you can read An Introduction to the Chinese Trademark Process. In general, you would want protection for all aspects contained in your eyeglass specifications:
• All sunglasses design drawings
• All logos and brand names (English and Chinese)
• Packaging designs etc.
You should have a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and/or non-compete agreement in place to protect your all information before sharing it with glasses manufacturers. Additionally, registering any applicable patents and trademarks will provide formal legal protection for your intellectual property.
Focusing on intellectual property protection will help build trust with eyeglass manufacturers and lay the basis for a long-term partnership.
2. A thorough study of eyeglasses manufacturers
When picking an eyewear manufacturer, working thorough study and analysis is important. The background and staff of likely factories need to be fully checked. A benign operating environment and professional communication about eyeglasses should be ensured. At the same time, Samples should be tested from different factors.
The eyewear manufacturer’s production process should be understood to decide if it uses lean processes and avant equipment. This lays a solid basis for product manufacturing. Reading relevant blogs is also advisable.
Learn More: how to find a sunglasses manufacturer
3. Clearly convey your expectations to the eyewear manufacturer
When working with an eyewear manufacturer, it is most important to explicitly communicate your requirements and expectations.
This includes clearly conveying all details regarding product quality, delivery time, and communication methods. Doing so ensures mutual understanding is achieved between both parties.
(1). During the designing of sunglasses, complete details should be provided to ensure the technical drawings and parts, structure, process, and material are clear. Special instructions should be given for some key processes.
(2). Quality standards of the product such as appearance, size tolerance, and intrinsic quality parameters should be defined.
(3). Delivery timeline should be broken down in great detail, with clear timelines for each step from design, sampling, and approved samples to mass production.
(4). The daily communication methods and response time between both parties should also be defined. The cooperation of the eyeglass manufacturer directly affects the subsequent product quality and schedule. Therefore, agreement on the above needs must be reached with the factory before selecting the eyeglass manufacturer. This can avoid many future troubles.
4. Provide especially detailed specifications to eyewear manufacturers
When communicating with eyeglass manufacturers, you must provide the most complete product specifications possible. This ensures factories can understand your requirements very clearly. It includes all dimensions marked in design drawings, material types, quality standards, and packaging sheets.
Providing samples is also very important if possible. This allows factories to intuitively understand the product. The more abundant and precise information you provide, the more it ensures factories produce eyeglasses according to your ideas and reduce quality deviations.
5. Carefully check the glasses quality of eyeglass manufacturers
Defects are a part of any business involving tangible products. The issue is not “whether” there will be defective glasses frames, but “how many” defective products there are.
To minimize defective glasses frames, eyeglass manufacturers must monitor quality before, during, and after production. Ensure eyeglass manufacturers have a solid quality management system and pay fine attention to quality control.
5.1 Pick the sample quality of the sunglass factory
First, when confirming samples, you must carefully check the quality of the eyeglass samples. Test if the sample meets the standards, and timely and totally provide feedback to the eyeglass manufacturer if improvements are needed.
After approving the sample, you can request confirmation of the samples again before mass production, such as confirmation of the parts, semi-finished glasses frames, and coloring effects. Carefully check them, and provide feedback.
5.2 Approve the eyewear frame manufacturer’s pre-production samples
During mass production, require the eyeglass manufacturer to provide check reports, such as for semi-finished glasses frame and electroplating step.
5.3 Request the eyeglasses manufacturers to support process quality control
The eyeglass manufacturer to show quality records and defective product handling systems, so the factory knows issues will receive attention and follow-ups.
In addition, require the factory to provide outgoing inspection reports, and establish quality confirmation mechanisms, to ensure the products are fully up to standard.
6. Clearly define the payment terms for the eyeglass manufacturer
You should discuss and agree on the payment terms with the factory in advance, and form a written contract for clarity. Typically you can require a 30% down payment to start the project, pay 60% of the production amount after quality approval, and 10% balance after delivery.
Payment terms should be flexible but acceptable to both parties. Based on this, discounts can be further discussed. Clearly defining payment terms can avoid funding disputes in the future.
7. Plan a realistic delivery schedule with the eyewear manufacturer
When agreeing on a delivery schedule with the eyeglass frame manufacturer, fully consider the time required for process workflows and material supply time. The sunglass factory will also offer time needs based on their order status. After communication, a real and viable schedule should be run.
If there are delays during making glasses, timely follow-up, review progress, and communication should be carried out, instead of forcing rushed timelines resulting in quality issues. We should know that good time management allows eyeglass production to proceed as planned.
However, this is on the premise of high mutual trust. The eyeglass manufacturer must not intentionally find excuses to delay delivery time.
8. Work with eyeglass manufacturers with professional ethics
Choosing an eyeglass manufacturer with good professional ethics as a long-term partner is critical. This ensures the eyeglass manufacturers have the potential for growth and is worth working with.
Pay attention to whether the factory values quality and customer happiness over short-term profits. Working with a team with professionalism is the best promise for smooth operations.
Also, treat your partner professionally and with integrity. Long-term partnerships built on mutual respect facilitate common growth and mutual benefits.
Do not just maximize profits from eyewear manufacturers. Consider building strategically mutually helpful partnerships.
9. Work with the creation eyewear manufacturer
Professional manufacturers can better drive our work, especially if the eyeglass manufacturer has strong R&D and creation capabilities. We can design new styles and study materials and processes with the design engineering team. This allows glasses quality and styles to stay ahead in the market.
We can also be placing a whole production line with the manufacturer for customization. We can achieve greater competitive advantages.
10. Grow together with small eyeglass manufacturers
Initially, there will be a contradiction – large factories have some capabilities but cannot fully serve small brands. Working with them may feel passive to you. Often, we cannot get quick and proper replies, causing anxiety and bad service.
But you also worry whether small factories’ equipment, technology, and quality meet expectations. This is when you can test the factory’s capabilities.
In fact, you can consider working with small eyeglass manufacturers and grow together. Small manufacturers are more flexible in meeting small-order production needs. As order quantities increase, they can slowly grow production capacity.
In the process, slowly guide the manufactory to adjust production workflows and management models for standardized, large-scale production.
Relationships with small eyeglass manufacturers can also be closer and more pleasant. When small factories grow into large ones, they will be better to offer quality service for you. Therefore, working with small factories is a win-win long-term strategic choice for both parties.
11. Act “win-win” with eyeglass manufacturers
Working with eyeglass manufacturers should stick to the “win-win”. While ensuring product quality and delivery times, fair profit should also be given to factories, rather than driving down prices affecting quality.
Pricing can be dealt with by eyeglass manufacturers based on product pricing, order quantities, long-term relationships, etc. On the other hand, when selecting and managing factories, we should not be short-sighted.
We need to focus on the long term and seek to build trust with eyeglass manufacturers. Only when both parties are treated fairly can long-term, stable cooperation be carried out.
In summary, Working with eyeglass manufacturers needs thorough thinking and optimization across various aspects – selection standards, product definition, quality control, communication methods, time management, payment terms, long-term relationships, etc.
Only by doing so can we truly set strategic partnerships with eyeglass manufacturers, and ensure the best product quality and mutual benefits.
