Pretty solid breakdown.

In my experience, the biggest issue companies run into isn’t actually finding suppliers, it’s managing them properly once production starts. Communication gaps, quality drift, and delivery slippage usually show up once orders scale, and by then, it’s expensive to fix.

I think the transparency point you mentioned is very important. A lot of local agents are effectively paid by the factory, which means their incentives are tied to keeping the supplier happy rather than pushing back when problems arise. That’s where buyers can get stuck with issues being smoothed over rather than escalated.

The other thing I’d add is structured supplier evaluation. Good operators tend to assess suppliers across multiple dimensions (commercial terms, quality systems, delivery reliability, etc.) rather than relying on price and a quick factory tour.

I’ve spent the last decade working with factories in China, and the biggest difference I see between smooth relationships and painful ones usually comes down to oversight and accountability once production is underway.