Strowger is a Manufacturer Representative company. Because our manufacturers are all based in Asia, we must be the Virtual Branch Office for our suppliers, covering all areas of import, sales, marketing and finance for our manufacturers. Our mission is to take unique customer requirements and find suppliers that can meet the demand. Once we find those suppliers, we establish distribution channels and create product demand.
Here at Strowger we are constantly seeking new products to represent. These days, the most logical place to look for manufacturing of electronics is Mainland China. The Chinese government is actively subsidizing not only the electronics manufacturing industry but also exchange rates. As a result, Chinese electronics cost less than anywhere else in the world. We have years of experiencing in china product sourcing, including a great deal of experience in all the aspects needed to find/design, certify, manufacture and import products. We specialize in taking telecom product requirements and finding a low cost resource to manufacture it. If you have some unusual product requirement, particularly in the telecom space, please call us; we can find it.
DESIGN – Generally, it is best to find a factory that already makes something close to what you are looking for. In the electronics field, the chip makers all produce reference designs. Many factories in China do little more than take the reference design and produce it, perhaps after a minimal “cost down” exercise. Often, you can find somebody in China already making your reference design. If you can find a reference design that you can live with, you can eliminate a lot of the application costs and may be able to get your product made without any R&D costs at all. If you get a little bit lucky, we can find someone already making your product and the whole process is very inexpensive, but best of all, your minimum order quantity (MOQ) will be very low.
FINANCE– Working with Chinese companies creates a major struggle for product finance. USA customers want payment terms (product first / pay later), but the Chinese factories virtually never offer payment terms (pay in advance / get product later). Cash terms does nasty things to cash flow if you have a successful product, basically we could end up borrowing more and more money in a frenetic race to keep up with demand. We must function like a bank, creating finance terms for our customers.
INVENTORY/LOGISTICS – Most products require a dizzying array of government certifications for importing. You must ship a lot of stuff from China to get economical shipping rates. Our warehouse is in the center of the USA, so we get quick delivery all over the USA at very low cost.
QUALITY – In the past China has had a bad reputation for quality. But, the quality of a product will be affected by the same things in China as anywhere else. If you are placing an order that the factory knows will be your only order, if you beat them mercilessly for lower price discounts, if you don't develop a relationship with your supplier, then the quality of the result will be poor. We try to design our orders so that we are placing an order with our factories at least once a month, so no single order is ever a big opportunity for quality abuse. We go visit those factories, so we have a relationship with the people and know what is reasonable to ask for. We have native Chinese speaking employees in China, so we can inspect those factories and minimize the communications problems. All these things make us a partner with our chosen suppliers.
MARKETING & SALES – Customers will not demand your product until you establish a sales team and a marketing program. How do you get a new product introduced? How does a distributor selling 1000 brands give you the attention you need to establish your brand? We focus on a small number of brands giving you individual attention. We create that product demand. Advertising is very expensive in the North American Market. There are so many online marketing scams, so many magazines, so many shows, it is impossible to know what will work. We focus on Search Engine Optimization and inserting our brands in those specific web sites relevant to your product. We attend a small number of shows that have demonstrated that they actually attract real business. Our outside sales team includes outsite sales guys with years of experience in telecom and great contacts. We support this sales team with direct mail /email advertising, extensive web site resources, free telephone tech support. We have the contacts & customers needed to sell products into telecom.
WARRANTY & TECH SUPPORT – Many customers will not buy if they have to return product to Asia for service. How do you provide technical support for North America? If your customer gets your product and doesn't understand how to use it, they are going to want to send it back to you. If you can't answer questions on the phone in USA daytime hours with a USA accent, you dramatically lower customer confidence. Do they have to send it back to China? Tariff and shipping issues make that very expenisve. If you don't have major brand recognition to inspire confidence, customers give up on your product very quickly. Our tech support group will stop about 80% of warranty returns by helping the customer understand how to use the product properly.
Our business model works best for products that have not yet found a mass market. We actively seek unique products and customer requirements. If you have a special need for telecom products, call us with your requirements and let us find a low cost solution to your problems.