u/orlandom1289

How do you find new suppliers when sourcing a new product/material?

Let’s say you need to source a material or product that you haven’t purchased before. How do you go about finding new suppliers?

Do you:

• Search for the product/material on Google?
• Search for suppliers by country?
• Use Alibaba, Global Sources, Made-in-China, Thomasnet, etc.?
• Use AI tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT?
• Search industry directories or trade associations?
• Use LinkedIn?
• Something else?

For example, what I currently do is pretty simple:

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But I feel there must be better or more efficient ways to discover suppliers, especially when sourcing internationally.

What tools, websites, databases, or methods do you use for supplier discovery?

And if you use AI (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.), how exactly do you use it in the sourcing process?

I’m curious about the actual sourcing process/tools people use to discover new suppliers, especially when looking for manufacturers rather than just distributors or resellers.

Hey i start at a new company and the first day they told mi this.
We need to find a cheaper supply for pvc pipes and fittings.
I sent over 30 emails and message to different suppliers in china, and now im starting to look for other countries like india and turkey.

how you would different you do this?