This is something I've been thinking about for a while and your comment has motivated me to follow through. I'm not based in Shenzhen but like you I'm very interested in talking to and potentially working with people who are.

If anyone else is interested in participating in such a forum please email admin@shenzhenconsulting.com and I'll keep you updated.

There is a lot of demand for this. Unfortunately people are often very unrealistic about doing business in China. Being the contact point, translator or consultant means taking the blame for the usual problems. When translation does not get good results the translators are blamed because no one else can understand or really cares if the client is unhappy so they become a “whipping boy". Often very publicly.

If I were not a local I would use a contract manufacturer. Westerners often think it’s a communication issue when it’s an relationship issue. Who you know and have relationships with. If you have established relationships with the people not willing to lose your future business by delivering poor quality then you are a contract manufacturer. You are not going to put anyone else in contact with those people since that is your IP and poor behavior from them would reflect on you and hurt your future business.

But people want to save some money and try to do each little thing themselves. When that does not work there is always finger pointing. And I’ve never seen anyone blame themselves. It’s always the factory, the local Chinese, the translator/assistant etc.

I thought about it, yes, but as SexyCyborg mentions somewhere else, there are a lot of unrealistic expectations to what can be done in China for little money. I saw this all too often also and the people trying to get into this consulting business always end up burnt and living very unhappy lives caught between their angry client and a factory, who thinks they delivered already and then some. You usually get what you pay for and that applies to China too.

I wouldn't mind participating in a forum though.

I am not based in Shenzhen but have been mostly based in China for 15 years. Some general comments only. Usually cable is purchased in bulk here. Electronics markets in any city will custom-rig cables in your selection of quality (usually across multiple manufacturers), color and length for peanuts. Pre-fab cables from a factory always cost significantly more if you order them individually wrapped, though they can be better quality (though my experience here is mostly ethernet but I had custom-run fiber to premises in a second-tier city as early as 9 years ago / 2007). Fiber is everywhere today in China, the equipment for splicing is widespread and cheap. Patch panels and other primarily metal components are cheap, though you want to check quality before buying in bulk, then find a factory and order direct and in quantity emphasizing future volume expectations. Of course, if you are here you can check quality immediately, if you want to do it remotely you are looking at shipping delays x2. If you just want a quick price delta, go to taobao.com, translate your part name, then get dealer/distributor pricing for consumer or business small-scale China domestic purchasing, usually inc. shipping.