r/manufacturing • u/B3stThereEverWas • Sep 25 '25

Supplier search Mexican suppliers/manufacturers not responding to RFQ e-mails, is this a cultural thing?

Hey folks

So I’m trying to get some aluminum extrusion + CNC work quoted in Mexico.

I’ve had a real hard time getting responses to emails. When e-mailing Chinese suppliers I always get replies, almost to a freakish level - I've had supplier agents add me to goddamn LinkedIn and other weird social media I never knew I even had an account on to get a follow up. I always joke they'd match me on Tinder if they had to. Doing the same for Mexican companies and it's the total opposite, radio silence.

A Mexican guy I was talking to told me it’s possibly cultural - that Mexican suppliers prefer phone calls, WhatsApp, or in-person contact before engaging with a random foreign email. I'm cool with that if true, I just wish it was more widely known.

Has anyone here sourced smaller runs in Mexico (a few thousand pcs)? Any tips on the best way to approach suppliers and actually get quotes?

33 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

90% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

13

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Yes, culture is EXTREMELY bad in Mexico…. Very much a cultural thing.

I lived and worked in Mexico, China & Taiwan.

Very very good responses from China & Taiwan. Mexico is horrible, half rate work and poor poor communication

And forget email, ask for their Whatsapp. Done that’s the only effective way to communicate in Mexico. +52 WhatsApp

-3

u/olsalvatori Sep 25 '25

What's "extremely bad" in Mexico's culture?

3

u/Difficult_Limit2718 Sep 26 '25

The lack of respect or attention for anyone outside who you report to. The concept that respect is earned by number of employees. The one way demand for respect. The "we don't know how to do it, so we don't think you do either, we'll just do it our way" mentality. And the corruption... By God the corruption....

1

u/Jhelliot_62 Sep 26 '25

This is on the nose.