I guess most of my readers work in a service business (importing company, trading company...). Did you know that service activities tend to be more inefficient than manufacturing activities, for the simple reasons that (1) one doesn't … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2012
Buying through a trading company or an agent in China
I mentioned in several articles that trading companies are sometimes the best choice for small importers. And two people asked me to confirm/explain it recently. I think it depends on several factors, such as: Do you have time to … [Read more...]
Inspection of electronic cigarettes in China
Sometimes an importer asks me what the "hot products" are at the moment. Well, one really obvious response is electronic cigarettes. New factories making e-cigarettes pop up every month in Shenzhen. Several people already asked me how … [Read more...]
Procedure if a problem is detected during an in-process inspection
Two years ago, I drew a flow chart to guide importers in case a final QC inspection was failed. But the best is to detect problems during an in-process inspection (before the products are finished). At this stage, if an issue is … [Read more...]
Laboratory testing of products from China: Q&A with an expert
I was fortunate enough to exchange a few emails with Dr. Stefan Droste, Managing Director of Hohenstein Laboratories (HK) Limited. His laboratory is part of the Hohenstein Institute, which employs about 500 employees in Germany and in … [Read more...]
Are quality control agencies inflexible?
Some importers don't work with third-party inspection companies because they can't find a way to cooperate. They think these agencies are not flexible enough. But I want to explain why some requests need to be turned down. Here is a … [Read more...]
How to arrange reference samples for QC inspections?
If you pay for quality inspections on your products before they are shipped, you should try to make sure the inspectors have a reference sample in hand. It is one of these things that seem obvious, but that don't get done in many cases … [Read more...]