Some importers can afford to conduct business in a friendly way with their Chinese suppliers. I am thinking of buyers who give regular orders to a few stable vendors, who don't work under intense timing pressure, and who enjoy a large … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2009
Corruption of quality inspectors
This week my company had a booth on a China Sourcing Fair. I noticed that some questions/remarks came back regularly. A few days ago I wrote about importers who ask us the contacts of good factories. Another hot topic was how easily a … [Read more...]
Contacts of “good factories”
These days I am exhibiting on a trade show (China Sourcing Fair in Hong Kong). Every time I attend a fair to find new clients, I am amazed by the number of buyers who say “Oh, so you visit factories all over China… You must know some … [Read more...]
Managing urgent shipments in China
For some importers, everything (i.e. development, production, and shipments) is always done under intense timing pressure. Nothing can be done about it--it is imposed by their market. So, how can they ensure quick production in … [Read more...]
Four simple steps for starting to do quality control
Some importers have been buying from China for many years, and yet they have never done quality control in a professional manner. The science behind inspection protocols seems complex--nearly intimidating. Buyers don't know where to start, … [Read more...]
Risks of cancelled orders
I was talking with the boss of a trading company in Suzhou (Jiangsu province) earlier this week. I was actually doing an inspection for one of my clients from Canada. We were talking about the North-American market, and she told me that … [Read more...]
Use experienced service providers, not Chinese connections
Every year, I guess thousands of companies decide to start importing from China. Some of them already exist, and others are founded specifically for this activity. But overall, most of these companies know very little about China. They … [Read more...]
Understanding the Chinese system
I am reading River Town by Peter Hessler. This book is packed with insights about what I call the "Chinese system". The story takes place in a small town of Sichuan province, around 1997. The author worked there as a teacher. He wrote … [Read more...]