Small countries (or autonomous regions) have an unfair advantage over large nations. What do Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai have in common? A lot of freedom in re-issuing bills of lading and in arranging trans-shipments; A strong … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2009
A global ad campaign to promote “Made In China”
It is no secret that Chinese people are very sensitive about their country's image in the rest of the world. The 2008 Olympic Games were supposed to make everybody forget about the 2007 product recalls. They had plans for an ad campaign to … [Read more...]
Should you know something about your Chinese suppliers?
Very few importers make an effort to know the exact financial standing of their Chinese suppliers. China is viewed as a fundamentally opaque country, where "nobody knows who the real boss is anyway". For example, meeting a representative of … [Read more...]
Confirming materials specifications
Yesterday, one of my clients called me to get my opinion on an issue they are facing. He imports garments into the EU, and the composition written on the labeling has to be true within 3 percentage points. For example, he is not in … [Read more...]
Why inspection services are standardized
A supplier complained to my client that our inspections don't help them improve their quality level. A bit of context: for this client we perform inspections during production (as soon as there are a few finished products) on the biggest … [Read more...]
Preventing parallel supply chains
In my last post I wrote about what I call "parallel supply chains" from China to Western countries: stock lots left in factories, and copies of brand name products. My clients usually don't buy stock lots, and they never buy any … [Read more...]
Stock Lots and Brand Name Copies – Secret Export Businesses
Earlier this week, I had opportunities to discover two “non-standard” or "parallel" types of export businesses, right here in South China. I was happy to learn more about them, and I thought it might also be of interest to some … [Read more...]
China production: what sort of hammer do you use?
A post on Seth Godin's blog (Hammer Time) got me thinking about China sourcing. So, if it's true that to a person with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, the really useful question is, "what sort of hammer do you have?" One study … [Read more...]
Chinese makers and complacency
Last week I met with an importer who complained that her long-time suppliers don’t make efforts any more. They assume they are doing a “good enough” job, since they have gotten orders so regularly for so long. The problem is that the … [Read more...]
What is YOUR opinion about these products?
QC inspections often fail. Actually, most of the time there is at least a discrepancy and/or too many defects. When my Chinese inspectors announce that the inspection is failed, the supplier usually focuses on the points that triggered … [Read more...]