I often have to explain what the difference between quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) is. The best is for me to write an article about it, and I'll point people to it in the future. Here is a short version: QA = all the … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2011
Challenges with pre-production samples
Many importers pull their hair every time they are working on a new development with a Chinese supplier. This stage can be even more confusing than mass production. Last week, the JLMade blog published some excellent advice for getting … [Read more...]
The crazy stories importers want to believe
A few days ago, I got a nice email from a reader. This was not just a "congratulations, very useful articles" message. It also pointed to some crazy stories that many importers want to believe: Very very well done! I have been importing … [Read more...]
How to hide the supplier’s identity with a Hong Kong company (Q&A)
A couple of weeks ago, I met with Anne Kuschert, who works as supply chain executive at Fiducia Management Consultants. Among others, they help their clients set up companies in China and Hong Kong, and provide trade services for … [Read more...]
Is it wise to outsource all manufacturing to China?
Most economists tend to view the move of (some of) North American and European manufacturing base to China as an illustration of Ricardo's competitive advantage theory. In their view, developed nations are better off focusing on … [Read more...]
Fraud by Chinese suppliers: just a few examples
Sometimes it makes sense to describe best practices -- if such a thing exists. Sometimes it's fun to draw a "top ten" of mistakes. And sometimes it's even more fun to list some examples of fraud. Hopefully, importers can learn something out … [Read more...]
See yourself through your Chinese factory’s eyes
I often have to remind buyers that they are not necessarily seen as a big and profitable customer by their Chinese factories. I drew this graph to illustrate the way suppliers often see their customers: Some customers are "big" or … [Read more...]
How to prepare your QC inspection report template
A few months back, we drew an infographic to show how a random inspection works, but we didn't get into all the specifics. I regularly get questions from readers who ask me how to report the results. There are many ways to prepare a QC … [Read more...]
How to reduce the number of man-days for a QC inspection
In my last article, I described the difficulty of explaining to certain clients that it is impossible to inspect all shipments in 1 man-day only. This time, I am going to give advice to importers who need to reduce the number of … [Read more...]
We cannot inspect everything in one man-day, sorry
Third-party inspection firms calculate their quotations on the basis of the number of man-days. If 1 inspector is needed for 1 day, it amounts to 1 man-day; 2 inspectors for 1 day (or 1 inspector for 2 days) means 2 man-days, etc. For … [Read more...]