We provide more and more training sessions for inspectors of factories and trading companies. I don't know anybody else who provides this service in China, but I think it responds to an enormous need. The training can be about the … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2012
The Chinese approach to quality assurance
I spent part of last week with one of my clients' quality assurance manager. I recognized certain patterns that are widespread in factories and buying offices here, and that are very detrimental to quality. Here are the two bad habits … [Read more...]
Avoiding scammers in China
I recently wrote Scams by Chinese suppliers: what to do? because many first-time importers are afraid of falling victim to a scam -- paying money upfront to a supplier that deliberately won't ship the right products, if they ship at … [Read more...]
You need to understand production issues in China
I heard many Chinese suppliers say "the buyer doesn't know how production works". And, most of the time, they were right. As Jacob Yount wrote in his latest blog post, A Factory’s Point of View, many importers are cloudy on specs and … [Read more...]
Inspecting less samples
I regularly receive emails from readers who feel that the AQL tables push them to inspect too many samples. First, a warning: if you need to be 95% confident in an inspection's findings, it is surprising how many samples you should … [Read more...]
Where to open a buying office in Guangdong?
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the upcoming "end of China manufacturing". It is true that prices are going up, and an increasing number of importers will have to source from other Asian countries. What commenters forget to … [Read more...]
How to sell your project to Chinese manufacturers
Many importers are shocked because they need to convince Chinese manufacturers to work for them, rather than the opposite. They need to "sell" their project. The reason is usually a combination of low quantity orders and high-complexity … [Read more...]
The 3 types of sourcing companies in China
When an importer wants to source a new product in China, he basically has 4 options, 3 of which involve the use of a sourcing company: Of course, you can find a supplier on a trade show or in an online directory (e.g. Global … [Read more...]
Are low-tech factories closing in china?
A few months ago, Steve Dickinson wrote about what would happen to low-tech factories along the coast of China in Factory Closings In South China. All Part Of The Plan: Low value added/high labor content manufacturers from Wenzhou in … [Read more...]