Have you already received pre-production samples (or, worse, production samples) that were different from the requirements you had communicated? Have you already wondered if the sales rep's "well noted with thanks" means "everyone here … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2013
What should factory operators do when defects are found?
A few months ago, I drew a flow chart for buyers to follow when a problem is detected during an in-process inspection. But the very best would be for factory operators themselves to notice defects and to solve the problem immediately, … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a China scam
I was recently contacted by a reader from Australia, who was scammed by a Chinese supplier. She gave me a lot of details, so I suggested that she writes what happened to her (including any suspicious signs she should have noticed). The … [Read more...]
How to reduce costs in a factory? The lean approach.
The number one challenge of Chinese suppliers is price, as revealed by a recent survey. Their costs keep rising, but price competition is stronger and stronger. Factory owners spend a lot of time trying to reduce costs. Unfortunately, … [Read more...]
Quality control: be more transparent and think long term
This is the third part of the presentation I gave a group of Chinese suppliers, in a Global Sources forum. Links to the previous parts are here: the initial sourcing phase, 6 ways suppliers can cheat buyers. I emphasized the need for … [Read more...]
What will drive the reshoring movement from China to the US & Europe
Recently there has been a lot of talk about a "reshoring" movement from China to North America. The BCG announced last year that more than a third of large American manufacturers (more than $1 billion in sales) are considering reshoring … [Read more...]
5 good articles about buying from, and selling into, China
As usual, I kept a list of interesting articles to share with my readers. Here are the last five I found. 7 steps to make China industrial sourcing successful Etienne Charlier gives us the main steps he follows, for effective sourcing … [Read more...]
6 ways Chinese suppliers can cheat importers
This is the second part of the presentation I gave a group of Chinese suppliers. The first part, about the initial sourcing phase, is here. I made a list of the most common ways foreign buyers are cheated in China. My message was, … [Read more...]
When to ship LCL rather than FCL? Advice for importers.
Some importers try to optimize their freight costs. They always make sure they will fill a container up. Most buyers, however, simply buy what they need. They don't want to carry extra inventory that might not get sold. If they have, … [Read more...]
When importers forget to specify product details
I got a great comment from fellow blogger Jacob Yount on a previous article. I thought it was worthy of being republished here. Here is Jacob's piece of advice to Chinese suppliers: I'd advise suppliers "not to fill in the blanks". This … [Read more...]