Here are some interesting or useful articles that I found recently. Five tips: How to map your supply chain As I wrote recently, buyers should try to have visibility in their supply chain -- beyond their suppliers, into their … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2013
Push your Chinese Factories to Learn about LEAN Manufacturing!
This month, the magazine Chief Executive China did a cover story on lean manufacturing. Their editors sensed an emerging interest from local companies to lean from world-class manufacturers. The leading article of their cover story is … [Read more...]
Chinese suppliers: 6 distinctive traits of forward-thinking LEADERS
In the course of the few Global Sources forums that I attended recently, I was part of discussions between executives representing Chinese exporting companies (manufacturers and traders). One thing that struck me was that it is possible … [Read more...]
How Quality and Price are Tightly LINKED in China
I see new-to-China importers make the same mistake, over and over. They focus on nice samples (which are NOT indicative of mass production's quality) and on the unit price. And they completely forget to ensure that production will be up … [Read more...]
Advice for AMAZON Third Party Sellers who Source in China
On Monday I spent some time with a few Amazon Third Party Sellers. Their main difficulty is that they need a relatively high quality standard, or they will get many bad reviews that will kill their business. And they usually ship … [Read more...]
Identifying & Mitigating Risks when Buying from China
From August 19 to August 30, I will be responding to buyers' questions on this forum on Alibaba's website: Talk With Experts-When Buying Chinese Products, How do You Identify & Mitigate Risks? I expect buyers to post … [Read more...]
Be ULTRA SPECIFIC with your Chinese Suppliers
In a recent trip to Yiwu (not the place where one will find high-quality products!), I noticed several interesting things. When an importer prepares a specifications sheet, I always recommend being ultra-specific ("include what tools to … [Read more...]
Li & Fung, the Next ETHICAL SOURCING Target in the Press?
Here are some interesting or useful articles that I found recently. Linking Factories to the Malls, Middleman Pushes Low Costs Giant sourcing company Li & Fung could well be the next company under the spotlight for (un)ethical … [Read more...]
2 Important Lessons From CHINESE Companies Seeking Higher Quality.
Recently I had interesting conversations with a few buyers, who work in Chinese companies, and who need to buy local products that satisfy a high standard. How do they do? Are personal relationships ("guanxi") key? Absolutely … [Read more...]
4 options for managing shipping and Customs issues with China
When new buyers ask me how to manage shipping and Customs issues, I usually tell them to find a freight forwarder in their country. But there are actually 4 options: 1. Do it all internally, for full control I have only seen big groups … [Read more...]