Have your margins been beaten up by the strong appreciation of the RMB? There is hope in the short and medium term. For a bit of perspective, here is the RMB/USD exchange rate over the past two years: This past week I attended the ”Made … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
How to hide your supplier name from Import Genius, Panjiva…
As I wrote before, most importers don't want to disclose the names of their Chinese suppliers. But, in the US, the names of shipper and importers (as shown on the bill of lading) is public information. And it is available through more … [Read more...]
Disorganization between importers and suppliers compounds
When defining a sourcing strategy, most importers forget to do a bit of introspection. If their purchasing and quality services are poorly organized, their sourcing options are severely limited. The most simple situation would be to find … [Read more...]
Productivity gains in Chinese factories, a critical element to watch
Here are a few interesting articles that I found recently. Plenty of Productivity in Store for China, Economist Says Journalists are good at reporting the obvious: less and less Chinese workers are going to work in factories. And … [Read more...]
Should you inspect during production or before shipment?
Inexperienced importers usually ask the same questions, one of which is: when should we inspect the quality of our products? There are mainly two types of inspections: Inspection during production: very useful to catch problems early, … [Read more...]
How Chinese suppliers will understand your requirements
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...]
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...]
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