We have refreshed the design on https://qualityinspection.org. I hope you find it easier to "consume" the articles. There is now more white space and overall it feels less crowded. The design is also totally "responsive", meaning that … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2014
The Changing Demographics inside Chinese Factories
Here are some interesting or useful articles that I found recently. China's Young Men Act Out in Factories This BusinessWeek relates how different the new generation of Chinese workers is from the previous one. It also focuses on the … [Read more...]
An Update on the “China Plus One” Sourcing Strategy for SMEs
Most importers are worried of "putting all their eggs in one basket" (i.e. buying solely from China), and try to have sources in other countries too. That's the "China plus one" strategy. Conventional wisdom would suggest that, as costs … [Read more...]
The Inevitable Trend toward Openness in China Supply Chains
I wrote before about the reasons why China supply chains are usually hidden, and about the trend for more transparency. It is becoming increasingly clear that large consumer-facing companies are under pressure to "open the kimono" and are … [Read more...]
Auditing the Processes of a Rubber Molding Factory in China
Today we are focusing on the way to audit a rubber molding process. It is quite common in tire factories, but also in many other productions. What are the Rubber Molding Processes? Processing rubber to produce final products for end use … [Read more...]
Are Technical Auditors Necessary for ISO 9001 Audits?
Many people think the ISO 9001 standard is pretty generic is applicable to all industries (that's mostly correct), so a good auditor can check any type of business when performing ISO 9001 audits (I don't agree with that). And the ISO … [Read more...]
Overview of the Pakistan Production Sector
Our assistant Maria continues with the series of low-cost Asian countries. Today she has studied Pakistan. After years of war and social turmoil, strong economic development may not be the first thing that comes to mind at the … [Read more...]
Overview of the Bangladesh Production Sector
This week, our assistant Maria has analyzed the production sector of Bangladesh: its strengths, labor costs, major trends, and infrastructure. One of the world's busiest clothing export hubs, Bangladesh sits next to China as Asia's … [Read more...]
Is it Normal for Buying Agents to be Paid by Chinese Factories?
A few years ago, in Hidden commissions between China factories and sourcing agents, I wrote about a very common practice that unfolds this way: An agent (usually an individual, but sometimes a company) helps an importer find a factory … [Read more...]
Overview of the Indian Production Sector
Our assistant Maria keeps working on the series of articles on low-wage countries in Asia. This time it's about India. While India’s service sector has experienced very strong growth led by the business process outsourcing (BPO) … [Read more...]