If you import products from China, have you calculated what poor quality costs you? As the buyer, you probably have to pay for: QC inspections (because you can't trust your suppliers' quality) Unsellable products that you receive … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2015
Developing your own Product and Getting it to Market – (Developing a New Product Series Part 1)
One popular method to follow when developing your new product is to apply a phased step process as developed by Robert G Cooper. The different phases are shown in the diagram below. We are kicking off a series of articles that will … [Read more...]
5 Trends for the Quality Profession when Dealing with Chinese Suppliers
I was invited to contribute an article to the Retail Sourcing Report prepared quarterly by CBX Software. Here is a presentation of that report: CBX Software’s Retail Sourcing Report provides research and analysis aimed at informing … [Read more...]
Chinese Supplier Background Check: How useful is it?
I wrote before about ways to run a background check on a Chinese company. We recently had an interesting experience and it serves as an interesting example for those buyers who are afraid of lies and trickeries so common in this part of the … [Read more...]
Comparing Wages Across Asia to Make Sourcing Decisions
When choosing whether or not to source from a given country, many factors should be considered: the proximity of materials & components suppliers, the network of processing and assembly factories, infrastructure, wage levels, labor … [Read more...]
How to Fire Bad Managers in a Chinese Factory
In our consulting work, clients often ask us about the most frequent reason why improvement projects fail. The response is always the same: "A few managers will resist any form of change and will block any improvement initiative. If the … [Read more...]
Trends in the Furniture Industry: Away from China
Recently I had a good discussion with a buyer of a wide range of furniture (metal products, sofas, wood products...). Ten years ago, they were sourcing 90% of their goods from China. (Maybe the fact that they had an office only in China … [Read more...]
Tempered Glass Protections: the Hot New Product in China
By Fabien Gaussorgues Over the last few months, tempered glass protections for phones and tablets have become very popular. Many Chinese manufacturers are starting to make this product, which is fast replacing regular plastic … [Read more...]