If you work in South China, or if you are coming for the trade shows in Guangzhou/Hong Kong, you might be interested in attending conferences. In particular I am thinking of 2 events in Shenzhen city (between Hong Kong and Guangzhou) to … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2016
What to Do after a Quality Problem with a Chinese Factory?
Let's say you found a quality problem before shipment. The goods are still in the factory. You paid a 30% deposit and you have pre-sold a part of the order to important customers. This scenario plays out every day in China. And it is … [Read more...]
Should Free Trade Agreements Guide Your Sourcing Strategy?
Two weeks ago I attended the always interesting Made In Asia conference. Two speakers touched on the upcoming changes due to the TPP and the AGOA trade agreements. A representative of TAL Apparel shared this slide with us and I thought … [Read more...]
A Few Basic Guidelines for Inspections [Photos]
I usually can't show photos of the work we do since we are bound to confidentiality. But I have taken a few photos outside of work that I like. Guideline #1: Inspect Each Point Only Once In this photo, an airline company does its own … [Read more...]
Why Do Most Chinese Dislike Processes?
I have written many times that most Chinese people are not process thinkers. By this I mean they tend not to spend time thinking of HOW to do something: what steps should we follow, what resources do we need, what results should we expect, … [Read more...]
IT Systems for Managing your China Procurement
In this article I am going to introduce a few specialized IT systems that can be quite useful for procurement/sourcing offices. But first let's mention what most organizations of a certain size are currently using. The need for an ERP An … [Read more...]
4 Powerful Tools for China Supplier Verification
It came again to my attention recently that most SMEs buying from China are not aware of methods to collect information about potential suppliers. And, since the suppliers are not verified in any manner, scammers have multiplied and are … [Read more...]
How to Solve Your China Production Problems
As I wrote many times in past articles, it is difficult for most Chinese organizations to improve quality. And yet, simple tools have been widely known for several decades and can help greatly with improvement. Amazingly, most Chinese … [Read more...]