Chinese suppliers are often quite flexible when they want a new customer's business. But they often refuse small orders, or orders with a low price, if they are afraid they will be "problem orders". One thing that frightens them is the … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2016
KPIs and IT Tools of Purchasing Departments (Expert Q&A)
I had the opportunity to ask a few questions to Alexandre Godvin, who has a particular perspective on the KPIs and IT tools of purchasing departments. Alexandre is the founder and CEO of Winddle, a turnkey, modern, and collaborative … [Read more...]
Good Visual Management Changes How Internal Auditing Gets Done
The concept of visual management is often misunderstood, yet it is quite an important topic. I found a great post by Mark Graban entitled Moving from “Visuals” to “Visual Management” and to Broader Lean Thinking. He points out that … [Read more...]
How to Check 100% of a Small Production Batch Before Shipment
As more and more companies purchase goods in China and sell them under the "Fulfilment By Amazon" model, we get more request for checking 100% of a production batch. And, to a certain extent, it does make sense. As I wrote before, FBA … [Read more...]
10 Tips for Transferring Molds between Plastic Factories
We often see the following scenario playing out: An importer pays a plastic injection supplier to develop a mold and make a batch of products. At one point, the importer is fed up with the supplier for reasons related to attitude, … [Read more...]
Aligning and Calibrating In-Line and Final Inspections
Many companies employ a few inspectors in China and, in parallel, pay third-party quality assurance agencies. It makes a lot of sense but is not always done right. Usually, the roles are divided as follows. The in-house QA … [Read more...]