Let's say you found a potential supplier, you communicated a bit with them, you vetted their company's legitimacy and reputation, and you want to move forward. Generally, the next step is to ask them a number of questions that will … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2017
Don’t Skip the Pilot Run for Your New Product Made in China!
Chinese factories hate small orders. And, when they do get a large order, they hate having to cut it in several small production batches. There are several reasons for this: Most manufacturers here pay their direct labor by the … [Read more...]
Best Practices for Hiring, Training, and Evaluating QC Inspectors
If your company employs its own quality control staff, you have probably wondered what you should do in order to make them better at catching problems. There are holes in every quality system. But you should try to find the biggest holes … [Read more...]
The Risk Assessment Approach in China Manufacturing
In a previous article (The Horrendous Safety Record of China’s Manufacturing Sector), I noted that safety-related audits were not really effective. A more effective approach is to work with the manufacturers on a risk assessment … [Read more...]
Conferences in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in 2017
I thought many buyers will be South China in April, and they might be interested in 2 trade shows. 1. Cross Border Summit (in Shenzhen) I was speaking there last year, and it was pretty well organized. This year it will cover 2 days … [Read more...]
How to Increase Speed of Developing New Products in China
Developing and manufacturing new products in China, especially if they're customized, is not an easy task. Many new products being launched using crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter have delays – in some cases, they are more than … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 1: Background Checks
So you are looking for a supplier, you see some nice samples on Alibaba / Global Sources, and you would like to do a bit of research on the company before getting too deep into discussions. This is wise. More and more people have … [Read more...]
How Long Does Custom Product Development In China Take?
Let's say you have been developing a new product. The plan, of course, is to bring it to market as soon as possible. Your company's strategy is to ‘produce it in China’. How long will such a custom product development in China actually … [Read more...]