As 2019 draws to a close it's a great time to sit down and look at some of our most popular blog articles and resources from the last year. We also hope that you'll stumble across some great topics that you'd otherwise have missed. … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2019
7 Typical Pitfalls for Hardware Startups Producing in China
A few years ago, I remember reading about the Coolest Cooler, a nice product that raised an amazing amount of money on Kickstarter: over 6,000 people bought it for a total of 13 million USD!! Yet, they went bust leaving a lot of frustrated … [Read more...]
Does ISO 9001 Actually Prevent Process Improvements?
As I wrote before, I believe that a good implementation of ISO 9001 does help a manufacturer quite a bit, while a bad one will only create issues. And the reason is simple. ISO 9001 allows an organization to set any system it wants, as … [Read more...]
Flexible Manufacturing in China: How To Set It Up
It is easier than ever for foreign buyers to have a manufacturer handle high-mix, low-volume orders, with short lead times. In other words, flexible manufacturing. … [Read more...]
Why Pay Close Attention To Your Factory Managers’ Personalities?
A few years ago, I wrote an article on '7 Common Mistakes Revealed by Factory Org Charts'. I described two issues I have seen many times in Chinese factories: Mistake 1: not having a quality department Most small workshops … [Read more...]
New Importer from China? Beware the Credulous Foreigner Syndrome!
After about 40 years of openness, and about 15 years of 'direct trade' without Hong Kong trading companies, one might expect that foreign buyers take more precautions when dealing with Chinese suppliers. And, to be sure, some buyers do … [Read more...]