Here is a list of the good articles I read recently, and that I think will be interesting to importers.

China Product Quality. Only You Can Prevent Quality Fade.

Steve Dickinson explains why most importers’ assumptions (“my suppliers will get better over time”, “they care about their reputation”…) are wrong in China. And he offers some very welcome lessons.

Expectations: Importing from China

So prices are really low, and potential suppliers look pretty decent… Why all the fuss about buying in China, some would-be importers wonder? Jacob Yount demonstrates it point by point, in his tell-it-like-it-is manner.

Food Safety in China. Where Everything is Suspect.

Richard Brubaker offers an unconventional analysis of the origins of the food safety scandals in China. Let’s stop complaining about poor ethical standards, and let’s look at the actors along the food chain. The system makes tampering easy and catching criminals difficult.

Chinese Manufacturing. Delivery Date? What Delivery Date?

Dan Harris describes the type of requirements he includes in contracts, when it comes to late shipment penalties.

A note of caution: it does help to have a contract, but most of the time these penalties are not applied unless the supplier completely messes up.