Here is a list of interesting articles I found recently. I hope you enjoy them!
Get a China price quotation: How hard could that be?
Etienne Charlier wrote an excellent refresher on some purchasing basics.
- If the volumes you purchase are not huge, how to “sell your project” to potential suppliers?
- How to avoid misunderstandings about what the price should include?
- How to understand when there is space for negotiation?
Cadmium in Jewelry, Chinese Factories and developing a “Reasonable Testing Plan”
As Andrew Reich writes, “the sheer cost of testing every single batch of product a retailer or importer brings into the US is prohibitive”.
Andrew proposes a middle way between testing everything (to eliminate risks) and doing nothing (to save money). I like the concept of a “reasonable test plan”. This is definitely something importers should think about.
How To Protect Your IP From China
This is the content of a speech by Dan Harris, in 5 separate articles. As usual, it is clear and easy to read.
If you have an interest in IP protection in China, take 10 minutes and read at least parts 1 and 2.
Are China manufacturing cost increases killing sourcing business?
Etienne Charlier notes that costs are rising in China, but its export volumes are not falling down (the trend is still up).
I think most importers already know that “China is in transition from the ‘cheap’ shirt, shoes and toys producer of the world into it ‘good value’ machines, electronics and solar panels producer.”
But Etienne actually identifies in which product categories China will still have an advantage in 5-10 years, and tells us why. Interesting.
China Sourcing Trends: The Big Picture 2010-2013
Mike Bellamy gives us his own analysis of the trends. Here are my conclusions:
- Bad news: prices will keep rising, and production will relocate slowly to inland provinces.
- Good news for buyers: there is a lot of room for process improvement (to push prices down a bit and improve quality as well as turnaround times).
- Good news for those who provide services to buyers: rising costs and the bad economy are pushing a lot of companies to start sourcing direct, rather than buying from intermediaries. This reshuffling will not stop anytime soon.
How To Form A China Company (WFOE or JV). Hong Kong Entities. They’re Baaaaack.
Steve Dickinson writes about the pros and cons of opening a company in Hong Kong and then opening a WFOE (Wholy Foreign Owned Enterprise) in China whose shareholder is the Hong Kong company.
In his words: “forming a WFOE that is owned through a Hong Kong company is — more often than not – generally easier these days than just forming a WFOE that is owned direct from a country like the United States.”
OECD’s global portal on product recalls
I just discovered this new resource. If you want to see what products were recalled in your industry and in your country, do a simple search and you get all the info! That’s great.
———-