Last week I was invited to speak at the Sourcing Shift conference in Hong Kong. And the first two speakers described a very interesting case study: how the Kingfisher group (owner of retail chains such as B&Q, Castorama...) is … [Read more...]
How China Is Losing Competitiveness… On Paper
Three years ago, in Comparing Wages Across Asia to Make Sourcing Decisions, I showcased 2 analyses large companies tend to do before they decide on their sourcing strategy. These data are key measures of the competitiveness of producing … [Read more...]
Helping a Chinese Factory Improve While Still Holding Them Accountable
You might discover that helping a Chinese factory improve makes sense if you have quality requirements that are challenging to one of the factories you work with, or if you are working with them to develop a complex new … [Read more...]
Avoiding 9 Plastic Injection Molding Defects: Key Preventive Measures
Plastic injection molding is one of the most common production processes here in China. And most Chinese manufacturers are not very good at setting up and maintaining their presses and their molds and this leads to plastic injection molding … [Read more...]
Fabric Suppliers & Dyeing Houses in China: a Source of Headaches!
Many fabric mills have closed, as part of Beijing's anti-pollution inspections: Some of them were operating a dying and/or printing process without a license Some had a license but were found noncompliant with the current … [Read more...]
How To Start Working with an Inspection Company Without Ticking Suppliers Off
Many buyers are fed up with quality issues that went unnoticed and ended up being shipped out, and they know something needs to change. One obvious way to contain issues is to check quality before shipment. At same time, they are afraid … [Read more...]
Factory Audits and Product Inspections: Similarities and Differences
I wrote 2 articles about the similarities and differences between product inspections and factory audits on the SynControl blog. I thought it would be interesting to mention this here, too. Here are the main points I mentioned. Main … [Read more...]
Quality Auditor vs Consultant For Suggesting Factory Improvements
How to choose between quality auditor vs consultant for quality improvements in your or your supplier's facility? Many people think auditors go on site, look at the situation, and suggest improvements. However, it is not that simple. … [Read more...]
How To See if a Chinese Manufacturer Is Capable of Improving in the Future?
Last week I wrote about the best way to have a Chinese supplier take responsibility. However, the most important question, I feel, is how to work with manufacturers that will keep improving over time. And it all starts from supplier … [Read more...]
5 Ways To Have a Chinese Manufacturer Take Responsibility for Quality Issues
Many importers lament that Chinese suppliers don't take any responsibility when quality issues are found after shipment. Ten years ago, I would have confirmed that it happens less than 0.1% of the time. These days, it seems to become more … [Read more...]
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