The 'China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance' just decided that 6 types of fish can now be classified as "salmon" when sold within China. Amazing but true. According to the BBC, here is the background: New rules introduced in China mean rainbow trout can now be labelled and sold domestically as salmon. Why? Because a media report earlier this year caused a splash by revealing that rainbow trout had for years been labelled as the similar-looking fish. Authorities … [Read more...]
No Process Improvement Action Plan in Chinese Factories? Why?
In good factories, the leaders look at the future and wonder how to make their company stronger. They usually have an action plan that will support process improvement. That's how they will improve their quality, cut lead times, and contain costs. When I go to Chinese factories, managers very seldom tell me "here is our action plan". They seem to respond to every day's urgencies: A supplier is late in delivering some materials, and the customer will ask us to send the goods by air? Let's … [Read more...]
Evaluating a Battery Manufacturer in China for Consistent Quality
Over the past 3 months, we have heard of more problems with batteries than with any other electrical component. Our team in Shenzhen has been busy evaluating battery manufacturers, recently. And the average level of those manufacturers is much lower than I expected. A bad battery means the entire product doesn’t function (and, worse, it might explode or catch fire). And yet, few buyers have focused their efforts on working with a good supplier. What to evaluate? A battery manufacturer … [Read more...]
Counterfeit Goods in China: Are Things Getting Better?
I was walking on the street in the Huaqiangbei area in Shenzhen and saw two guys pushing carts full of these boxes: Used boxes that were originally full of expensive French champagne. Probably collected in a restaurant or a shop that sells bottles by the unit. What do they contain now? I'd guess the bottles were also collected, re-filled, and carefully re-sealed. I don't want to make too many wild guesses here. Maybe they just re-use these boxes because they are nice looking (?). … [Read more...]
The 3 Best Ways for Importers To Pay Chinese Suppliers
A client asked me what the best ways of paying Chinese suppliers were. Let's go through the 3 most common options you have. It is 98% likely that one of these options is the best for you. 1. T/T payment T/T stands for Telegraphic Transfer, which means bank transfer. Here is the way most importers work (let's assume there is no expensive non-recurring engineering costs): Purchase under the 'FOB' incoterm, so that you are in charge of international freight. The supplier can't ship the … [Read more...]
Selecting a Contract Manufacturer (CM) for Your Electronic Product in China
In China, there are a few entirely different breeds of manufacturers you can work with. One of them in the contract manufacturer (CM). Working with a CM makes sense when you purchase relatively high volumes (e.g. more than 10,000 pieces a year for electronic products). You will get the best results in cost and quality with a CM. In OEM, ODM, Contract Manufacturers: Choose your China Supplier Wisely, we listed the pros and cons of working with a contract manufacturer: Pros: The buyer … [Read more...]
Investing in an Injection Mold: What Is Best Practice in China?
Many importers are puzzled. They ask quotations for a plastic part, and Chinese suppliers quote wildly different amounts for the injection mold. One reason, obviously, is the nature of the mold: Is it in hard metal (e.g. H13 steel), ready to make hundreds of thousands of pieces? Or in soft metal (e.g. aluminium), for making a few prototypes only? Is it a single cavity mold (requiring more machine time and more labor)? Or multi cavity (more expensive, but more efficient for large … [Read more...]
Is Factory Consolidation Accelerating in China?
I had an interesting discussion last week about one of the mega-trends I see happening in the Chinese Manufacturing sector -- the consolidation of the manufacturing sector, from many players of all sizes to a few large players. Several factors, most of which act in an inter-related manner, are driving this trend. Let's look at the major factors. 1. Competitive forces Competition drives inefficient players out of the market. With Alibaba.com, 1688.com, and other directories, sending an RFQ … [Read more...]
New Version of ISO 19011 Is Available – Guidelines for Auditing
When an ISO standard is a set of "requirements", like ISO 9001, it is often seen as a constraint. It is like a law. It is not fun. When it is a set of "guidelines", though, it is only positive. The standard is full of advice on how to do something well! An example is ISO 9004 -- which gives advice on how to be ISO 9001 compliant and how to go further. If your company has auditors who work on management systems, you might want to look at the new version of ISO 19011. It covers the following … [Read more...]
What Are the Steps and the Objectives of Making Prototypes in China?
By Fabien Gaussorgues Are you going to manufacture a mechanical and/or electrical product in China? This article will help you plan for the steps for follow. You might need a concept of the product, to show investors and to launch a Kickstarter campaign. You might need a prototype that is close to the final version of the product, in order to run testing (including usability testing) and validate the design before going into production. The usual process goes as follows. (The steps … [Read more...]
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