QC inspections often fail. Actually, most of the time there is at least a discrepancy and/or too many defects. When my Chinese inspectors announce that the inspection is failed, the supplier usually focuses on the points that triggered the failure. But when I am the inspector, or the lead inspector, some clever suppliers ask me this question: Okay, if you follow the procedure it is failed. But what is YOUR opinion about the products? Do you think they can be sold? You know the export market, … [Read more...]
When suppliers contact each other
Most Chinese suppliers are fighting to get a share of the export business. Their margins are often quite slim because of intense pressure on prices. However, the situation is not always as simple as one may imagine. The exporters of a given product often know each other... and the names of each other's customers. How is customer information spread around? Sometimes buyers put their suppliers in contact, for example to reduce forwarder fees when consolidating shipments. But this source of … [Read more...]
How to deal with laboratory tests?
I received a message from a potential client who is starting to import garments into the US. I broke it up in different parts, and I inserted my responses below. It might be helpful to other importers wondering how to comply with their country’s regulations. I have run into manufacturers who ask me if I have a quality manual for testing and are negotiating who is responsible for the testing of the swimwear (manufacturer or my company). There are 2 ways to deal with this: -1- The safe … [Read more...]
Internal quality control in Chinese factories
Many Chinese suppliers tell 'white lies' to their customers. They think it is the safest and easiest option. They also think foreign buyers don't suspect it, simply because they are far away and "they don't know how production works". I want to write about something else here. In some cases the supplier says something that is true, but the buyer ends up making the wrong conclusion because of erroneous assumptions. Here is an example that happens frequently. The manufacturer says "we do 100% … [Read more...]
Traveling to factories in China
I spend about half of my time traveling, most of the time to industrial areas in China. These days I am a city I had never heard of, in Guangxi province. There was no airport close to my destination point, so I came with a night bus and I am staying in a local hotel (it is quite okay, for rmb100/night). While most foreign business travelers don't make such choices for their transportation in China, many of them wonder how to save a few hundred dollars every time they come. So I thought I … [Read more...]
Using penalties effectively
Some importers can afford to conduct business in a friendly way with their Chinese suppliers. I am thinking of buyers who give regular orders to a few stable vendors, who don't work under intense timing pressure, and who enjoy a large degree of flexibility (for example, they keep a safety stock in their warehouse). But this is not the case of most importers, who absolutely have to find ways to minimize delays and non-conformities. They need to create a system of incentives that aligns the … [Read more...]
Corruption of quality inspectors
This week my company had a booth on a China Sourcing Fair. I noticed that some questions/remarks came back regularly. A few days ago I wrote about importers who ask us the contacts of good factories. Another hot topic was how easily a supplier bribes an inspector. I had in-depth conversations with maybe 15 prospects, and more than half evoked this issue. Here are just two examples: A Mexican importer told me how, two years ago, one of the largest QC firms produced a report that suggested … [Read more...]
Contacts of “good factories”
These days I am exhibiting on a trade show (China Sourcing Fair in Hong Kong). Every time I attend a fair to find new clients, I am amazed by the number of buyers who say “Oh, so you visit factories all over China… You must know some good factories… Can you give me a list?” I can understand them. They see salespeople (who can say whatever they want) and samples (which might come from many different factories). There is no way of making sure what production will look like, whether there … [Read more...]
Managing urgent shipments in China
For some importers, everything (i.e. development, production, and shipments) is always done under intense timing pressure. Nothing can be done about it--it is imposed by their market. So, how can they ensure quick production in China? How to speed up production Some buyers have gone a long way to make their supply chain more responsive. Here are a few examples: Buying raw materials in advance and storing them Organizing the whole production in the same general area, to reduce … [Read more...]
Four simple steps for starting to do quality control
Some importers have been buying from China for many years, and yet they have never done quality control in a professional manner. The science behind inspection protocols seems complex--nearly intimidating. Buyers don't know where to start, and they don't know how their suppliers will react. On the other hand, quality control is a necessity for most shipments. The constant search for cheaper suppliers, the bad habit of subcontracting to lower-grade factories, and the high risk of communication … [Read more...]
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