Josh Green, the CEO of Panjiva, came up with a thoughtful article entitled Spread The Word: There Isn't A ‘Next China’. Manufacturing products in China is going to get more expensive over time. For many importers who survive with a 5% or a … [Read more...]
The impact of electricity shortages on China production
If you work with several Chinese suppliers, you might have heard them complain about electricity shortages. You already heard about Chinese New Year, substandard quality, rogue factories... Here is one more risk in your supply … [Read more...]
How to find a suitable Chinese supplier? More art than science.
How to find a suitable Chinese supplier is a process consisting of several steps, one of which is often an audit of the manufacturing facilities. But how to audit a factory? Some buyers tour the plants themselves, while others delegate … [Read more...]
How to deal with production problems in China
If you work with several Chinese suppliers, and if you regularly switch to new ones, you will have to deal with production problems. It might be a factory refusing to rework substandard goods, or an unacceptable delay, or simply a project … [Read more...]
China: why pushing for faster production is dangerous
I just found a good article on the China Works Blog, about the risks of asking the factory to shorten lead times. It seems to be a beginner's mistake, because importers quickly learn that pushing for faster production is not compatible with … [Read more...]
Testing laboratories in China: dark practices and perverse effects
David Dayton's latest article illustrates the bad practices of the largest testing laboratories in China. It really shows that something is "broken" in the sourcing process. The dynamics of the consumer products testing industry is … [Read more...]
China: when price negotiations impact product quality
I heard the following argument several times: "it is not the Chinese factory's fault if they produced poor quality, if the buyer pushed the price to a point where costs were not even covered." My feeling is that, in such cases, … [Read more...]
China: forecasting and preventing production problems
Most importers are pretty bad when it comes to assessing the probability of quality problems with a given supplier. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that they might not know the factories that work for them. The solution … [Read more...]
Why doesn’t my Chinese supplier want to develop business any more?
I had an interesting discussion today about the new developments in the exports sector in China. Some purchasers are surprised by a change of attitude of some fairly large Chinese suppliers. They used to be hungry for new business, and … [Read more...]
4 Proven Ways To Enforce A Quality Standard In China
How can importers establish a quality standard, and then enforce it? Here are 4 proven ways to enforce a quality standard in China and other Asian countries, and also improve how you handle your suppliers, too. … [Read more...]
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