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...]
How to avoid production delays in china
Danny Coyle and Steven Weng just came up with a pretty good "Guide to manufacturing knitwear in China" (see part 1 and part 2), and I think their advice is applicable to buying any product here. They make a list of steps for knitwear … [Read more...]
The giant hole in China quality assurance programs
The quality assurance programs of most importers, when it comes to their China purchases, are far from being fool-proof. As Richard Brubaker wrote (in "20 Things I Have Learned About China"): There is no “Poorly Made in China”. There is … [Read more...]
Reading a Chinese factory address with Google Maps
Many importers have no clue about the factory location. All they know is the general area, when they purchase in FOB terms, because they know the port of shipment (for example, if they purchase "FOB Shenzhen", the assembling factory is in … [Read more...]
Container loading inspection: a guide for importers
A lot of things can go wrong when a shipment is loaded in a container, or during transport. A good solution is to send a technician conduct a container loading inspection. For some urgent shipments, it is performed in combination with a … [Read more...]
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