I finished reading Mr. China by Tim Clissold and I found it quite interesting. It is the story of an investment fund that lost hundreds of millions of dollars in China in the 1990s. The author describes in great details the traps his … [Read more...]
Preparing a list of quality defects for QC inspectors
During a product inspection, one of the main tasks is looking for defects on samples, categorizing them (critical/major/minor), and reporting them. The maximum number of defects that is allowed is based on the AQL, which has to be set by … [Read more...]
Chinese suppliers and subcontracting
I just came across an interesting post ("6 conversations and a couple of cultural lessons") on the SRI blog. In the last paragraphs, David Dayton evokes the sub-contracting habits of Chinese manufacturers: Chinese factories ALWAYS sub work … [Read more...]
Lack of quality control: impact on consumers
The general shareholders meeting at Carrefour (2nd largest retailer in the world) recently took place. Many newspapers wrote about the complaint from a small shareholder, speaking in public to the CEO (see this article from Le Monde, 10th … [Read more...]
How can importers renew their product line regularly?
A few weeks ago, I was asked what a small importer can do to "keep his pipeline full". Many importers of general consumer goods need to renew their products regularly, for many reasons. But how to get new product ideas and develop them on … [Read more...]
Garment inspections: assessing the conformity of measurements
Earlier this week I was with a client, during one of their China trips. They import garments, and one of the most important criteria is the respect of size charts. If measurements are out of tolerances, the garments might be … [Read more...]
Who is responsible for China quality problems?
In a recent post, I was wondering whether many importers calculated the fully-burdened cost of imports. Today, I came upon an interesting article on Knowledge@Wharton (Can China Meet the Quality Challenge?) where Mr. Pinney, from BCG … [Read more...]
Are Chinese courts unreliable?
Most companies buying in China don't take the precaution to write a contract with their suppliers. Even when large sums are at stake. The common perception is that going to a Chinese court is a long and expensive process, for a highly … [Read more...]
Western importers in China, forced to compromise on quality
I am reading Poorly Made In China, and it is a real treat. Paul Midler, the author, does a great job at analyzing the psychology of oversea buyers. He gives examples where the importer got himself locked into a relationship with a given … [Read more...]
What is the fully-burdened cost of imports?
In Hot, Flat and Crowded, I read that the exact cost of oil delivered by air-borne tanker to the US military stations in Irak is... $42 per gallon. Here are the elements to add up: Commodity price of oil + cost of delivery + cost of … [Read more...]