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What Are the Factory Assessment Reports Shown on Alibaba Worth?

March 1, 2021

What Are the Factory Assessment Reports Shown on Alibaba Worth?

About 10 years ago, I remember Global Sources was listing "verified suppliers". Good idea. And their competitors followed suit, showing factory assessment reports and anything that can make buyers confident. And I am not sure that has been a positive development, overall.   The basic principle to be aware of when buying factory analysis/verification There is a basic principle that all buyers should be aware of: When you are not paying for an analysis/verification, you can't fully … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Supplier Vetting Tagged With: Alibaba, factory assessment reports, factory audits, made in china, sourcing suppliers, verified suppliers

Tips For Continually Getting Good Results From A New Supplier | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 11) [Podcast]

December 10, 2020

Tips For Continually Getting Good Results From A New Supplier | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 11) [Podcast]

You've successfully vetted and started working with a new Chinese supplier. What's next? In our mini-series on vetting Chinese suppliers, you will already have learnt about due diligence, factory audits and visits, exploring testing facilities, and much more when it comes to vetting suppliers. If you follow through this process logically, perhaps with the help of local factory auditors and quality inspectors in China, you will be well-placed to find reliable suppliers who reach your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Supplier Vetting Tagged With: China, chinese suppliers, podcast, sourcing suppliers, supplier improvement, supplier management, supplier performance, supply chain kpis

Pricing, Negotiation, Contracts | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 10)

November 13, 2020

Pricing, Negotiation, Contracts | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 10)

Getting quotations is a part of vetting new Chinese suppliers, too.  We have been creating a mini-series guiding you through effective vetting of Chinese suppliers that will help you to find the best possible manufacturer for your products this year, and, as we come to the end of it, it's time to focus on one of the final stages: negotiating price, getting quotations, and signing contracts (listen back to the entire mini-series on vetting Chinese suppliers here 👍). Let's assume you have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Supplier Vetting, Uncategorized Tagged With: China, commercial negotiations, negotiation, pricing, Quotes in RMB, rfq, sourcing fro china, vetting suppliers

Challenges for Moving Manufacturing out of China in 2020

November 3, 2020

Challenges for Moving Manufacturing out of China in 2020

The US Congress and the White House have been pushing hard for "decoupling" from China. And a part of that objective is moving manufacturing out of China -- and ideally to reshore to the USA. It may be too early to draw a conclusion on the effect of their decisions (the tariffs but, more generally, the perceived risk of stronger and stronger measures). But here is a short summary of what I have seen, heard, and read. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: finding suppliers in se asia, moving production from China, relocating, relocating manufacturing, relocating production, reshore manufacturing, reshoring

Factory Testing Facilities | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 8) [Podcast]

October 14, 2020

Factory Testing Facilities | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 8) [Podcast]

Why do we look at the factory testing facilities when vetting a Chinese supplier? A great question here is: "How can my supplier know that the product they're manufacturing is good if they're unable to test that they reach my specifications, quality, and safety requirements?" If they have no way of testing or are skipping important tests this is probably a major red flag (unless you're certain that they're sending samples out to a lab to be tested all of the time) as it shows that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: compliance testing, factory testing facilities, podcast, product safety, product testing

Picking a Contract Assembler in China: 6 Important Terms to Negotiate

September 1, 2020

Picking a Contract Assembler in China: 6 Important Terms to Negotiate

Let's say you have found a CM that is a good fit for your needs, and you are about to give them some assembly work. I already made a list of the general terms you can negotiate. But what other terms can be considered specifically when working with a contract assembler like this? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: CM, contract assembly, contract manufacturer, contract manufacturing, negotiation

Free Samples from Potential Chinese Suppliers: A Positive Sign?

August 11, 2020

Free Samples from Potential Chinese Suppliers: A Positive Sign?

If you find 30 potential suppliers that all seem capable of making the product you want, how to pick the best one? With B2B platforms like Alibaba and Global Sources, many buyers ask themselves that question. And an easy answer is "I will ask for free samples and see who says yes and makes good-looking samples". … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: free samples, NRE costs, pre-production samples, product development, Sampling, sampling fee, sourcing components, sourcing suppliers

Vetting Suppliers In China [Podcast Series]

July 24, 2020

Vetting Suppliers In China [Podcast Series]

Vetting suppliers is important. After all, these suppliers are responsible for your company's reputation. Hopefully, everyone by now will understand the dangers of checking Alibaba or Global Sources and 'choosing' a supplier who 'looks' good, or perhaps trusting that Alibaba Gold suppliers are somehow more legitimate and trustworthy (spoiler alert: they might not be). So what does a good vetting process look like? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Supplier Vetting, Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: chinese suppliers, finding chinese suppliers, podcast, Sourcing, sourcing from china, sourcing suppliers, vetting suppliers

Low Volume Manufacturing in China for Your New Product

July 9, 2020

Low Volume Manufacturing in China for Your New Product

A lot of our clients develop their own products, often in the electro-mechanical space. Some start with a bang and have large pre-orders. They are the lucky ones (on the commercial side, at least). Many others have more modest objectives, requiring only low volume manufacturing at first, and can struggle to find an interested manufacturer in China. I thought I'd share some tips for companies in this situation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: low volume manufacturing, small batches

Sourcing Manufacturers: What Type To Choose For Your Production In China/Vietnam?

June 19, 2020

Sourcing Manufacturers: What Type To Choose For Your Production In China/Vietnam?

  I realized that most buyers are unfamiliar with their options when it comes to sourcing manufacturers. I want to clarify what their options are. (This is especially applicable if you import electrical and/or mechanical products from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: contract manufacturers, odm, OEM, sourcing manufacturers, sourcing suppliers

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Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in Chinese manufacturing since 2005.

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  • Why Preventive Maintenance Is Important [Podcast]
  • What Are the Factory Assessment Reports Shown on Alibaba Worth?
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  • A Textbook on Design for Manufacturing and the NPI Process (EVT-DVT-PVT)

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