Last month I wrote an article (How To Get a List of “Good Chinese Factories”?) and one my points was:
What is a good supplier to one company is a bad supplier to another company.
In that article, I gave an example of a famous contract manufacturer in Apple’s supply chain. Doing great work for Apple, but a terrible job for some other customers.
Let’s take another example:
- A typical factory that makes apparel for Walmart tends to be good at making large volumes in a short time period, with strong cost control, and without getting caught subcontracting.
- However, this type of manufacturer will NOT be a good fit if you need 3,000 pieces of high-quality garments, with nice workmanship and great finishing.
So, “we work with Walmart” should be a signal that you should run away!
Now, where to start, if you need to confirm that a potential supplier is a good fit for your business?
Over at Sofeast, we made a list of 10 verification steps for checking a Chinese company and presented them in a nice e-book. Click on the image below if you’d like to get that free e-book.
It includes:
- How to run a background check on a Chinese company
- Questions you should ask, and what the answers might mean
- What to check if you’ll need them to develop a new product with you
- What you can observe during an on-site visit
- What makes a good quality system audit
- If their social & environmental practices are very important to you, what to check
- What a systems & process audit is (and how it differs from a typical quality system audit)
- A factory’s QC/testing lab
- What more in-depth due diligence can include
- General advice on RFQs, negotiations, and contracts… and what information the supplier will give through their reactions
Do you feel this could help you?