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How We Set Up A New Factory In China From Idea To Operation [Podcast]

February 26, 2021

How We Set Up A New Factory In China From Idea To Operation [Podcast]

Planning on opening a factory in China in 2021? To get some insight into just what it takes to set up a new factory in China let's explore how WE came to open our own factory, Agilian Technology, there in 2018! Renaud will explain the reasoning behind doing so, the goals, and the 6 phases we followed in order to make the idea of having a contract manufacturing subsidiary a reality. This will give you food for thought and help you start planning the project as it's possible you won't have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory Tagged With: Chinese factory management, factory, factory setup, manufacturing in China, opening a new factory, podcast, setting up a factory

Factory Management: the 4 Main Roles in the Quality Department

January 4, 2021

Factory Management the 4 Main Roles in the Quality Department

China, as a whole, has 35+ years of experience manufacturing products for export customers. They have accumulated a lot of experience. However, foreign buyers are rather consistently shocked at the level of mismanagement that plagues their factories' quality operations. And fixing it is not that hard. In this article, I will lay out what I see as the 4 basic roles that manufacturers need to fill in their quality department. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory Tagged With: Chinese factory management, factory management, hiring a quality inspector, hiring in China, hiring quality managers, QC, quality department, quality inspections, quality management, quality staff

Quality Manager Interview Questions To Test Knowledge Of ISO 9001

December 7, 2020

Quality Manager Interview Questions To Test Knowledge Of ISO 9001

Next time you're hiring, here are some quality manager interview questions you should ask to make sure that they know and understand the ISO 9001:2015 standard. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory Tagged With: hiring in China, hiring quality managers, ISO 9001, quality manager, quality manager interview questions

Are Calibration Reports Always A Must? Why Auditors Should Think Before Raising Suppliers’ Costs

May 28, 2019

Are Calibration Reports Always A Must? Why Auditors Should Think Before Raising Suppliers’ Costs

By Annie Chan Did you get a visit from an auditor who seemed obsessed with calibration reports? Was he/she happy to see that all tools had been calibrated based on internal reports, or (even better) on third-party lab certificates? There is no doubt auditors love asking for all kinds of reports to confirm the supplier complies with requirements. However, their requests are not always reasonable. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory Tagged With: calibration certificates, calibration reports, factory audits, qa, quality assurance

The Problem With Visual Management Boards in Factories

March 28, 2019

The Problem With Visual Management Boards in Factories

Visual management boards of some kind are now basically the norm in all factories belonging to a multinational group, so they must be effective, right? I'm not so sure. Not that they cannot be useful (they CAN be VERY useful), but, in most cases I have witnessed, these boards just aren't contributing as much to lean initiatives or process improvement as factory management would like them to be. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory, Process Improvement Tagged With: factory performance, lean, project management, visual management, visual management boards

How To Keep A Clean Factory And Stop Dust On A Budget

March 22, 2019

How To Keep A Clean Factory And Stop Dust On A Budget

In many industries, one of the most common reasons for defective goods is dust contamination, and they have adopted different cleanliness standards (see the Wikipedia page on cleanrooms and factory cleanliness). If you have visited Chinese factories in certain industries, you have probably seen their efforts in that regard. During our factory audits, we always give a grade about general organization and cleanliness. What advice can I offer about maintaining a clean factory without spending … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory, Process Improvement Tagged With: clean factory, cleanroom, factory audits, factory performance, process improvements

Setting Up a New Factory in China: from Idea to Operation

January 7, 2019

We have followed the needs of some clients and set up our own assembly center in South China. I took some notes about the 6 phases we have followed, to get from idea to operation. But first, for those curious of what a factory looks like just a few days after starting operations, I shot this video. As you can see, it is messy. It will look more orderly in a few weeks. And processes should all be nicely in control in 2-3 months. As I mentioned above, here are the 6 phases we have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory

Auditing a Metal Machining Factory in China: Focus on Processes

March 19, 2014

Machining is an operation that changes the shape, surface finish, and/or mechanical properties of a material by the application of special tools and equipment. This is typically carried out by machines where a cutting tool removes material to effect the required change to the work piece. Tens (hundreds?) of factories in China do this type of operation. Different shapes can be formed by different processes; some typical processes that you will find in many Chinese factories are highlighted … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory

Auditing the Processes of a Plastic Injection Molding Factory in China

March 3, 2014

We are continuing with our series of articles about process audits in Chinese factories. What is Injection Molding? Injection Molding as a process has been around since the early 1930s, but a lot has changed since those early days. The injection mold machines have become sophisticated pieces of equipment with closed loop control systems monitoring every aspect of the process you can think of. Polymer development has become a complex science with blends available to cater for virtually every … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory

Auditing a Die Casting Factory in China: Focus on the Process

February 21, 2014

This is the first in a series of articles about the way we do process audits. When I look at the quality assurance agencies that offer services to importers in China, they all seem to prefer "horizontal" requirements (quality system, social compliance, environment...), rather than on industry-specific needs. So we have developed ways to evaluate a factory's production processes. In this article we'll cover die casting factories. What is die casting? The basic principle of die casting is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory

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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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Latest Articles

  • What Are the Factory Assessment Reports Shown on Alibaba Worth?
  • How We Set Up A New Factory In China From Idea To Operation [Podcast]
  • Why Your Product’s Final Assembly Should Be Close To Its Key Components
  • A Textbook on Design for Manufacturing and the NPI Process (EVT-DVT-PVT)
  • A New ‘Cold War’ Between The USA & China’s Effect On Manufacturing [Podcast]

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