A few weeks ago, I discussed garment and shoe production in Asia with an executive who has great experience in the footwear and garment industries. They shared some insights about different Asian and African countries, as far as production … [Read more...]
ISO/TS 16949: Great Improvements Over ISO 9001
Over the past few days, I have been learning a lot about the ISO/TS 16949 standard. We are working on the development of adequate auditing services to clients in the automotive industry. This "technical specification" (TS) goes much … [Read more...]
Selection of Sourcing Countries Beyond China
I am reading The Rise Of The New East: Business Strategies For An Increasingly Complex World by Ben Simpfendorfer, a consultant and economist based in Hong Kong. This book explores the region’s growing commercial opportunities and … [Read more...]
How Factory Audits, Inspections, and Lab Tests Fit Together
I am often asked questions such as “what is the difference between audits and inspections” or "why are lab tests necessary if you send an inspector". In this article, I will show how these three types of services fit together. Let's … [Read more...]
An Update on the “China Plus One” Sourcing Strategy for SMEs
Most importers are worried of "putting all their eggs in one basket" (i.e. buying solely from China), and try to have sources in other countries too. That's the "China plus one" strategy. Conventional wisdom would suggest that, as costs … [Read more...]
Overview of the Malaysian Production Sector
Here is another article researched and written by our assistant Maria -- this time about Malaysia's top export industries, trends, labor costs, and logistical issues. Malaysian Exports: Electronics remain at the helm The electrical and … [Read more...]
Overview of the Thailand Production Sector
Here is another piece of research by our marketing assistant Maria, this time about Thailand's top export industries, trends, labor costs, and logistical issues. A Highly Attractive Country, on Paper Thailand has the 17th largest … [Read more...]
Packaging: How to Protect your Shipments Effectively?
Many importers forget to specify how their products should be packed. And, every year, tons of products arriving from China are thrown away because they were not adequately protected. So, you need to think about how to protect shipments … [Read more...]
The regained interest in china manufacturing
Looking back over the past few years, several trends have come and gone. One of them is the interest of most importers in moving production out of China. 2009 to 2011: low-cost Asia was fashionable The context was clear: prices of … [Read more...]
How a Chinese factory can REALLY improve its quality
Auditing a factory's quality system, and helping them patch the main holes found by the auditor, is helpful. But is it enough? I used to think so. A good quality management system is supposed to stop defects before it is too late. … [Read more...]
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