In This Episode… We discuss reducing lead times from suppliers in China or other countries in Asia like Vietnam. Lead times are the time you can expect the process of getting your order from a supplier to take, from placing the purchase … [Read more...]
Using Factory Audits To Qualify Your Chinese Suppliers
When I talk to someone who is contemplating whether they should work with a particular supplier, I advise them to visit the factory and/or have it audited. And this can lead to confusion, as the next question is usually "what type of … [Read more...]
How To Validate Your Supplier’s Factory’s Production Capacity (From Abroad) [Podcast]
You can't visit suppliers in China due to coronavirus. How can you validate their production capacity without going on-site? As we head into 2021 travelling to see suppliers in Asia, in particular China, remains difficult for most … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
How To Perform In-Depth Due Diligence On Your Supplier [Podcast]
Do your new or current suppliers pose a risk to your business? Sometimes the only way to find out if a supplier poses a risk is to perform some deep due diligence on them in order to assess their business health and if they're able to be a … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Exploring Process Audits | Vetting Chinese Suppliers (Part 7) [Podcast]
Why perform process audits? So far in this mini-series of podcasts about vetting Chinese suppliers we've discussed what quality audits and social compliance audits are and their respective benefits. Since auditing prospective suppliers is … [Read more...]
7 Manufacturing Challenges Due To Lack Of Transparency In China & How To Mitigate Them [Podcast]
The situation in Hong Kong, the US/China trade war, mistrust of China and attempts at decoupling, and other news stories are rightfully a cause of concern for importers with Chinese suppliers. But the manufacturing challenges you should be … [Read more...]
Advice for Buying Face Masks in China without Losing your Shirt
With the COVID 19 pandemic hitting more countries, and more people realizing how serious the situation is, it seems tens of thousands of people started looking for face masks and other personal protection products. And what I see is a … [Read more...]