We seem to be at a pretty low point right now: Billions of people are confined at home. Economists are predicting a disaster and seem to think 2020 will probably be worse than what most of us can remember. The behavior and … [Read more...]
Fixing Problems at the Root: ‘Upstream Thinking’
I have been enjoying the book Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath. It is not really a business book, as it covers many examples outside of business, but it does a great job of arguing in favor addressing … [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...]
COVID-19: Have a Resilient Supply Chain, Stop JIT, Never Single-Source? Really?
I am getting tired of reading "expert commentaries" about the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on supply chains. They all seem to say the same thing, and (in my mind) they tend to overlook certain facts. Let's look at 4 commonly held … [Read more...]
COVID-19: What Are The 7 Major Risks for Importers of China Goods?
As an importer, you are probably wondering how the COVID-19 epidemic in China is going to impact your business. Beijing says things are rapidly improving and hints that the situation will nearly be back to normal on the coasts by the end … [Read more...]
How To Diversify Manufacturing Sources Out of China and Cut Risk
By now, companies that rely on China to supply some products or parts have generally grasped the current situation with the COVID-19 epidemic that is leading them to wonder if it's important to diversify manufacturing sources away from … [Read more...]
Wuhan Epidemic: Why Major Supply Chain Disruptions Are Coming Up
In my last article on the topic of the epidemic that started in Wuhan, I mentioned there would be real effects on logistics and manufacturing. Today I can affirm some of these effects can already be observed. And it is definitely going … [Read more...]
China Epidemic: Real Effects on Logistics and Manufacturing
The situation is pretty dark, with a new virus spreading like wildfire and governments resorting to extreme measures. Nobody believes Beijing's official numbers. I wrote about the alarming estimates of some Hong Kong experts a few days … [Read more...]
Diverging Views on the China Virus Outbreak: Whom To Listen To?
Some medical experts in Hong Kong have devoted their careers to the study of micro microbiology and viruses, after the traumatic episode of SARS. These are the people I will tend to listen to, on this topic. For example, Yeung Kwok Yung and … [Read more...]
Archives of Useful Articles about Buying & Inspecting in China
I listed the useful articles I published between 2009 and now. This page is long! Feel free to keep scrolling to choose the categories and articles that interest you, or hit the links just below to quickly skip down to their respective … [Read more...]