How to choose between quality auditor vs consultant for quality improvements in your or your supplier's facility? Many people think auditors go on site, look at the situation, and suggest improvements. However, it is not that simple. … [Read more...]
Sourcing from China 101, Part 14: How To Improve A Factory’s Quality
I bet you are tired of hearing your Chinese suppliers say “this is made by hand, so avoiding defects is impossible”. So am I, because it’s so wrong. Some small factories have decreased their defect rate below 50 parts per million … [Read more...]
Checking for Forward and Backward Traceability in a Factory
When investigating quality problems, we are often faced with the same issue: lack of traceability. Let's say some metal pieces don't fit well and this is found at the assembly stage. It typically unfolds as follows: We look at the … [Read more...]
Sourcing from China 101, Part 3: How to Verify a Manufacturer
If you have followed the advice about identifying potential suppliers in part 2, you may have found a few interesting suppliers. The next step is to confirm that they told you the truth and that they are reliable. Even if you place … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 5: On-Site Factory Quality Audits
This is another article in our "supplier vetting" series. So you asked potential suppliers a number of questions, then you visited them and noted your subjective evaluations... If you want to move further in the direction of working with … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 2: Questions to Ask Before a Visit
Let's say you found a potential supplier, you communicated a bit with them, you vetted their company's legitimacy and reputation, and you want to move forward. Generally, the next step is to ask them a number of questions that will … [Read more...]
What Good Assembly Work Instructions Look Like
A few weeks ago, I wrote How To Ensure Quality In Chinese Factories By Writing Work Instructions. (By the way, we have recently published a number of resources on the CMC website. If you are interested in good factory management, you … [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...]
Do You Have a Full Business Model when Sourcing from China?
Many companies have decided to transfer production to China based on a difference in unit product price. But they haven't thought of a full business model. In this article we go over the basics of what should be included in the business … [Read more...]
Reducing the Costs of Poor Quality in China [Conference]
If you import products from China, have you calculated what poor quality costs you? As the buyer, you probably have to pay for: QC inspections (because you can't trust your suppliers' quality) Unsellable products that you receive … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Next Page »