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Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Search Results for: developing a new product series

7 Typical Pitfalls for Hardware Startups Producing in China

A few years ago, I remember reading about the Coolest Cooler, a nice product that raised an amazing amount of money on Kickstarter: over 6,000 people bought it for a total of 13 million USD!! Yet, they went bust leaving a lot of frustrated backers and interested onlookers scratching their heads as to where it all went wrong for one of the most famous hardware startups of recent times and indeed the most funded Kickstarter campaign of 2014. In this post, I'll explore what went wrong for them … [Read more...]

How a Factory Can (and Should) Go Beyond ISO 9001

I wrote a few articles about ISO 9001 recently: The standard itself pushes companies in the right direction, but the auditing & certification process has many flaws: Basics about ISO 9001: The Standard and the Certification Process The standard pushes manufacturers to think in terms of systems and processes, among other benefits: Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization Many factories have been certified, but implementation was really bad: Factory Audit Tips: … [Read more...]

Sourcing from China 101, Part 2: How to Identify Potential Chinese Suppliers?

Now I am assuming that you have decided to source in China by yourself, but how to identify potential Chinese suppliers who will do a great job? One key point I want to communicate is this: you need to follow a process. You CANNOT browse a website, send a few emails, respond, and see where it takes you. If you want a written checklist that you can adapt and follow, you will find an example here. It deals with sourcing, development, production, and transportation (but it is not applicable … [Read more...]

5 ways an importer can develop an unfair advantage

As I wrote recently, many companies that import from China have been forced to revise their approach over the last couple of years. Those importers that turn a good profit have developed an "unfair advantage" that is not easily copied by competitors... Or by Chinese exporters and their relays overseas. An unfair advantage is particularly useful in reducing the sensitivity to these two risks: Price raises, combined with tough markets in Europe and North America. New competitors using … [Read more...]

Core quality tools in the automotive industry

Over the past couple of years, I noticed some very interesting comments on some articles on this blog. They came from Brad Pritts, a consulting engineer and six sigma black belt who works primarily in the auto industry. I asked Brad a question to get more familiar with his industry, and he was kind enough to give me a detailed response. I thought it was too good to keep in my email inbox, so I reproduced it below with his permission. The "Core Tools" The North American auto industry created … [Read more...]