In good factories, the leaders look at the future and wonder how to make their company stronger. They usually have an action plan that will support process improvement. That's how they will improve their quality, cut lead times, and contain costs. When I go to Chinese factories, managers very seldom tell me "here is our action plan". They seem to respond to every day's urgencies: A supplier is late in delivering some materials, and the customer will ask us to send the goods by air? Let's … [Read more...]

Plastic injection molding is one of the most common production processes here in China. And most Chinese manufacturers are not very good at setting up and maintaining their presses and their molds... If the right polymer is used, and if the factory adopts the right process control measures, there is a low probability for things to go wrong. I have met many manufacturers that don't understand that... There are a multitude reasons for parts to be rejected. Some of the more common defects are … [Read more...]

This is the last part in this 15-part series. Here we'll focus on labor productivity in factories. Why is it important for buyers? Because, unless your suppliers make progress in this area in the next 5-10 years, many of them will go out of business. Admittedly, if you are not their biggest customer, they will not follow your suggestions of re-organizing production, but it is your responsibility to open their minds about best-in-class practices. I have prepared a simple explanation of … [Read more...]

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 (that’s 0.005%). Some of them, in Japan, employs housewives in the countryside, and their operations are all manual! So, how do they get so close to zero defects? The answer is by applying a set of principles. 1. Faster production cycles help improve … [Read more...]

Many importers work in one or two product categories. They buy 80% of their volume from 1-4 manufacturers. And many of them make the same mistake: they don’t try to improve their CURRENT suppliers. Instead, they spend time sourcing NEW factories and training them to their requirements, and consequently they are taking risks on the first order from a new supplier. Is there an alternative? Sure. A supplier development program follows 5 steps. And it starts at the sourcing phase! 1. … [Read more...]

Do you find yourself with some time on your hands, when your Chinese suppliers are enjoying their New Year holiday? Why not take advantage of it and do some work that will be important to your company's success? Here are 4 suggestions. 1. Data analyses for better decisions If you can easily extract all the issues from QC reports (or if you can use an intern to do that work), this will be well worth your efforts. Ideally, you would classify the past issues per product, per supplier … [Read more...]

Let's say you develop a custom product (based on your own design) with a manufacturing partner in China. After 2 years, they push for a price increase because their costs are going up. And let's say you cannot raise your purchasing price. You have to find ways to keep costs down in manufacturing. There is definitely a place for product redesign. It can lead to enormous savings. And often, a Chinese supplier can give suggestions, such as: A cheaper grade of steel would do the work just … [Read more...]

I wrote an article a few months ago about manufacturing processes and their control. I illustrated this with the process of making a cup of coffee. A lot of things go into it: How to make a good cup of coffee? By using: The right amount of energy (not too hot, not too cold) The right water (pure enough, clean) The right coffee powder (right taste, properly stored, before expiry date...) The right milk (not expired...) The right sugar (right amount, properly … [Read more...]

Do you wonder why you still suffer from quality issues, even though the process is quite mature and seems to be well understood? Or are you preparing to launch the production of a new product... or production of an existing product in a new factory? And you want to plan ahead to avoid missteps that might be quite costly? There are 3 basic process improvement tools that you can use: The Process flow chart The Process FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis) The control plan … [Read more...]

The Detroit Free Press just published a good article, Robots descending on Michigan industrial workplaces in record numbers, that describes what happens in the US but has a lot of significance for Chinese manufacturers too. Let's go through a few excerpts, one by one. The immediate future is likely to be a combination of human workers amid automation and not a "lights out" factory devoid of people entirely. Very true. General Motors fantasized about 'lights out factories' in the 1980s … [Read more...]