QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Exploring Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) [Podcast]

Time to pay attention to good manufacturing practices! Importers with suppliers over in Asia may benefit from adopting GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices). What are they? How are they useful for managing and improving the performance of suppliers in countries like China? How do they fit in with quality audits, social compliance audits, and process audits? The basics are always a good starting point for any supplier management and development plan and GMPs represent the basic activities … [Read more...]

3 Vertical Integration Benefits: Transparency, Control, Speed

Last year I wrote about a very common problem in China Supply Chain Transparency and Monitoring: Not Getting Easier… and this year we are still lamenting that same problem: Further down the supply chain, unauthorized subcontracting is still very, very common. We noticed this is particularly true of metal surface treatment processes that are done outside of the “main factory” (which would typically do casting and CNC lathe/milling). A few examples: Plating Polishing Painting, … [Read more...]

Are You Using A China Manufacturing Contract To Protect Yourself? [Podcast]

The importance of a China manufacturing contract I've written about terms to negotiate with your contract manufacturer and the positive effects of signing a strong manufacturing contract before. And some commonalities between them include making expectations clear, protecting IP, and making your supplier accountable for their results in your China manufacturing contract.   It's fair to say that many of today's buyers still start working with a supplier in China (or other Asian … [Read more...]

Some Chinese Factories Are Going Bankrupt: How To Know Which Ones

Some Chinese factories have suffered serious blows recently. Large American companies are moving manufacturing outside of China, often abruptly. Many manufacturers were hit in 2020 by very soft demand and cancelled orders. Their government is becoming more serious in getting taxes paid and regulations complied with. And so forth. The logical conclusion? Many factory owners who have accumulated debt and don't see the light at the end of the tunnel are tempted to go out of business. If … [Read more...]

6 Effects of Signing a Strong Manufacturing Contract with your Supplier

As a buyer, you may be in a position of strength in front of a supplier. For example, your orders are quite attractive to them, and you can easily switch to another supplier. You may be tempted to work with a business lawyer to draft a manufacturing contract. That makes sense. And that lawyer will probably prepare a relatively strong contract, too. That makes absolute sense from a lawyer's point of view (their mission is to cover all risks, after all). However, here are a few consequences … [Read more...]

The Biggest Manufacturing Risk These Days: Short Term Focus

Back in February (which seems to be a long time ago), I wrote that that number 1 manufacturing risk for importers was quality issues and the number 2 was delivery delays. (I also mentioned "lower demand on your market" because we were "getting to the end of a long cycle of economic expansion". That proved to be number 1 risk, actually!) But, let's get back to the suppliers' quality & delivery performance and why short term focus has continued to impact them and their reliability... … [Read more...]

Unable To Go To Your China Factory Because Of Coronavirus?

The COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly throughout the world. Wikipedia keeps count of it, country by country. This website show interesting maps that are kept up to date. Some countries are under-reporting their toll (Iran), while others are going over the top (Nth Korea). It is all happening right before our eyes! What does it mean for importers of Made-in-China goods who can't, or won't, visit China right now? Read on to explore its effects and a helpful list of actions you can take to … [Read more...]

Coping With Coronavirus: How Importers Can Check If A China Factory Is Ready & Has Capacity

Importers are being hit severely by the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia epidemic in China: Many factory workers (operators, inspectors, engineers...) are locked down in Hubei province Perhaps a higher number of factory workers are remaining in their home towns, hesitant to come back to work Local governments have extended the holiday, and then have imposed strict conditions for re-opening, which means many factories are not yet authorized to re-open One can expect a much … [Read more...]

Why Pay Close Attention To Your Factory Managers’ Personalities?

  A few years ago, I wrote an article on '7 Common Mistakes Revealed by Factory Org Charts'. I described two issues I have seen many times in Chinese factories: Mistake 1: not having a quality department Most small workshops don’t have personnel dedicated to checking quality on a full-time basis. The problem is, very often nobody checks quality at all! That’s a serious problem and only importers who can station inspectors on site 24/7 should do business with such … [Read more...]

New Importer from China? Beware the Credulous Foreigner Syndrome!

After about 40 years of openness, and about 15 years of 'direct trade' without Hong Kong trading companies, one might expect that foreign buyers take more precautions when dealing with Chinese suppliers. And, to be sure, some buyers do pay attention to risks. They have heard a few horror stories. They have read about common misconceptions, typical pitfalls, assumptions to avoid, and best practices for supply chain management. Unfortunately, it seems that a majority of people who haven't … [Read more...]