By Fabien Gaussorgues I must have read or heard “this information should be provided by the customer” hundreds of times. It comes from manufacturers, traders, sourcing agents -- all living in China, whether they are Chinese or … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 12: Are You in Contact with Your Supplier’s Quality Mgr. or Sales Rep?
More and more Chinese suppliers put their customers directly in contact with a quality manager, an assistant quality manager, or something of the sort. However, most of the time, you are not communicating with whom you think… It usually … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 13: Quality Inspectors vs. Project Managers for your China Production
Many importers are looking to hire this type of profile in China: Can do 'project management' and follow up on developments and productions Can do quality inspections Can the same person do both? Yes, absolutely. Do some … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 14: The Steps FBA Sellers Should Not Skip When Buying in China [video]
Except you have been staying in a cave for a few years, you have certainly noticed the very strong trend of companies buying products in China and selling them on the "Fulfilment By Amazon" (FBA) model. What is tragic about many of these … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 15: The 7 Major Risks You Run With Your China Manufacturers
I listed the 6 ways Chinese suppliers cheat importers a few years ago. But, with proper due diligence, the risk of being cheated outright goes down a lot. The major risks that experienced importers run, when working with a new … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 16: Bad News from China, Raw Material Prices Just Increased!
By Fabien Gaussorgues If you work with Chinese suppliers, you have certainly received a number of messages of this type: Dear [buyer name] The price of [main raw material in their product] has increased a lot recently, so we have to … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 17: T/T Payment Terms with China Factories: Set the Right Incentives
You might get your Chinese suppliers to sign contracts, you might come and check quality, you might decide on re-orders based on their performance... But, at the end of the day, what the factory really looks at is, 'how much of the order … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 18: What Does PPAP Stand For?
PPAP stands for Production Parts Approval Process. It is a standard requirement imposed by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the European and North-American auto industry. By following the PPAP process in the product development … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 19: The 3 Major Risks for Amazon FBA Sellers in China
By Fabien Gaussorgues Selling on Amazon has been attracting more than 100,000 new companies a year! The 'Fulfillment By Amazon' (FBA) model is particularly interesting. However, we see the same issues coming back again and again. Here … [Read more...]
How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 20: Sending Money to a Chinese Factory: Don’t Get Confused
I noticed that two topics are particularly frustrating to importers, when it comes to paying Chinese factories. One is the ever-changing company names. And the other is the need to send a bank slip after a wire. They are tightly linked, … [Read more...]