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...]
5 Trends for the Quality Profession when Dealing with Chinese Suppliers
I was invited to contribute an article to the Retail Sourcing Report prepared quarterly by CBX Software. Here is a presentation of that report: CBX Software’s Retail Sourcing Report provides research and analysis aimed at informing … [Read more...]
Chinese Suppliers’ Poor Understanding of Statistics
In China, in many product lines, a factory that makes 95% good products is considered a good factory. And its managers will not feel ashamed. Now, let's look at it another way. A factory that ships 5 million pieces a month, at a 95% … [Read more...]
Strategies to Keep Costs Low when Buying in China [podcast]
My friend Mike Michelini recently invited me to talk on the Global From Asia podcast and to discuss the topic of 5 Biggest Challenges in Importing from China and How to Manage Them. We spent about half the time talking about ways to avoid … [Read more...]
Moving Tooling/Molds from one Chinese Factory to Another
Clients asked us several times to oversee a transfer of tools/molds from one factory to another. So we have written a checklist (see below). Why move tooling from one factory to another? Maybe the buyer selects one factory to make a … [Read more...]
Best Practices for Managing Chinese Suppliers [Upcoming Conference]
The European Chamber is organizing the second edition of the "Profitable Sourcing" series of conferences. The previous session, in February, was quite a success. It attracted close to 70 participants and was extremely interesting. I hope … [Read more...]
Due Diligence for Buying a Chinese Factory
Most Chinese factories are so poorly managed, there are real opportunities for savvy buyers who plan to restructure the company and boost profitability. At the same time, there are real dangers to avoid, and serious due diligence is … [Read more...]
Beware of China Factories’ Pre-Christmas Rush
A few years ago we published Chinese New Year: how to manage the disruption?, since many quality problems show up in December and January. Basically, manufacturers rush to get the products on a boat before they close, and they don't pay … [Read more...]
China Manufacturing: Options for Payment
Many inexperienced importers accept the payment terms proposed by Chinese suppliers without thinking twice. Yet this topic is directly linked to the amount of risk each party takes. It is extremely important. 1. The most common payment … [Read more...]
Direct Sourcing in China: What Functions Do Importers Need to Perform?
Direct sourcing has been the dominant trend over the last 20 years. Importers have reduced FOB prices by going "factory direct" by eliminating trading companies. But, in some cases, it has often resulted in higher overall costs and lower … [Read more...]
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