Steve Dickinson wrote an article (Moving Manufacturing from China: Where you Gonna Run?) that got me thinking about complex manufacturing projects and China. He outlines the main reasons why China became "the factory of the world" so quickly (especially from 1992 to 2005), for small and large buyers alike. Other low-cost Asian countries are now trying to emulate these results and attract manufacturing, and they seem to focus on lower tax rates. Here are two recent articles I found on this … [Read more...]
Don’t Send Immature Product Designs To A Chinese Manufacturer!
As part of our design support service, we have been talking to many inventors who are planning to have manufacturing made in China. What many don't understand is, there are several steps that just can't be skipped, especially in product design and development phases... … [Read more...]
Is There a Future for Manufacturing in China?
[This is a guest post by Fredrik Gronkvist, who writes great advice on chinaimportal.com.] Ever since I first set foot in China, back in 2009, I felt that I was late to the party. Ever since that dreadfully hot day in August, I’ve kept hearing that it’s only a matter of time before the country is priced out of the manufacturing game, and is ready to step up to more lucrative activities. About one year ago I was sitting down with two friends from back home, who were visiting Shanghai for a … [Read more...]
Chinese Factories Designing, Branding, and Selling on Amazon: Q&A
I wrote before about the challenges of Chinese factories to sell on Amazon. And yet, it seems to be an emerging trend. I asked Fredrik Gronkvist (from China Importal), who has also been observing the latest trends, for his opinion on this. Q: Ten years ago, Chinese factories ‘made to order’, and seeing one of them ‘make to stock’ was a rare occurrence. Have you seen more and more manufacturers 'make to stock’? What do they do with it? First, Chinese manufacturers still ‘make to order’ and I … [Read more...]