We heard of several Chinese manufacturers that are opening a Vietnam factory, in order to serve their American customers better by avoiding Trump's tariffs. Sometimes that makes sense, and sometimes it doesn't... If one of your suppliers tell you about their ability to produce in Vietnam, what should you do? … [Read more...]
Why First-Time Buyers Fall for Trading Companies in China
Let's say you are looking for a supplier in China to make your innovative product. You know that traditional sourcing agents are not the solution -- they simply don't have the ability to assist you with design reviews, engineering work, certifications, and so on. And you can't justify setting up a company in China and hiring local staff -- that's a lot of extra expense. So, the choice often ends up being between a trading company (which will be your supplier, even though they don't do … [Read more...]
Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization
I wrote recently about ISO 9001: What are the standard and the certification process 10 ways it can get poorly implemented in a factory To summarize my view on this topic: It is a good standard, keeping in mind that it was designed to apply to all sorts of organizations Many companies did not implement it the wrong way, as they took shortcuts and they were only interested in the 'marketing impact' of a certification The real culprit is the way registrar bodies audit and … [Read more...]
Must-know Basics of Quality Assurance in China & Vietnam for Buyers
Many new or inexperienced importers who are outsourcing their production to suppliers in China (or wider Asia such as Vietnam) for the first time go into the process almost blind. They're later hit with crippling issues that can make the process a costly nightmare. Why? Because they were not aware of how to implement strong quality assurance in China/Vietnam and fell into some fairly common traps that can catch out 'green' importers. It doesn't need to be this way though. Read on to get … [Read more...]
9 Things Only a Large Company Can Obtain in China/Vietnam
I see some good advice, published in Linkedin or elsewhere, aimed at importers sourcing products from China, Vietnam, or other low-cost Asian countries. A lot of this advice is sound. However, I noticed that a good chunk is NOT applicable to companies buying under 20 million USD a year -- and, sometimes, not under 1 billion USD a year. I made a list of 9 things large importers can get, but small companies usually can't negotiate. (Of course there are many exceptions, but they remain … [Read more...]
On-Time Delivery for your New Product Made in China? Possible?
We have seen this situation a number of times: An American or European company designs a new product They find a manufacturing partner that has some general experience in their industry (but has never made that precise product since it is totally new) Since the buyer needs flexibility and service, and can't afford high prices, they tend to work with a small or medium-sized factory (fewer than 500 employees, and often fewer than 200) All the development (NPI) work gets done, but … [Read more...]
Making Prototypes In China: 5 Key Steps And Objectives
By Fabien Gaussorgues Are you going to manufacture a mechanical and/or electrical product in China? This article will help you plan for the steps to follow. You might need a concept of the product, to show investors and to launch a Kickstarter campaign. You might need a prototype that is close to the final version of the product, in order to run testing (including usability testing) and validate the design before going into production. When making prototypes in China, the usual … [Read more...]
Example of Indiegogo Project Made in China: NAOX
The number of new products to be launched on Kickstarter or Indiegogo has grown very quickly. It seems not a week passes without a start-up team contacting us over at Sofeast for either developing a new product or for help on their production in China. Some projects are very successful and raise important amounts of funding on these platforms. Most projects raise more modest funds and don’t receive much publicity. However, some are worth studying. Not just because their products can be pretty … [Read more...]
Sourcing from China 101, Part 2: How to Identify Potential Chinese Suppliers?
Now I am assuming that you have decided to source in China by yourself, but how to identify potential Chinese suppliers who will do a great job? One key point I want to communicate is this: you need to follow a process. You CANNOT browse a website, send a few emails, respond, and see where it takes you. If you want a written checklist that you can adapt and follow, you will find an example here. It deals with sourcing, development, production, and transportation (but it is not applicable … [Read more...]
How a Chinese Factory Can Get ISO 9001 Certified
I wrote before about the way certain consultants are routinely hired by manufacturers to “make paperwork look good”. It is the norm in China. However, some factory owners really want to manage their business in accordance with best practices. They are not looking for shortcuts. They understand that ISO 9001 is not very advanced but it is already a basis good basis -- if applied correctly -- on the road to operations excellence. So, how can consultants help a relatively small factory get … [Read more...]