For all the talk about improvements in China's intellectual property protection, many importers are still facing very unethical behavior from their supplier base. And nowhere is it more apparent than in trade shows. The temptation for … [Read more...]
Beware of this China Scam: The Commodity Bait and Switch
We are contacted regularly by overseas buyers who are about to purchase a commodity product from a Chinese manufacturer, and it is nearly always a very risky situation for the buyer as switching out an order of commodities to a cheaper … [Read more...]
China Still Best For New & Complex Manufacturing Projects
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 … [Read more...]
Effects Of The US-China Trade War On Manufacturing Relocations
A few days ago, I shared an article entitled Are Manufacturers Really Leaving China? The China Perspective on Linkedin. David Collins, the author, wrote: Right now, a full-scale exodus is more talk than anything else; it is too early to … [Read more...]
9 Consequences of the Upcoming US-China Trade War
Based on all the articles I have read about the current geopolitical situation, I am not optimistic about the affect of the US-China trade war on American importers. Dan Harris, who wrote "the US-China Cold War start now," announced that a … [Read more...]
What If Your Chinese Supplier Offers To Make Your Product in Vietnam?
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 … [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, … [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 … [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 … [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 … [Read more...]