This is another article in our "supplier vetting" series. So you vetted a potential supplier through background checks and a factory quality audit. Great. You might also have to check their social & environmental policies if you are … [Read more...]
Beijing’s Efforts at Upgrading its Manufacturing Sector by 2025
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China just published a report entitled China Manufacturing 2025. It is well researched and well written. It starts by describing the current situation: For a generation China has been the … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 5: On-Site Factory Quality Audits
This is another article in our "supplier vetting" series. So you asked potential suppliers a number of questions, then you visited them and noted your subjective evaluations... If you want to move further in the direction of working with … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 4: On-site, subjective evaluations
So you have identified a potential supplier, you vetted their reputation & legitimacy, you asked them questions before a visit... and now is time to pay them a visit in China. I will cover the different aspects of the factory that … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 3: Evaluating Engineering Capability
If you want to work with a Chinese manufacturer to develop a new product, you need to evaluate their engineering capability. (If you only buy off-the-shelf products, this article won't be useful.) In addition to the questions a purchaser … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 2: Questions to Ask Before a Visit
Let's say you found a potential supplier, you communicated a bit with them, you vetted their company's legitimacy and reputation, and you want to move forward. Generally, the next step is to ask them a number of questions that will … [Read more...]
How to Increase Speed of Developing New Products in China
Developing and manufacturing new products in China, especially if they're customized, is not an easy task. Many new products being launched using crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter have delays – in some cases, they are more than … [Read more...]
China Supplier Vetting, Part 1: Background Checks
So you are looking for a supplier, you see some nice samples on Alibaba / Global Sources, and you would like to do a bit of research on the company before getting too deep into discussions. This is wise. More and more people have … [Read more...]
Managing Assembly for your Production in China
It often makes sense to let your supplier handle the final assembly, final testing & inspection, packing, and shipping processes (which I will collectively refer to as “assembly” in this article). Here are a few examples of cases … [Read more...]
4 Tips for Production Launch of an Electronic Product in China
These days it seems more and more "hardware startups" are coming to Shenzhen and working with Chinese manufacturers to launch production of electronic products. And they typically find out that their supplier hasn't prepared correctly for … [Read more...]