Recently, I watched a webinar entitled "China's corporate social credit system: evaluating the impact on your supply chain". It was organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in China, and the Head of Risk Consulting at KPMG provided some insights. If you buy products from Chinese suppliers and/or that are made in China, this development comes as good news... and bad news. … [Read more...]
When Should American Companies Reshore Manufacturing Or Stay In China?
In recent times it's very common to see stories about American companies scrambling to reshore manufacturing and leave China and the data seems to support this trend of reshoring or finding other locations. However, I suspect the American companies that moved to China for the wrong reasons originally are mainly the ones who are now reshoring back in the US. Is this the case, though? Let's explore this... … [Read more...]
Don’t Let a Chinese Supplier Circumvent You: 5 Tips
Some risks and frustrations never go away... One of them is Chinese suppliers circumventing their customers, or selling to their customer's competitors, all the while using the product knowledge they gained... from their customers. Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a good old HBR article entitled When Your Contract Manufacturer Becomes Your Competitor. It came out in 2006, but the same trends are still at work! … [Read more...]
Advice for Buying Face Masks in China without Losing your Shirt
With the COVID 19 pandemic hitting more countries, and more people realizing how serious the situation is, it seems tens of thousands of people started looking for face masks and other personal protection products. And what I see is a lot of people sending money, receiving substandard products, or not receiving anything at all. I wrote this article as a warning about your risks. And also to improve your odds of getting what you want, if you are determined to pursue your project. … [Read more...]
List of Contract Manufacturers in China – Top 13 Factories
These days it’s easy to find article after article stating that manufacturing in China is on the way out. And that's true, at least partly. Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, and Portugal have many good potential suppliers. However, China is still the best place to produce relatively complex products, especially when time-to-market is critical and when assembly requires a lot of labor. Consumer electronics is a case in point. As Dr. Zhang, research director of IDC Worldwide Robotics, … [Read more...]
Unable To Go To Your China Factory Because Of Coronavirus?
The COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly throughout the world. Wikipedia keeps count of it, country by country. This website show interesting maps that are kept up to date. Some countries are under-reporting their toll (Iran), while others are going over the top (Nth Korea). It is all happening right before our eyes! What does it mean for importers of Made-in-China goods who can't, or won't, visit China right now? Read on to explore its effects and a helpful list of actions you can take to … [Read more...]
COVID-19: What Are The 7 Major Risks for Importers of China Goods?
As an importer, you are probably wondering how the COVID-19 epidemic in China is going to impact your business. Beijing says things are rapidly improving and hints that the situation will nearly be back to normal on the coasts by the end of February. They are still planning to hold the Canton fair. Let's all hope they are right. Let's hope there is no relapse (the epidemic starting again in certain cities) in the coming months. The situation is still far from clear. In the meantime, … [Read more...]
Coping With Coronavirus: How Importers Can Check If A China Factory Is Ready & Has Capacity
Importers are being hit severely by the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia epidemic in China: Many factory workers (operators, inspectors, engineers...) are locked down in Hubei province Perhaps a higher number of factory workers are remaining in their home towns, hesitant to come back to work Local governments have extended the holiday, and then have imposed strict conditions for re-opening, which means many factories are not yet authorized to re-open One can expect a much … [Read more...]
China Epidemic: Real Effects on Logistics and Manufacturing
The situation is pretty dark, with a new virus spreading like wildfire and governments resorting to extreme measures. Nobody believes Beijing's official numbers. I wrote about the alarming estimates of some Hong Kong experts a few days ago, and finally, the Western press started to report them, too, a couple of days later. The Economist is asking 'how bad will it get?'. This is in everyone's mind. We have gotten many emails from our clients asking the same question this past week. They … [Read more...]
Diverging Views on the China Virus Outbreak: Whom To Listen To?
Some medical experts in Hong Kong have devoted their careers to the study of micro microbiology and viruses, after the traumatic episode of SARS. These are the people I will tend to listen to, on this topic. For example, Yeung Kwok Yung and Gabriel Leung. And these Hong Kong specialists project the evolution of the infection in a way no Western newspaper (who mostly take the official government numbers at face value) dares to relate, it seems. … [Read more...]
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