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...]
Chinese Suppliers Are Getting Less Flexible. Now What?
About 6 months ago, I wrote how Chinese fabric suppliers and dyeing houses were giving headaches to the whole supply chain. It had a serious impact on Chinese apparel suppliers (many delays, higher costs, higher MOQs for fabric...). And, in turn, those suppliers got more rigid when dealing with their overseas customers. The attitude was "that's the way it is and we can't make miracles, so just get in line". That's actually an overall trend, in many industries, from what I have heard. … [Read more...]
How To Get a List of “Good Chinese Factories”?
Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me for contacts of "good Chinese factories". We see so many of them, the thinking goes, surely we know a few good ones. When we did a few trade shows in Hong Kong, 7-8 years ago, it came up roughly every 30 minutes. Why wouldn't we do that? For several reasons. … [Read more...]
Helping a Chinese Factory Improve While Still Holding Them Accountable
You might discover that helping a Chinese factory improve makes sense if you have quality requirements that are challenging to one of the factories you work with, or if you are working with them to develop a complex new product. Actually, it sometimes makes very good business sense. Spending 10,000 USD might save your company 1 million USD in the end! And yet, there is a point where you can't keep "helping" them all the way, as they start to take the habit of being "baby-sat" and they … [Read more...]
How To See if a Chinese Manufacturer Is Capable of Improving in the Future?
Last week I wrote about the best way to have a Chinese supplier take responsibility. However, the most important question, I feel, is how to work with manufacturers that will keep improving over time. And it all starts from supplier selection. If at the sourcing stage, you don't try to work with people and companies that will tend to improve, you are sabotaging all your other efforts. Here are 5 areas I'd look at. … [Read more...]
The 7 Major Risks You Run With Your China Manufacturers
I listed the 6 ways Chinese suppliers cheat importers a few years ago. But, with proper due diligence, the risk of being cheated outright goes down a lot. The major risks that experienced importers run, when working with a new manufacturer in China, are mostly related to issues of motivation and trust. To be sure, there are many good manufacturers in China, but you should be aware of the pitfalls and watch out for them. My partner Fabien and I made a list of 7 common issues we have … [Read more...]
Chinese Supplier Background Check: How useful is it?
I wrote before about ways to run a background check on a Chinese company. We recently had an interesting experience and it serves as an interesting example for those buyers who are afraid of lies and trickeries so common in this part of the world. One of our regular clients was planning to buy for $50,000 of motorized vehicles. They asked us to run a quick check on the supplier's company as a safety measure. Apparently, all was in order. The supplier has a well-designed website, … [Read more...]
Are ISO 9001 Certified Suppliers the Best in China?
Here are some interesting or useful articles that I found recently. Quality Management Systems in China Explained Fredrik Grönkvist asked me the following questions about certifications to the ISO 9001 standard (and to other QMS standards): What is a Quality Management System and why is it relevant to importers? Is certification mandatory, or is it common that Chinese manufacturers implement a Quality Management System without obtaining the paper? How can you determine if the … [Read more...]
Auditing a small Chinese factory: does it make sense?
I see some well-meaning importers who pay for factory audits based on a checklist inspired by the ISO9001 standard. However, I am really questioning the value of auditing a small factory (below 400-600 workers). Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that purchasers roll the dice. They should try to visit the factories before placing orders. It is always good to see what equipment the factory will use, and what kind of products they are manufacturing. My point is that a formal audit will … [Read more...]
Successfully Launching Production In China: 12 Steps For Buyers
Every year, thousands of inexperienced buyers are coming to China to find a supplier and launch production. However, getting a perfect pre-production sample is not enough. Do you know who is going to make your products, and in which conditions? Launching production in China soon? Follow these steps... Here are the steps buyers should be following when launching production in China in order to maximize success and avoid the major pitfalls: Visit a factory (and write its address down), … [Read more...]