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China Massive Lockdowns (March 22): The Domino Effect In Full Force

March 14, 2022

China Massive Lockdowns: the Domino Effect in Full Force

China is fighting tooth and nail to contain the current wave of covid infections. And this is going to be a long and painful battle. Most people I talked to do not believe Beijing will change its "covid zero" objective anytime soon. They recently adapted it a bit to "dynamic zero", but the objective remains zero. In short, there are outbreaks all along the East coast, and hyper-connected megacities like Changchun (in the Northeast, home to very large VW production facilities) and Shanghai … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus Tagged With: buying from china, covid-19, supply chain disruptions

5 Difficulties Importers Are Currently Faced With When Preparing For 2022 [Podcast]

August 20, 2021

5 Difficulties Importers Are Currently Faced With When Preparing For 2022 [Podcast]

In this episode… The coronavirus pandemic has caused a number of difficulties for importers with Chinese or Asian suppliers. Lack of visibility over suppliers, lockdowns, increased supply chain risks, sea freight delays and very high costs requiring very advanced booking, a global electronic component shortage, and a USD/RMB exchange rate that isn't ideal right now, are the topics under discussion in this episode. If these are affecting you, Renaud's views will be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus Tagged With: covid-19, electronic components, exchange rate, podcast, sea freight, shipping costs

China’s Factories Are On A Wartime Footing Due To Covid. How Does This Affect You?

August 9, 2021

China’s Factories Are On A Wartime Footing Due To Covid. How Does This Affect You?

As we reach August 2021 the highly infectious coronavirus delta variant has infiltrated the country despite China’s stringent pandemic control measures. Importers may remember the disruption caused by China’s strict national lockdown around early 2020 when the epidemic became very severe in Hubei province. Global supply chains still haven’t recovered despite China’s manufacturing sector bouncing back quickly, not least because sea freight initially revised down their estimates on required … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus Tagged With: buying from china, coronavirus, coronavirus in china, coronavirus in vietnam, covid-19, shipping from china, vietnam manufacturing

Will China Lock Entire Provinces Down A Second Time in 2020?

June 14, 2020

Will China Lock Entire Provinces Down A Second Time in 2020?

In early February, I was wondering what effects the lockdown of China would have on importers. And, a few weeks later, importers suffered another (often more violent) blow: stores closed for months, a lot of unsold inventory, and weak demand across many product categories. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus, Supply Chain Tagged With: China, coronavirus, covid-19, supply chain risk

Requirements To Import PPE: You Need To Go Beyond Certificates

April 13, 2020

Requirements To Import PPE: You Need To Go Beyond Certificates

There is a serious emergency right now to procure and import PPE. I know. Manufacturers are overloaded with requests from buyers, and they can't (won't) spend much time responding to requests. I know! Nearly all the importers I talked to were concerned about the manufacturers' formal authorization to sell PPE and medical gear on their market. But very few wanted to go deeper than that. However, as you buy products that are actually intended to save lives, should you throw all proper due … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus, Quality Control Tips Tagged With: certification, coronavirus, covid-19, due diligence, importing from china, importing ppe, medical products, ppe, sourcing from china

Verifying Certificates for Masks, Gloves, and Other PPE from China

April 10, 2020

Verifying Certificates for Masks, Gloves, and Other PPE

These days, it seems everybody has jumped on the same 'PPE' bandwagon. In China, hundreds (maybe thousands) of manufacturers have seized this opportunity. Many of them have zero experience in the medical field, or in any regulated industry for that matter. And, all over the world, buyers are looking for personal protective equipment (PPE) and related medical products. Again, a minority of them have a full understanding of the implications of what they are getting into. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coronavirus, Quality Control Tips Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-19, face masks, importing from china, importing ppe, ppe

9 Reasons Why You Can’t Buy Face Masks with Low Risk in China

April 5, 2020

9 Reasons Why You Can't Buy Face Masks with Low Risk in China

The Western world is scrambling to buy face masks and other PPE materials. And all the conditions are met for highly expensive mistakes. If I could ring the proverbial alarm bell, this article is my way to do that. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-19, face masks, ppe, quality control, sourcing from china

Advice for Buying Face Masks in China without Losing your Shirt

March 23, 2020

Advice for Buying Facial 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...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: buying face masks from china, chinese suppliers, coronavirus, covid-19, face masks, sourcing suppliers

How You Can Prepare for the ‘After Coronavirus Peak’ in the West

March 18, 2020

How You Can Prepare for the 'After Coronavirus Peak' in the West

The COVID-19 pandemic is now clearly impacting the entire world, with heavy and unpredictable consequences. It is no longer just a Chinese issue. The problem has been 'exported'. But let's look at China first. The situation is changing 180 degrees these days! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Tagged With: business review, coronavirus, covid-19, Latest trends, strategic planning

COVID-19: Have a Resilient Supply Chain, Stop JIT, Never Single-Source? Really?

March 10, 2020

COVID-19: Have a Resilient Supply Chain, Stop JIT, Never Single-Source? Really?

I am getting tired of reading "expert commentaries" about the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on supply chains. They all seem to say the same thing, and (in my mind) they tend to overlook certain facts. Let's look at 4 commonly held truths that I disagree with. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Tagged With: coronavirus, covid-19, strategic planning, supply chain management, supply chains

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Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in chinese manufacturing since 2005.

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