Several customers have asked us for help with buying electronic components in advance recently. If you purchase electronics from China, you have certainly noticed that prices have kept rising, and in some cases, the lead times are 6 months or longer. Some companies have stopped producing and are waiting for the insanity to stop, but most others have to keep supplying their customers. The question in their minds is 'how much worse is it going to get?' I thought I'd share some advice on … [Read more...]
Why The Bill Of Materials (BOM) Is A Key Document For Importers [Podcast]
The Bill Of Materials - more important than you may think! The Bill Of Materials is an incredibly important document which spans the product development process and evolves as you get closer to mass production. It provides all of the product's key information, from both the supply chain side and also design and technical side, too. Think of it as a kind of list of components, suppliers, costs, quality and compliance test results, designs (showing the relationship between components and … [Read more...]
Free Samples from Potential Chinese Suppliers: A Positive Sign?
If you find 30 potential suppliers that all seem capable of making the product you want, how to pick the best one? With B2B platforms like Alibaba and Global Sources, many buyers ask themselves that question. And an easy answer is "I will ask for free samples and see who says yes and makes good-looking samples". … [Read more...]