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Best Practices for Leaving your Chinese Supplier for a New One [Podcast]

April 22, 2022

Best Practices for Leaving your Chinese Supplier for a New One [Podcast]

In this episode… One listener asked us: What checklist of activities does an importer need to perform when ending business relationships with a Chinese contract manufacturer?  So, in this episode, Renaud explains what the process of leaving your current Chinese supplier looks like, including plenty of best practices to follow to make sure that your transition goes as smoothly as possible.   Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the episode right here … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: podcast, Sourcing, supply chain management, switching suppliers, switching to a new manufacturer

Are YOU A ‘Hands-On’ Or ‘Hands-Off’ Buyer? [Podcast]

March 18, 2022

Hands-On Or Hands-Off Buyer

In this episode... Many importers are new to sourcing from China so we've been creating a mini-series of episodes that explores the sourcing process with advice and best practices from Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran. In this series of episodes, we’re exploring how to do your own sourcing from China, from finding suppliers for your products to getting them made. We’ve moved onto soft skills, and last time we spoke about building rapport with your suppliers. Now, we’re going to look at how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: hands on buyers, project management, Sourcing

Which Chinese Manufacturing Business Model Is Best For You? [Podcast]

January 28, 2022

Which Manufacturing Model In China Is Best For You? [Podcast]

In this episode… Sofeast's CEO Renaud recently wrote this guest post on Harris Bricken's China Law Blog about which Chinese manufacturing business model importers will come across when sourcing a Chinese manufacturing partner. Today he goes deeper, joined by Adrian from the Sofeast team, and explains what the two models are in detail, why expectations about how most Chinese manufacturers will behave need to change, and their pros & cons to you if you're searching for a manufacturer right … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: assumptions about Chinese manufacturers, chinese business practices, chinese manufacturers, new product development, podcast, Sourcing

Exploring Manufacturing and New Product Development in Vietnam [Podcast]

March 19, 2021

Exploring Manufacturing and New Product Development in Vietnam [Podcast]

Vietnam continues to be a popular alternative to China for today's importers. Let's explore it... Renaud interviews Simon Caballero, a Hanoi-based purchasing manager and expert on manufacturing in Vietnam, to discuss the manufacturing industry in Vietnam, common risks and issues you will face when manufacturing garments there, and the relationship between developing new products and manufacturing in Vietnam and China. Simon, originally from Barcelona, Spain, has a background in logistics and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vietnam Tagged With: finding vietnamese suppliers, podcast, Sourcing, vietnam, vietnam manufacturing, vietnamese suppliers

7 Tips to Manage the Transfer of Production To Another Chinese Factory

January 25, 2021

7 Tips to Manage the Transfer of Production To Another Chinese Factory

There are cases where importers really need to leave a current supplier. Some situations are unlikely to improve over time, and they are even likely to get worse. I wrote about this in 7 Reasons to Switch to a New Chinese Manufacturer last week. But the next logical question is, 'How to transfer production from the current factory to the next?' and that's what I am covering here. I will also cover the right timing to break the news to the current manufacturer. It is a very sensitive … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: finding a new supplier, new chinese supplier, Sourcing, switching suppliers, transfer production, transferring production to a new chinese factory

How To Validate Your Supplier’s Factory’s Production Capacity (From Abroad) [Podcast]

January 8, 2021

How To Validate Your Supplier’s Factory’s Production Capacity (From Abroad) [Podcast]

You can't visit suppliers in China due to coronavirus. How can you validate their production capacity without going on-site? As we head into 2021 travelling to see suppliers in Asia, in particular China, remains difficult for most buyers due to coronavirus restrictions. Even if you can travel, you face the risk of transit and a long mandatory quarantine period in a hotel before you're even able to conduct your business, so most buyers are staying at home for now. However, before placing an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: due diligence, factory audits, factory visits, production capacity, Sourcing, sourcing tips, verifying supplier capacity

Why The Bill Of Materials (BOM) Is A Key Document For Importers [Podcast]

December 3, 2020

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...]

Filed Under: New Product Development Tagged With: bill of materials, BoM, new product development, podcast, quality management, Sourcing, sourcing components, supplier management

Vetting Suppliers In China [Podcast Series]

July 24, 2020

Vetting Suppliers In China [Podcast Series]

Vetting suppliers is important. After all, these suppliers are responsible for your company's reputation. Hopefully, everyone by now will understand the dangers of checking Alibaba or Global Sources and 'choosing' a supplier who 'looks' good, or perhaps trusting that Alibaba Gold suppliers are somehow more legitimate and trustworthy (spoiler alert: they might not be). So what does a good vetting process look like? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Supplier Vetting, Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: chinese suppliers, finding chinese suppliers, podcast, Sourcing, sourcing from china, sourcing suppliers, vetting suppliers

Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 1: What are VUCA and Black Swans?

March 30, 2020

Risk Management, Part 1: What are VUCA and Black Swans?

We seem to be at a pretty low point right now: Billions of people are confined at home. Economists are predicting a disaster and seem to think 2020 will probably be worse than what most of us can remember. The behavior and effects of this novel coronavirus are still partly unknown. It could still mutate and become more dangerous, for example. And, most amazing of all: the situation has been changing dramatically every 1 or 2 weeks. I am starting this new series on supply chain … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Risk Management Series Tagged With: Black Swan, risk management, Sourcing, VUCA

List of Contract Manufacturers in China – Top 14 Factories

March 12, 2020

List of Contract Manufacturers in China

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, including some contract manufacturers. 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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: chinese manufacturers, chinese suppliers, contract manufacturers, contract manufacturing, Sourcing, sourcing from china

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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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Latest Articles

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  • Inspecting Productions with Very Few Defects: Dump the AQL
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