Following unprecedented protests across China, the government has been rapidly dropping its flagship 'Zero Covid' policy as of the start of December 2022. While a return to normalcy in China may come as welcome news to locals and visitors … [Read more...]
Manufacturing in China: Assess the Risk Level and Take Action
A few days ago, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to do a video interview with the authors of the upcoming book Enterprise China, which analyzes the business strategy of Chinese firms in general (and their tight links to the Chinese … [Read more...]
Zero-China Supply Chain: Should Importers pursue it?
Following October 2022's 20th Communist Party Congress in which Xi Jinping made various statements about the state of China and its future plans, some of which spooked Western observers, let's investigate what China's current politics might … [Read more...]
China Massive Lockdowns (March 22): 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 … [Read more...]
How War In Ukraine Could Negatively Affect Global & Chinese Supply Chains [Podcast]
![How War In Ukraine Could Negatively Affect Global & Chinese Supply Chains [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/HowWarInUkraineCouldNegativelyAffectGlobalChineseSupplyChainsPodcast-1140x445.jpeg)
In this episode… We discuss how wars like the one waged on Ukraine by Russia right now could affect global supply chains. In particular, could China be affected, and if so, how? Is the West likely to decouple from China in the future in a … [Read more...]
China Power Cuts In Late 2021. Will Your Supply Chain Be Affected? [Podcast]
![China Power Cuts In Late 2021. Will Your Supply Chain Be Affected? [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ChinaPowerCutsInLate2021.WillYourSupplyChainBeAffectedPodcast-1140x445.jpg)
In this episode... Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran dives into what's causing the power cuts around China that are affecting many manufacturers around the country in late 2021. Some manufacturers are having to close for days at a time or work … [Read more...]
Supply Chain Risk Management: No, Toyota Doesn’t Always Do Just-In-Time
I ran into a very interesting article from Bloomberg entitled How Toyota Steered Clear of the Chip Shortage Mess. Nearly all automakers announced that they would have to cut their production numbers due to a serious shortage of … [Read more...]
The End Of Just In Time Manufacturing? [Podcast]
![The End Of Just In Time Manufacturing? [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TheEndOfJustInTimeManufacturingPodcast-1140x445.jpg)
A number of blog posts, such as this one, have been popping up lately casting doubts on whether just in time manufacturing can survive post-coronavirus. They share some pretty strong words: Recent trade tensions between the US and … [Read more...]
Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 4: How Much Inventory Do You Need?
If you make sure to sit on 6 months of inventory for every one of your major products, you will run much lower risks of being unable to supply your customers with what they need. You might even be able to cut a current manufacturer off and … [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 … [Read more...]