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The Impact Of Chinese New Year On Importers & Tips To Prepare For CNY 2021 [Podcast]

November 25, 2020

The Impact Of Chinese New Year On Importers & Tips To Prepare For CNY 2021

The Phenomenon of Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is an amazing time of year in China and several other Asian countries who also place a lot of importance on the lunar calendar (such as Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, and others). In China, it is the greatest human migration with more than a billion people travelling around the country to visit family and friends and have a well-deserved break this February coming. China's fairly unique reliance on migrant labour, where … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: Chinese New Year, CNY, podcast, risk mitigation when purchasing components, risk reduction, spring festival, supplier management, supply chain management, supply chain risks

3 Vertical Integration Benefits: Transparency, Control, Speed

September 21, 2020

3 Vertical Integration Benefits: Transparency, Control, Speed

Last year I wrote about a very common problem in China Supply Chain Transparency and Monitoring: Not Getting Easier… and this year we are still lamenting that same problem: Further down the supply chain, unauthorized subcontracting is still very, very common. We noticed this is particularly true of metal surface treatment processes that are done outside of the “main factory” (which would typically do casting and CNC lathe/milling). A few examples: Plating Polishing Painting, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: controls in the supply chain, speed, supplier management, supply chain improvement, supply chain management, transparency, vertical integration, vertical integration benefits

The End Of Just In Time Manufacturing? [Podcast]

August 19, 2020

The End Of Just In Time Manufacturing? [Podcast]

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 China, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted that this supply chain model is increasingly untenable. Listen to this episode of the podcast to hear my take... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Tagged With: jit, just in time, podcast, supply chain disruptions, supply chain management, supply chain risk

Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 3: A Purchaser Supply Chain KPI Scorecard’s Benefits

May 22, 2020

Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 3: A Purchasers' Supply Chain Scorecard

Most purchasers pay too much attention to the price of what they buy but fail to take risks into account. That's a very widespread issue. One solution to this might be developing a supply chain KPI scorecard, to force buyers to report on how risky the supply chain they are building really is. After all, setting up a solid supply chain is an important objective isn't it? This is what we are going to cover here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Risk Management Series Tagged With: balanced scorecard, supply chain kpi scorecard, supply chain kpis, supply chain management, wider supply chain

Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 2: The Business Continuity Plan

April 19, 2020

Supply Chain Risk Management, Part 2: The Business Continuity Plan

In this post, let's focus on disaster recovery, and more specifically on the business continuity plan, with a simple example. We will also provide you with a free template. This is the second post in our series of Supply Chain Risk Management, which will come out gradually over the next few months. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Risk Management Series Tagged With: business continuity, planning exercises, reacting to disasters, risk management, supply chain management

What is the Bill of Materials and why is it important?

April 10, 2020

When a new product is developed, two sets of documents are very important: On the technical side the design deliverables (component drawings, PCB schematic…) and on the supply chain side the Bill of Materials (BOM). Let's look at the BOM and its importance here: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Tagged With: bill of materials, BoM, components, supplier management, supply chain management

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

Wuhan Epidemic: Why Major Supply Chain Disruptions Are Coming Up

February 6, 2020

Wuhan Epidemic Why Major Supply Chain Disruptions Are Coming Up

In my last article on the topic of the epidemic that started in Wuhan, I mentioned there would be real effects on logistics and manufacturing. Today I can affirm some of these effects can already be observed. And it is definitely going to impact some importers' sourcing strategy. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Insights Tagged With: coronavirus, supply chain disruptions, supply chain management, wuhan virus

China Supply Chain Transparency and Monitoring: Not Getting Easier…

July 11, 2019

China Supply Chain Transparency & Monitoring: Not Getting Easier

China supply chain transparency and monitoring is still as important an issue as it has ever been, and importers need to stay on their toes. Let's explore why this isn't getting any easier... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: chinese suppliers, controls in the supply chain, product quality, subcontracting, supplier management, supply chain management

8 Elements of a Low-Risk Supply Chain in China [Free Webinar]

July 9, 2019

8 Elements Of A Low Risk Supply Chain In China webinar

Clients often ask us for assistance in improving their supply chain in China. For instance, it's common to hear that they aren't satisfied with poor quality, with missed timelines, or with unethical practices. If your supply chain is giving you issues like this, and it is causing your business unnecessary risk, you might not have taken all the necessary steps. How to lower these risks and build a low-risk supply chain in China? Over at Sofeast, we've created a free webinar for you about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supply Chain Tagged With: buying from china, chinese suppliers, supplier improvement, supply chain improvement, supply chain management

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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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