Manufacturing and Quality Control blog

Finding a Chinese supplier to manufacture a product is easy nowadays. Current technology allows you to find hundreds of factories, in a moment’s notice, that are very eager to earn your business. The hard part is getting the actual products you order. Here are three issues you will want to avoid when sourcing in China.

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Have you ever worked with a supplier that just didn’t seem to have your best interests at heart? Maybe there was poor communication between you and the factory. Or, maybe your supplier hit you with one excuse after another to explain poor product quality or a delayed shipment. If you’ve had experience with either situation, you probably wish you’d known how to avoid it. So how do you avoid working with a bad supplier?

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

“Are prices in China really so low?” This is not an easy question to answer. Prices for goods imported from China used to be very competitive but are beginning to look less attractive. Sourcing in China has become more difficult as negotiating with a Chinese supplier for a much lower price is not as easy as it was ten years ago.

Topics: Sourcing

Are social compliance audits really necessary? What are the risks of not considering social compliance? In this article, Steve Mogentale tells us why manufacturers and importers should care about social compliance audits.

Topics: Social Compliance

Let’s imagine you’ve just flown in to Hong Kong airport, and you need to get to Shenzhen. But you’re on a tight budget. So what’s the cheapest way to get to Shenzhen from Hong Kong airport?

Topics: Travel Tips & Advice

When should you get your 3rd-party QC partner involved? This is a commonly asked question among importers and manufacturers. The answer largely depends on what you expect your QC partner to provide and what you can afford. If you already have a team that can inspect and develop checklists, then it may be fine to involve your QC partner 1-2 weeks in advance. However, getting a QC team involved earlier can help you improve your supply chain. Here are three reasons to involve your QC partner early:

Topics: Manufacturing Tips & Advice

Have you ever been confronted with travel difficulties while visiting a Chinese supplier? Maybe you got lost in the middle of Guangzhou South Railway station. Or maybe the driver that was supposed to pick you up from your hotel in Shanghai never showed. Planning your China business trip can be a painful process. This is particularly true when there are multiple suppliers and different cities to visit.

Topics: Travel Tips & Advice

When importers are selecting among an endless list of possibilities, factory location can often take a back seat to factors like price, product quality and shipping deadline. But what if we told you that factory location can, and almost always does, greatly impact all of those factors and more?

Topics: Sourcing

If you’ve ever taken a trip to Southern China, there’s a good chance you’ve flown into Hong Kong International Airport on your way through. You may have even had to deal with your fair share of headaches at the border crossing. So what is the most time-saving and all-around best bang-for-your-buck method of getting to your hotel in Shenzhen from Hong Kong Airport?

Topics: Travel Tips & Advice

Working factory direct sounds like a good idea, right? Well, not necessarily. There are a few considerations to make before deciding if that is the best option, especially when there are existing relationships in place. In this article, we’ll walk you through four major points to consider before going factory direct.

Topics: Sourcing