Doing Business in China

How to ensure quality Chinese manufacturing,here are some good advices.

1. Take the time to establish the right partners and processes. Don't come to China with a list of three suppliers found on Alibaba and don't work on a time line. Get it right from the start, and if need be, take a short term hit and continue producing in the US/ EU until the China platform is ready. Should things fail, it will cost a lot more than a few months of the existing process.

2. Conduct continuous product quality and risk assessments. Know what can go wrong, work out the margins for error, be a step ahead.

3.Develop a platform that has a diversified supplier base, and one that is transparent to you. There is no easier way to get in trouble than to let a single supplier source everything in the blind. Either source the raw materials in-house and send to an assembler, or work with the assembler to identify subcontractors.

4.Always have final inspection done AT THE FACTORY. The worst position a buyer can be in is when the goods arrive at the US dock, 21 days after the final payment was made, and it is not to order. Inspecting ON SITE makes returns/adjustments easier, and as many payment terms are for the largest balance of the money at delivery, the buyers are still in a good position to negotiate.

5.Always carry a safety stock (if possible). If you have a supplier on a JIT [Just In Time] delivery system, and they know you have no safety stock, then pricing negotiations will have a wholly different tone than if the supplier knows you have a a one to two month safety stock and are out shopping around.

6.Never think that increasing your orders is a way to handle a supplier-manufacturer who is cutting corners. Many think that by giving more business things will improve, and I have yet to see that come true. It only increases the likelihood that your supplier will become your competitor, and that if there are problems in quality, it is only going to be more difficult to find another supplier who can take the business.