“Oh my gosh! These are not what I ordered! This is terrible!” Such things are often heard when some importers who buy direct from China receive their goods in their warehouses. How do such things happen? It is likely because they did not have clear quality specifications in place. A...
Given the current climate surrounding China, various factors have caused importers to ask if sourcing from China is still the right choice for their supply chain. Uncertainty due to tariffs/Trade war, rising labor costs and COVID-19 have sparked a lot of concerns. Is it time to search for China sourcing...
American-made vs China-bought has been a hot topic as of late. With the recent political climate, the trade war, and tariffs, more and more importers are looking to move their supply chain management in China home. But is that really in their best interest? Should importers buy direct from China...
Napoleon said, “If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” So why delegate? Does it even make sense? We know that managers (even Napoleon) delegate. That is pretty much a definition of management. But why? And how? We previously wrote a blog about Hiring Teams vs. Individuals and...
In our last travel blog, The Return to China Pt 1, we covered how to carefully plan and prepare a trip to China for a factory visit or a trade fair. And, due to the complexities and challenges of such a grueling international trip, many companies are choosing not to...
1978-2018 As our 40th anniversary year comes to an end, I look back at our business, how it came about, why we did it, and what it means today. People often ask me how CPG got started, and more specifically, why I learned Chinese way back when China was not...
Previously, we wrote about how sourcing from China got its reputation for poor quality. This week’s blog discusses how a series of consumer product recalls actually led to improving the standards of supply chain management in China. As our last blog in this series indicated, the notion that goods made...
We recently started a blog series on the perception of Chinese goods being of poor quality (See Part 1 & Part 2). But is this a myth or reality? In this week’s segment, we’ll delve deeper into supply chain management in China and explore the source of this notion and...