To successfully import from China, travel to the country is essential. Even with the most experienced team on the ground, at least one trip is crucial for numerous reasons: revealing the complexities of China importing, meeting your suppliers face-to-face, forging trusting partnerships, understanding the myriad cultural differences that impact all...
By now, the need to wear a mask might seem like old news. However, as wearing a mask is part of our "new normal," it might be easy to forget the importance of using a good quality and the right kind of mask, especially in high-risk environments. The Market Sourcing...
For most Americans and Europeans, it’s never been fun to wear masks – unless, of course, you’re in New Orleans during Mardi Gras or at a carnival – or if you are robbing a bank. Despite this cultural bias, masks make sense during the current pandemic: they work. For example,...
China began the New Year with an unusually quiet Spring Festival, one that included staying at home, not traveling, and abstaining from the all-important and traditional family visits and the parties. A virus had emerged, and it had rapidly grown into an epidemic. As it spread throughout the country, social...
The COVID-19 outbreak was first identified at the end of January 2020. Conditions in China are now gradually improving as a result of the country’s vigorous containment efforts. What is it like to manage a supply chain under these circumstances? How does one mitigate risks that no-one had predicted? To...
“Social distancing” is making an impact on all businesses across the country. This change in behavior is another major disruption caused by Covid-19. How else is the virus affecting YOUR business? More to the point: are smaller importers affected the same way as larger corporations are? Last week, we reviewed...
The COVID-19 coronavirus is going to have a major impact on the global economy, this is now undeniable. We discussed the various impacts of the virus around the world in our last blog, “Covid-19 Affecting Your Supply Chain?” While the pandemic affects everyone—individuals and companies alike—one of the hardest hit...
The whole world is fixated on Covid-19. Perhaps too much so due to its unpredictability. There’s so much we don’t know. What we do know is that it is very contagious, it has a relatively low fatality rate, and, if left to its devices, lasts about 3 weeks. It seems...