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...
One common dilemma importers often face is the decision of whether to hire a China sourcing agent or a China sourcing agency. You hire people to get results. But hiring is a big investment of time and resources. To get a good return on that investment, you need to find...
We’ve all heard the saying, “The greater the risk, the greater the reward.” Although the risk/reward concept makes sense in most cases, let us not exaggerate. Sourcing and procurement is a risky and complex process in and of itself. If you want to reap rewards from buying directly from China,...
“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...
If you’re sourcing from China, you understand the importance of management and you are probably already evaluating your systems and processes on a regular basis to ensure that they are running optimally and according to your plans and your vision. (If you’re not, you really should.) SWOT stands for “Strengths,...
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...
Experience: “Knowledge and skill gained while doing something” (MacMillan). Experience is a fun topic. In politics, those who have a lot of it worry they are too old, and those who don’t have enough argue it is not important. Kissinger is 100 years old, is his experience valuable? You decide. ...
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...