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. ...
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...
Background: When sourcing products overseas, building long-term partnerships with quality suppliers can provide a strong foundation for a sustainable, thriving supply chain. Managing these relationships from afar often requires a significant investment of time and resources. After establishing a foundation of trust over time through long-term collaboration and a consistent...
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...
There are many tools importers use to ensure success with a supplier when they buy direct from China. One of these tools is the Product Specification Sheet (PSS). This document is used to specify the buyer’s requirements and to ensure that they are implemented at the factory level by making...
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...