Archive of Category: Quality Control
June 2, 2023
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...
May 24, 2023
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...
May 19, 2023
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...
May 12, 2023
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...
May 4, 2023
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...
April 27, 2023
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...
April 13, 2023
In August 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported on a “$30 million Glass Pavilion [built as] a symbol of America’s ‘Glass City’” in 2006 in Toledo, Ohio. However, this monument, meant to celebrate the city’s great manufacturing past of quality glass, actually was built using glass sourced from China. The...
January 26, 2023
When an importer begins their quest to source products in China, they typically know what they want, but they are not always as clear about what they need. What is the difference between “want” and “need”? Well, it mostly has to do with details; all the things you need to...
