Main Areas of Shoe Production in China The changing landscape of shoe manufacturing has led many companies from around the world to source their shoes from China. Let's clarify the different areas of shoe production and purchasing in China and explain what makes each area unique. The Four Central Areas...
Why is it so important to have a great China sourcing agency? Because great sourcing is all about details. And details have a lot to do with culture and local knowledge. Your China team can help ensure that everyone in your Western office is on the same wavelength as your...
We are the age of information. All of it is readily available at your fingertips. And for many, the problem is no longer finding suppliers, but rather, qualifying suppliers. We previously wrote about how to verify factories (see China sourcing: How to verify factories). Since this blog, new importers continue to ask...
In this highly competitive world, there are many possible Chinese suppliers and manufacturers for your goods. It can be difficult to identify the “best fit” to meet specific needs and requirements when you buy direct from China. In an April 2019 blog, we addressed a similar issue: How-to Qualifying Suppliers...
We were all new importers at one time even if some of us (not me!) are now wise and savvy with our years of experience. We all remember things we wish we had known when we first started China sourcing company Today, we see new importers popping up everywhere, they...
How you establish the terms for a working relationship with a factory, especially in the context of China direct buying, can really set the tone for the remainder of the production process. The Request For Quotation (RFQ) is thus a crucial step in your China sourcing program to ensure the...
Recently, I read an article on QualityInspection.org, “The Danger of Choosing a ‘Cheap’ Chinese Factory.” The objective of most companies with China sourcing programs is to save money, it stands to reason that many importers are looking for cheap Chinese factories. But what happens when saving money becomes, in effect,...
As a China sourcing service provider, one of the questions I am asked most often is how to protect Intellectual Property (IP) when manufacturing goods in China. This scrutiny is justified: nobody wants their idea stolen by their manufacturer. Since China is the “supplier of the world,” it receives extra...