In January I made a prediction on what would happen in March, namely: “… it will get better, … the new 25% tariffs will not be imposed and … previous tariffs will be reduced over time.” Time for me to eat humble pie. Here we are in June, and after...
There are many tools importers use to ensure success with a supplier. 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 them an integral part of the...
China has been heavy in the media lately, mostly because of the US-China Trade War. However, a recent article from the Economist’s Schumpeter blog caught our eye. In the midst of all the news on tariffs, this article, Chinese Firms are not all serial intellectual-property thieves, actually highlights some of...
In the last blog installment we published of this series, Made In China Quality and Perception: Improving Standards and Improving Quality – Part 4, discussed the recovery China made after dealing with major quality scandals and recalls between 2007 and 2008. This week, we continue the series and will examine...
Price is not everything when sourcing from China, but it still is the most important reason why importers source from there. Importers come to us for a number of reasons, but the three most common requests are: Quality assurance, finding suppliers, and securing optimal pricing. Every importer is concerned with...
Last week, we wrote about how China got its reputation for poor quality. This week’s blog discusses how a series of consumer product recalls actually led to the improved quality of Chinese-made goods. As our last blog in this series indicated, the notion that goods made in China are of...
In February we 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 this topic and explore the source of this notion and its impact...
The impending tariffs and the trade war with China have been an ongoing and popular topic in the press, and an especially important issue in our business. One of the benefits of this kind of activity is that importers are focused on reducing COGS (Cost of goods sold). A recent...