Importers who have gone through the trouble of researching, qualifying, and building a relationship with their Chinese suppliers are sometimes hesitant to change, even when the quality of their services and output begins to decline. This desire to not want to “rock the boat” with suboptimal suppliers is what we...
Overview It should be obvious to all comers that designer bags are great for almost every situation – they are the only thing you want to have on your arm if you are the sophisticated type and you've got an avalanche of cash when going on your routine shopping spree....
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...
Many new importers find that they only have a very vague idea of how long it really takes to receive their product when purchasing in China. This is because many of them have experience buying from distributors or wholesalers here in the US, so the timeline is rarely clear. In...
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...
For years, many retail companies have been moving towards online stores and shopping, and the pandemic served to accelerate this trend. Being the end user, this meant new choices and new experiences, real multiple channels to buy merchandise. For businesses supplying these end users, omnichannel retail has become a hot...
A China sourcing agency is the best way to support a sourcing program: all your issues are addressed from placing orders to quality assurance to on-time delivery. But (there always seems to be a “but”) it requires an investment. How do we know all that? Well, we have one, obviously....
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,...
