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Import From China arrow Evaluating Suppliers

Evaluating Suppliers

Foreign Mental Blocks PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010
By David Dayton in "Silk Road International"

While working in China is a completely new experience for most foreigners—and a completely foreign experience at that—there are some things that are, well, pretty easy to understand, I think, but that many new-to-China foreigners just don't seem to get. I've put together a list of issues that have stumped more than one foreign client in the past few years—and I made the list because all of these issues came up within the last month working with clients in the US during the current run-up to Chinese New Year.

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Even if it's not your fault... PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010
By David Dayton in "Silk Road International"

On of the things that I've learned, the hard way, about doing business in China is that as a (foreign) buyer when there are problems, even if they're not my fault, I'm going to be asked to pay for them.

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Partnering with a Chinese factory: a sweet dream? PDF Print E-mail
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Friday, 12 February 2010
By Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

Most new buyers coming to China want just one thing: to find one or two good manufacturers that they count on. They think “if I were a manufacturer, I would try to find a few stable customers and make their lives easy, and everybody would win”. Unfortunately, they do not understand their suppliers’ point of view.

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How to use supplier audits to ensure effective China sourcing PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 04 November 2009

By Mike Bellamy

Among the biggest risks of outsourcing is ensuring that your supplier delivers according to your requirements. Overseas trading companies can disappear overnight or, after signing a contract with one factory, your goods may end up being produced at an unknown subcontractor. Fortunately, supplier audits can help to mitigate many of these problems. This week, Smart China Sourcing spoke with Mike Bellamy from PassageMaker on the benefits of supplier audits in reducing risk in your global supply chain.

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Three and a Half Kinds of Factories PDF Print E-mail
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Friday, 29 May 2009
By David Dayton in "Silk Road International"

It goes without saying that not all factories are created equal. Not all factories with international experience are equal either. Certainly there is a level that you'd prefer to work with if price was constant. But this isn't a perfect world so we need to talk about with whom you actually choose to work.

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More China Plant Tour Tips - How To Check The Plant PDF Print E-mail
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Monday, 18 May 2009
By Kevin in 'The China Sourcing Blog'

The time that a buyer spends at a plant is crucially important. The main goal of taking a plant tour is to observe and judge the plant.

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China Plant Tours: Why You Have to See for Yourself PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009

By Leanne in 'The China Sourcing Blog'

All international purchasing managers try to minimize import risk. As a China sourcing expert, in order to achieve this goal we will always recommend you to undertake plant visits to China before you place an order, for the following reasons:

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What China's Credit Crunch Means For YOU PDF Print E-mail
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Thursday, 16 April 2009
By Dan Harris in China Law Blog

The Financial Times just did a story, entitled 'Fears rise on China groups' payments' on how private Chinese companies are being negatively impacted by the credit crunch (h/t to 'China Economics Blog').

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China Plant Tour Tips PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 15 April 2009
By Leanne in The China Sourcing Blog

Before coming over

Now that we have established that plant tours are an absolute necessity, we can move on to how these tours should be undertaken.

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How to make Chinese Factory Visits more successful PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 05 November 2008

ImageFactory Visits in China are Very Important
Would you send a substantial amount of your hard earned money to someone you have not met before with only a hope that everything will be fine later? Of course not!

So why are you doing this with your newly hired factories in China?

To make a fine point, visiting your Chinese factories on a regular basis is a must for all importers if you want to minimize your risks. From my first hand experiences, I know Wal*Mart's policy is for vendors to visit every one of their factories in 3 months intervals. Wal*Mart is a cost conscious company that would not require these visits if they didn't believe them necessary.

 

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Pitfalls to avoid when dealing with China suppliers: a veteran's advice PDF Print E-mail
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Thursday, 01 May 2008
We interview US-based entrepreneur Charles Kirmuss, who has been importing electronic products from Asia since 1991.

Q: For someone who is talking directly to China manufacturers for the first time, what differences should they expect compared to talking to domestic suppliers?

Interview with Charles Kirmuss on evaluating suppliersA: Oh boy, a lot of things. It's incredible. You have the good and bad situations that arise. When you come to a trade show you can obviously meet a lot of new contacts on the show floor, where you really don't know who is Mr. Who.

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China importing advice: Interview with 16-year veteran PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Adam Linden of Canada's Ultimate Footwear Corp reveals sourcing strategies and lessons learned during a 16-year span importing China-made footwear. Among his many helpful tips, he cautions importers to brush up on their currency exchange skills, makes the case for using letters of credit where larger orders are involved, and reviews the improvements he has seen in importing from China.

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Qualifying suppliers: Initial supplier due dilligence PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007

There are quite a number of good China suppliers offering new and innovative products or offering their manufacturing services. You'll increase the odds of finding good suppliers by sourcing through reputable channels like trade shows or web sites that physically visit and verify that suppliers are real (like Global Sources verified suppliers). Nevertheless, it is good practice to conduct some due diligence on the supplier, and overseas buyers are sometimes surprised to learn of the many tools available to do this.

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China trading companies: What they don't want you to know PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Sometimes sourcing middlemen don't make it clear that's what they are, and may even try to pass themselves off as factories though they have no manufacturing facilities. In these cases, the buyer is likely paying higher prices, giving up control, and possibly taking on greater risk -- and getting no added value in return. China-based Mike Bellamy runs down the steps buyers can take to avoid this.

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China business partners: Are government officials your best choice? PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007
China Law Blog's Dan Harris questions whether local government officials can meet expectations in identifying suitable partners in their jurisdictions.

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China importing advice: Challenges and solutions for new importers PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Experienced buyers at the Global Sources China Sourcing Fairs share their biggest challenge and best advice for newcomers.

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