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China railways development makes business easier
How China railways impressive development is changing the business landscape and makes China's East coast deeper and deeper. |
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Business Pace in China
It is hard for Westerners to grasp the pace of change in China and its consequences on day to day business.
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Navigating through China is not straightforward: Illustration
Navigating through China's business intricacies is not easy. Great photo illustrating this fact. |
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PPE: Our Special Award
Who said workers do not know what to do with their PPE ? |
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Foreign companies in China can also benefit from Sourcing assistance services
More and more foreign companies operating in China use procurAsia services. For them as well, we find better suppliers and improve their sourcing performances |
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Don't select suppliers on a brochure or website
We visited recently a battery factory in Guangdong: Its nice factory pictures in its brochure proved to be far from reality! |
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Avoid traffic jams: Our Special Award
A clever Chinese driver found a solution to avoid traffic jams. |
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First orders are often time consuming !
Do not underestimate the time required for the first purchase order from China. Getting your first delivery from a new Chinese supplier is often a time consuming process. |
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Packing Department: Our Special Award
Conveyors & control systems manufacturer in Shanghai. Poor workshop producing poor quality products. Packing will probably not withstand overseas shipment |
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Welding Robotization in Racking industry
This China Racking exporter manufactures pallet racks for manual & AS/RS warehouses & develops welding robotization for export products |
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Where is my product manufactured ?
Why a 5S compliant PBA assembly manufacturer with well managed SMT assembly lines & RoHS compliant lines in China makes sometimes substandard deliveries |
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Personal Protective Equipment
China sourcing trends: Working conditions in workshops vary widely. procurAsia short-lists only those involved in personnel's safety. PPE is a good indicator |
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Would you pick this supplier?
Nice catalogs, new facilities and listing in directory of suppliers in China are not indicators of the true quality of a supplier. |
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From Farmer to Industrialist
Many industrial companies in China have good hardware, very capable employees & workers, but are managed by new entrepreneurs without operational vision. |
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Factory Maintenance: Our Special Award
How to save money by not maintaining anything ! |
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Companies pretending they have Quality certificates…
China sourcing trends: A quality certificate give potential buyers the impression of dealing with a well managed Chinese company. A blog story |
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An interesting experience of Quality Management in China
This typical Chinese manufacturer of Racking system for industrial warehouses requires on-site quality management! |
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Quality Management vs Inspections
Quality management and quality inspections are not of the same nature: A story of parts properly "inspected" in the Chinese factory but rejected by the final user in Europe!
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Marketing: Our Special Award for Marketing Bragging
Material handling storage rack conveyors suppliers| Using a directory of suppliers in China may lead you to bad sourcing decision |
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Working with Chinese suppliers forces you to change also
Western companies buying in China shall adapt their purchasing habits, expectations, methods and negotiation style |
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Warehousing practices: Our special award
... for a pile of junk in a corner of a control cabinet workshop, in which cabling operators freely collect cables and connectors to complete their projects! |
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Working conditions: our special award
... for a Chinese welder with ... a total lack of common sense! |
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Safety hazard: slings for heavy weight equipment lifting
3 pictures of damaged or cut lifting slings, simply "repaired" and still in use in this factory! Against all basic Safety principles, of course... |
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Safety hazard: Misuse of a forklift
No comment! Just a picture that speaks for itself |
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Supplier development case study
Successful case of supplier development with a plastic extrusion company near Shanghai. Implementation of Lean Manufacturing principles |
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What you get is NOT what you see: Pictures on Chinese supplier's catalogs!
Identification of supplier in China: An professional looking catalogue or brochure is not the guaranty of a good supplier. A case of pictures from competitors |
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Warehousing practices in Chinese factories
2 pictures showing extremes in applying (or not) basic principles of warehousing in Chinese factories: procurAsia sorts out companies that effectively apply ISO principles |
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China Sourcing Online Sites
Although very useful, online supplier databases are not the comprehensive tool they would like you to believe they are. |
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Looking for my supplier’s factory
Finding physically Chinese suppliers and their factories is a driving and orientation challenge the procurAsia team faces every week in Chinese industrial zones. |
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Is this the same factory I visited two months ago ?
Sometimes, several visits to a supplier are needed to evaluate the full scope of their capabilities, or lack thereoff. |
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Evaluate the quality of your supplier's management
Evaluating your supplier's management is very important. A real example illustrating how the competence & attitude of the management team is critical to the long term viability of a company |
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Are these figures for real ?
Tips for buyers sourcing from Chinese suppliers: Company numbers such as turn-over, headcount, production locations or last year production volume must be double checked! |
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State Owned Enterprises in China
A reminder of why you normally wouldn't do business with a Chinese State Owned Enterprise (SOE): Their management is incompatible with Western requirements! |
Your industrial company considers sourcing in China but does not have enough data to decide. Sending the purchasing manager in mission to China is costly and the first trips have not yielded much results.
As a system integrator or end user, you try to involve Chinese suppliers in projects but hesitate because of distance and quality concerns. You have limited time to select sub-contractors when a project comes up and you want to make fast and safe decisions.
You have a clear sourcing strategy for low cost countries (LCC) and you are looking to increase the number of your Chinese suppliers. You maybe already have a new factory in China and need to localize its supplier base.
Your margins are squeezed. ... Your product is known for quality, but you struggle to keep price premium. ... You know China provide good prices, but worry about quality and have no resources to manage it. ... You want to use China supplier as a base for a new business strategy. 