China Manufacturing Decoded

Today Adrian and Andrew Amirnovin, our reliability and testing head, look at some of China's recent technology successes, what fuels China's tech dominance, and how technology is caught up in the middle of the US-China trade war. 

00:00 - Greetings and introduction.

06:18 - What is fuelling China's tech dominance?

12:40 - The success story of Huawei.

20:32 - Other Chinese tech success stories.

23:30 - Is Chinese tec...

Adrian and Renaud get together to talk about 10 common problems that companies with Chinese manufacturing suppliers often face, AND how you can deal with them. Hopefully, you are not one of the unlucky ones, but being prepared with the knowledge to avoid issues is always helpful!

00:00 - Greetings and introduction

03:22 - 1. If your supplier refuses to ship the goods you paid for.

09:40 - 2. Your manufacturer tries ...

Adrian and Renaud discuss Quality Fade. This bad practice from suppliers sees them put their profits before your product quality, but the big problem is that you may not even know it is happening as it's a gradual process where quality declines over time, bit by bit.

Are you at risk, how do you identify it, and what can you do to combat it? We reveal all in this episode!

00:00 - Greetings and introduction

02:27 - Wh...

On this episode of the China Manufacturing Decoded Podcast, Adrian hosts and is joined by Andrew, our reliability and testing head who is going to explain why the PCBA in your electronic product is critical, and how to protect it both physically and through product design.

00:00 - Greetings and introduction.

01:45 - What is the PCB and why is it so important?

03:04 - How and why do we protect the PCB?

04:40 - Confor...

Adrian and Renaud are talking about traceability for manufacturers which provides a detailed record of how the products are manufactured and the supply chain, from raw materials to finished products. Having this mindset and system can help you to reduce risks and deal with problems quickly by pinpointing where they arise. It can also help you be a more compliant business. Plenty of benefits, but it takes a cultural shift to put in ...

Air travel requires an extremely high level of safety, so it's very embarrassing for Boeing that they have been dogged by quality and reliability issues lately, resulting in a near-disaster on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 Max.

Renaud and Paul look at Boeing's recent troubles, based on information from news reports, that seem to have been caused by bad manufacturing habits such as accepting sub-standard parts from suppliers with...

Our CEO Renaud is joined by Marc Burban and Amanda Han, insurance brokers from Asian Risks Management Services. We get advice from these two China insurance experts, explore the typical risks that manufacturers and buyers in China face, and learn how you can use insurance and risk management to mitigate them. For anyone manufacturing in China, this information will help you understand your best options moving forward and how an ins...

Renaud is joined by regular guest, Clive Greenwood, an international product compliance expert based in China. They talk about the growing risks of Li-ion batteries used in Chinese e-bikes and scooters amid many high-profile fires in China, deaths in the West, and grave warnings from the FDNY. Clive also makes suggestions about how legislation can change to improve safety moving forward.

As these personal vehicles become more popul...

In this bonus episode, our host and CEO Renaud is joined by our product reliability and durability expert, Andrew Amirnovin, to talk about the bad news for Apple that their much-hyped Vision Pro headset is cracking just weeks after being released to the public. They explore the durability problems rearing their heads only a month or so into the product's general release in early February 2024, based on information found in online n...

Adrian hosts and is joined by Sofeast Group senior engineer, Paul Adams, and they talk about the uses and limitations of the metal and plastic 'development prototypes,' that is to say, product prototypes made during the development process and before mass production. Remember, these are not production-standard prototypes, but that doesn't mean that they aren't important as you will find out...it's all about controlling expectations...

Adrian and Renaud discuss how to plan for the handover of your innovative new product to manufacturing (with a focus on hard goods with mechanical elements and some electronic/electrical parts). Product handover should be a structured process of actions taken mainly before the manufacturer gets involved to ensure a smooth transition from you to them so the product ends up being made to your specifications and requirements and the r...

Renaud hosts today and welcomes guest speaker Amit Rosenthal, CEO of Proboxx, to the show and this episode's focus is on moving your products from Asia to where they need to be via freight forwarding. They discuss how the latest technological advancements in freight forwarding are streamlining operations, improving tracking and transparency, and offering more reliable and efficient services for Amazon sellers.

Since many people man...

Adrian and Renaud go through what makes a good QA auditing and inspection program for innovative new electro-mechanical products that will reduce risks of poor quality, reliability, and compliance, and detect the issues in time for them to be worked on before anything is shipped. Unless you are producing simple products or working with a supplier who is very experienced in manufacturing the exact product type you're developing, you...

On this episode of the China Manufacturing Decoded Podcast, Adrian hosts and is joined by Andrew, our reliability and compliance expert, from the Sofeast Group for a deep dive into electrostatic discharge (ESD) – a critical factor in electronics production with the potential for significant impact on product success and customer satisfaction. They stress the importance of ESD testing for bulk-manufactured electronics and discuss th...

Welcome to our special 200th episode of China Manufacturing Decoded, a podcast by Sofeast Group, where we discuss global manufacturing topics to help you decode and navigate the supply chain world.

In this episode, we discuss the impact of the Houthi Yemeni rebels' attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, and how it may affect your shipping costs and other issues you might face. We're joined by our very own Kate Oliynykova, Head of Supp...

In this insightful episode, host Renaud Anjoran and senior engineer Paul Adams delve into the intriguing world of the 'experience effect' - a phenomenon that offers a wealth of benefits in mass production through persistent refinement and accumulated knowledge. Immersing you in several industrial examples, Renaud and Paul throw light on how Boeing and the semiconductor industry have leveraged the experience curve to their advantage...

Renaud and Andrew Amirnovin, Sofeast's Head of Compliance and Reliability, are talking about the Boeing 737 Max 9 airplane that has been in the news again following a very frightening incident where part of the body blew out leading to a sudden depressurization and emergency landing. But why did this occur? Are there more quality and reliability issues to worry about?

00:00 - Greetings and introduction.

01:18 - What...

Adrian and Renaud tackle the big question of cost versus quality and how they both affect each other in manufacturing. You'll learn common Chinese attitudes towards them, the long-term power of lean, and some achievable levers that can bring you cost and quality benefits that most businesses can implement quickly.

00:00 - Greetings and introduction (inc. our team at CES '24!)

01:50 - What do we mean by Cost V Qualit...

Adrian and Andrew Amirnovin kick off 2024 by going through 7 key New Product Introduction tasks you need to be aware of to get a positive outcome before mass producing your product. If this is the year you bring a product to market, get ahead of the curve by bearing these 7 things in mind from one of our most experienced team members who is also Head of Compliance and Reliability.

00:00 - Greeting...