China Manufacturing Decoded

On this episode of China Manufacturing Decoded, Adrian is joined by Kate, who leads the supply chain management team at The Sophist Group, to unpack her top takeaways from CES 2026. Kate reports on the scale of the show, who was there, and what matters for product teams, developers and manufacturing leaders.

• 01:00 – CES 2026 overview: scale, attendance & significance Kate gives headline numbers: attenda...

Episode 310 (January 2026) of China Manufacturing Decoded. Host Adrian is joined by Paul Adams, head of New Product Development at Agilian Technology, part of our group, for a practical walkthrough of how a strong NPD partner guides products from idea to mass production.

The episode highlights key benefits of working with a strong NPD team and NPI process: faster time to market, built-in quality and reliability, better scope and co...

If your manufacturing project keeps stalling, blowing budgets, or needing “rescues,” there’s a good chance you picked the wrong factory. In this episode, Adrian and Renaud break down why manufacturer–product mismatch is one of the most common and expensive mistakes importers still make in 2026, especially when adding electronics, higher quality expectations, or regulatory complexity.

The key takeaway: factories are focused systems....

If your product launches late, over budget, or with quality issues; you’ve met the Iron Triangle. In this episode, Adrian and Paul break down the three corners (cost, time, quality), the real-world trade-offs founders and product teams face, and the “hidden” fourth factor that turns the triangle into a pyramid. The key takeaway: choose your anchor early and don’t quietly change it mid-project, at least, not without considering the...

In this pre-Christmas episode 307, Adrian and Renaud look ahead to five manufacturing trends that could shape 2026 for importers working with China and Asia. 

Thanks for listening during 2025. We appreciate all of our listeners and followers, and, if you like what we do, please consider giving us a 5-star rating on your podcast player! See you in 2026!

Topics covered are:

• Tariff volatility in the Trump era
• What comes after “Ch...

Hidden commissions and kickbacks can still be found in China sourcing, and many importers are unaware that they’re paying for them. In this episode, Adrian and Renaud unpack how these schemes work, how agents and trading companies quietly erode your margin, and what a more transparent, safer sourcing model looks like.

• 00:00 – Intro & today’s topic: hidden commissions in China sourcing

• 01:32 – Agents ...

Adrian is joined by Sofeast Group Head of New Product Development, Paul Adams, to unpack the brutal truth behind the question: “Can you actually afford to manufacture your new product idea?”

They bust some of the most dangerous myths (like “MOQ × unit price is my total cost” and “we’ll fix reliability later”), then walk through Sofeast/Agilian’s 6-phase NPI process for electromechanical products and show how your budget is really c...

In episode 304 of China Manufacturing Decoded, Adrian is joined by Kate (Sofeast’s Supply Chain Management Manager) to dig into one of the nastiest hidden risks importers face: mold. They explain how weeks inside a hot, humid shipping container can ruin textiles, leather, wood, packaging, and even electronics, if humidity and packaging aren’t under control. Don't sleep on this risk; it can affect anyone importing products from Asia...

Hiring a “quality manager” in China or Asia doesn’t always mean you’re getting someone who can actually protect your brand. In this episode, Renaud walks through how to tell a real quality leader from a simple document handler: the interview questions that expose true ISO 9001 competence, what strong (and weak) answers sound like, and how this role can either quietly drain money… or drive real improvement.

• ...

Adrian and Paul break down why molding costs “balloon” (over-tight tolerances and cosmetic overkill) and then walk through three practical levers to cut costs safely: smarter tooling design & DFM (wall thickness, draft, gates, material choice), good tooling decisions (steel grades like P20 vs H13, cavity count, hot vs cold runners), and production/process tweaks (machine tonnage matching, sensible regrind use, SPC/sensors, in-t...

The team unpacks October’s Trump–Xi meeting and the short-term “truce” it produced: a ~10 percentage-point cut on broad China tariffs tied to fentanyl controls, a one-year pause on rare-earth/magnet export controls, resumed Chinese purchasing of US soy/other ag, and continued Section 301 exclusions for key medical, electronics, HVAC, and solar items.

We explain what actually shifted, what didn’t, and the practical moves US importer...

It's episode 300! Host Adrian and Sofeast head of NPD Paul Adams dig into IK ratings, what they measure (impact energy in joules), why they matter for real-world product abuse (drops, kicks, tool strikes), and how to connect use-case, environment, materials, and system-level design choices (wall thickness, ribs, radii, gate location) to hit targets like IK06–IK10.

You’ll hear practical examples (from light switches to job-site dril...

In episode 298, Renaud talks with Roberth Jonsson (24HourAR) about what “compliance” really means in the EU/UK. Industrial products, consumer goods, dropshipping; if you sell in the EU/UK under your own brand, you’re legally the manufacturer. That means CE testing alone won’t save you. You need the right directives/standards, a complete technical file, and (in most cases) an EU Responsible Person, often an Authorized Representative...

In episode 297 of China Manufacturing Decoded, host Renaud is joined by Sofeast reliability specialist Andrew Amirnovin to unpack why smart wearables so often fail in the field, and how to stop it. They break down real cases across rings, earbuds, watches, and smart glasses (think swollen cells, failing mics, cracked displays, and weak straps), then map fixes to a practical workflow: early DFMEA, designing for foreseeable misuse, t...

Renaud breaks down this week’s one-two punch in the U.S.–China trade saga: Beijing’s new export controls on key rare-earth minerals (notably neodymium for high-strength magnets) and the White House’s counter-threat of a 100% tariff on made-in-China imports from November 1.

He unpacks the “small yard, high fence” strategy, how China is now mirroring U.S. tools (FDPR-style controls, personnel restrictions, licensing), and what this m...

In this episode of China Manufacturing Decoded, host Adrian is joined by Vera Roldan, head of the design department at Sofeast, to unpack how industrial design links user needs, aesthetics, and manufacturability. Vera outlines the practical workflow: research, mood boards, sketches, 3D CAD, renders, and tight collaboration with engineering and suppliers; plus why bringing design in early prevents costly rework. They cover differenc...

In this episode, Adrian is joined by Kate, Sofeast's head of Supply Chain Management, who has just returned from IFA Berlin, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics trade fair. Together, they share key takeaways from the event, focusing on how PR can make or break your trade fair success. This episode offers actionable advice on getting media coverage, generating leads, and making the most out of your investment in trade shows.

In this episode, Adrian is joined by Renaud Anjoran to explore fail-safe design principles: essential thinking for anyone developing most kinds of products.

Through real-world examples ranging from Tesla doors to Boeing and consumer electronics, they highlight how designers must ask: “If this fails, what happens to the user?”

They break down why it matters, what trade-offs exist, and how structured risk analysis, simplification, re...

In episode 293 of China Manufacturing Decoded, Adrian is joined by Sofeast’s Head of New Product Development, Paul Adams, for the final part of their trilogy on polymers.

When people think of plastics, they usually picture injection molding. But it’s far from the only available process. We'll break down the major polymer processing methods, including injection moulding, extrusion, blow moulding, thermoforming, rotational moulding, ...