China Manufacturing Decoded
Episodes
Interested in setting up a factory of your own in China (or perhaps other countries in Asia, too)? Renaud and his business partner Fabien have been there and done it, so let's explore how they set up our Chinese contract manufacturing subsidiary, Agilian Technology, and how they've tried to implement best practices learned over decades in China to offer something better than other Chinese factories.
Sh...Adrian and our CEO, Renaud, discuss how the current political tensions between the USA and other Western nations and China are affecting manufacturing and provide some more general observations on the 'Cold War' trends of containment and decoupling that seem to be gathering strength.
This topic stemmed from this recent Forbes article which suggested that Americans polled would be prepared to pay 20% more...
Adrian and Renaud, Sofeast's CEO, return in this special Chinese New Year 2021 edition of the podcast! 🧧🧨🐂
During the CNY period manufacturing in China (and other parts of East Asia) is effectively on hold for several weeks, so during this time importers have a chance to 'Spring Clean' their supply chain, finding and eliminating risks and also looking for untapped opportunitie...
Adrian interviews Richard Barnett, CMO of SupplyFrame, an AI-based SaaS solution which enables sourcing insights and decision support that improves the performance and resilience of electronics supply chains.
US-native Richard has decades of experience in the electronics field and has clocked many years in Asia, so he was an ideal person to discuss supply chain risks faced by today's importers of Asian elec...
Adrian and Renaud discuss the rising number of COVID-19 cases in China barely a week or so before the Chinese New Year holiday is set to happen where tens of millions of people will travel home around the country.
The outbreak is centered on the North of the country at present, but if it were to spread this could lead to lockdowns throughout the country and the authorities are already raising alertness and prepa...
Adrian catches up with Andy Bartlett, an experienced British product designer who has 25 years of experience in product design, development, and working with manufacturers in China to discuss project management best practices when dealing with Chinese suppliers with a special focus on Andy's take on this from a product design perspective. He covers project management tips and techniques, building good relatio...
Adrian and Renaud discuss the topic of product reliability testing. What is this type of testing, when do we carry it out, what are the risks of not doing the testing, and what does it cost? These questions and many more are answered, because today, more than ever, it's so important for importers to protect themselves against expensive recalls and lawsuits which may occur if your products don't reach expe...
Adrian and Renaud kick-off 2021 with Renaud's thoughts on how the coronavirus pandemic will continue to affect manufacturing this year and how things might change once vaccine use becomes more widespread, and then get into the main topic: How to validate a supplier's production capacity, especially if you're a buyer abroad who isn't able to travel to China (or elsewhere in Asia) to do this on-site...
Adrian and Renaud talk about the current trend of moving manufacturing operations away from China, either partly or completely. This really started to gain pace due to the US/China trade war and the punitive tariffs imposed by the US government on some 'Made-In-China' goods, and, in some ways, the coronavirus pandemic hastened it, too, as companies sought to diversify supply chains to reduce risk.
So is ...
You've tuned into part 11 of our mini-series guiding you through effective vetting of Chinese suppliers that will help you to find the best possible manufacturer for your products (listen back to the entire mini-series on vetting Chinese suppliers here 👍). In fact, this is the final part of this mini-series!
In this mini-series, you will already have learnt about due diligence, factory audits and vis...
Sofeast's CEO, Renaud, and Adrian from the team discuss the 'Bill Of Materials.' Why is this document SO important for importers, what does it contain, how does it help the development and manufacture of products, and why and how must it be kept confidential where possible? These questions, and more, are all answered in this episode!
Show Notes00:00 - Introduction.
01:22 - What is the BOM? A rough...
Sofeast's CEO, Renaud, and Adrian from the team discuss the forthcoming Chinese New Year holiday which is officially between Feb. 11th to 17th 2021 (CNY day is Feb 12th). We'll look into how and why this holiday has a serious impact on lead times, quality, supply chain risk, and managing suppliers; greater than at any other time of the year.
Renaud also shares some tips and strategies that importers can ...
Sofeast's CEO, Renaud, and Adrian from the team discuss everything buyers should know about quality control plans. A QC plan lists all the quality-related checkpoints to be passed during/after a production run. Depending on the buyer's situation (which include factors like order size and value), it can include process, product, or legal checkpoints. Approving QC plans is an essential step before productio...
You've tuned into part 10 of our mini-series guiding you through effective vetting of Chinese suppliers that will help you to find the best possible manufacturer for your products (listen back to the entire mini-series on vetting Chinese suppliers here 👍).
If you've been following this mini-series, you will already have learnt about due diligence, factory audits and visits, exploring testing faci...
We're discussing GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices). What are they? How are they useful for importers with suppliers abroad in countries like China? What is their relation to controlling your suppliers in comparison to activities like quality audits, social compliance audits, and process audits?
After listening to this episode, you'll have a grounding in what GMPs are and how to implement them yourself ...
You're listening to part 9 of our mini-series guiding you through effective vetting of Chinese suppliers that will help you to find the best possible manufacturer for your products (you can catch up on the entire mini-series on vetting Chinese suppliers here 😉)
This episode (recorded in late October 2020) is particularly timely as many importers aren't able to travel to China to check on their ne...
Our CEO Renaud Anjoran (whose background is as a Certified ISO 9001 & 14001 lead auditor, ASQ certified Quality Engineer, and Quality Manager) discusses the Quality Management Process, including its 3 main sections: Planning, QC, and Improvement. This process allows buyers to plan ahead to assure good quality from the start of the project, use real data to pinpoint and eliminate quality issues they're get...
You're listening to part 8 of our guide to the effective vetting of Chinese suppliers that will help you to find the best possible manufacturer for your products.
In this episode, we're discussing factory testing facilities and how they can help you to assess how capable a supplier is. Ask the question: "How can this supplier know that their product is good if they're unable to test that products...
Today we're discussing compliance testing.
Compliance testing is not only a crucial tool for reducing product risks and assuring their safety, but it also enhances consumer trust and confidence in your brand which is ever more valuable in today's world.
You'll carry out tests on your products to assure that they're safe, don't include restricted materials, and are saleable in your markets. T...
We're going through the NPI new product introduction process. Renaud will explain what this process is, why it can help to reduce your risks and provide other benefits throughout a new product manufacturing project from design to mass production, and the phases included in the NPI process which you can follow for your production.
Planning ahead before rushing into production is so important, and in this epis...