Sourcing in China - Technical Capabilities

China is not currently a viable option for highly specialized manufacturing produced on custom equipment, such as application-specific copper-wrapped coils and high-speed connector assembly. These types of processes often require specific technical knowledge of product engineering or equipment design that is not generally available among suppliers in new procurement markets such as China. By contrast, "commoditized" processes such as stamping, casting, and manual electronics assembly can be handled by almost all suppliers.

Key considerations

Sourcing Company China subcomponents in China and maintaining technology-intensive activities in more highly skilled domestic factories, in many cases, yields a better total cost return than procuring the total product. Technology driven processes often need significant oversight to maintain process control. That frequently can be achieved only in sophisticated plants in developed countries. When factory processes get out of skew in China, yields decrease and the resulting scrap (as well as logistics costs) can quickly overshadow savings generated by lower wage rates.

Although products made with the least complicated, most mature technologies are the best choices to source from China, the nation's suppliers continue to develop increasingly sophisticated skills. As a result, more companies are sourcing process-sensitive products, such as rubber and machined parts, from China --a good decision when other critical procurement dimensions, such as lead time, engineering changes, and labor and transportation costs, favor China.

By analyzing these five critical dimensions for each unique procurement initiative, companies can better understand their geographic sourcing options--which products are candidates to be sourced from low-cost countries and which need to be purchased from more developed markets. If a low-cost country is appropriate, assessment of lead times can help establish which commodities can be sourced from remote low-cost countries (such as China or India) and which need to be purchased more locally from Mexico or Eastern Europe. Execution of this assessment requires going beyond typical procurement piece-price analysis. It requires the involvement of engineering and manufacturing units to define the total supply chain requirements of purchased products. Even with all of the factors that must be taken into account, China remains one of the most desirable sourcing opportunities. Its wage advantages are not likely to be eliminated anytime soon, and its skills as a supplier and manufacturer will only grow stronger. But as with any other procurement effort, obvious costs, such as labor, are not the only factors to take into account.

Sourcing In China - Change Management Must Be Part Of The Initiative

More and more Western company leaders decide to start sourcing goods from China and take advantage of its low production costs. But we see many of these China sourcing initiatives without a strong Change Management part: They usually underestimate the time and efforts needed to explain, train, demonstrate and convince employees to shift to Chinese suppliers.

The change is drastic indeed: Purchasing, Quality, Engineering, Logistics, Design departments organized their work around the relations with their "traditional" suppliers. The shift from "local sourcing" with this traditional supply base to "far sourcing" with new suppliers in China will dramatically affect the way they work:

Firstly, the Design Department must integrate new technical and economical constraints in the design of the next generation of products. The 3 major principles are:

-1 Parts with high added value and sub-assemblies are the ones bringing the best cost advantages when sourced in China.

-2 Production processes in China are different: Automatic production is replaced by a number of manual steps. It reduces capital investment and cost, increases production flexibility but tolerances are not as good as for an automated process.

-3 Parts with critical Intellectual Property shall be kept outside China.

Secondly, the Engineering Department used to rely on their traditional suppliers' superior engineering capabilities, expertise and capacity to innovate. Switching to a supplier which expertise is not as good means:

1- More work: New technical validations and support to the new Chinese suppliers

2- Due diligence: Thorough checks of all safety standards

Thirdly, in the Logistics Department, employees will have to start setting-up new flows coming from China and adapt to a new set of principles. Long transport time by containers may be a new constraint. Factory logistics teams deal with hundreds of issues a day, and new constraints are never welcome. For example, daily deliveries in returnable boxes are not an option when the producing factory is 10,000 kilometers away. The delivery cycle is obviously too long and the investment in boxes would be too large. But if this is the preferred delivery method, the Logistics Department will have to change its habits and adapt to new objectives.

Also, the Quality Department must re-examine its approach of supplier's quality:

The Quality of the purchased parts used to be sub-contracted to the suppliers: Quality objectives are included in the purchasing contracts and defective parts are sent back to where they come from. The buyers have nothing to do with the quality management of their suppliers. This approach does not work with far sourcing. Waiting for the parts to be delivered to check their quality would be too risky and costly. It takes time and resources, but buyers have no choice but to retake control of the quality management.

"You get what you inspect, not what you expect".

As an example, Shanghai General Motors has developed an army of Advanced Supplier Quality (ASQs) engineers, traveling 4 days a week to their suppliers' factories. Their role is to directly and constantly manage quality improvement plans.

However, for a Western company without a dedicated organization established locally, managing supplier's Quality on a regular basis can become problematic: Many of our customers come to us initially to solve Quality problems. Outsourced in-factory quality control and pre-delivery inspections is a common solution.

Finally, directly on the battle front, in the Purchasing Department, the buyers must also adapt their negotiation style and attitude. One cannot go aggressive on price reduction targets to Chinese suppliers without giving anything in return. It is not only because of the Chinese business culture (you have to become good friends before signing a deal). If the outcome of the negotiation is not a win-win deal, the Chinese supplier might start finding ways to cut his production costs and regain his margin: Swap raw material to cheaper ones or sub-contract to another company. An unprofitable deal for the supplier usually damages the quality of the parts.

If confrontation seldom works, a supportive attitude towards a Chinese supplier generally pays off. Give practical advices, deliver simple trainings, and show your support where it is needed: Suppliers will keep a positive attitude and this will bring mutual benefits.

This is the founding concept of Supplier Development: A Supplier Development project usually starts when the owner of a Chinese company accepts the active support of his potential client over a period of time and engages his company in the implementation of all the best practices brought to him and his staff. In return, the buyer creates a tailor-made production facility for its parts, and a loyal supplier. After 6 months of weekly visits and workshops with the different departments, the Chinese factory dramatically improves and the production starts. This is certainly a large time and effort investment, but it pays off in sustainable cost advantage. Success stories such as BOSCH's or VALEO's tend to prove this is a good way to do Industrial china sourcing company

Finding the Best Sourcing Agent

More and more companies all over the world choose to hire a sourcing agent due to various advantages. This method is a more convenient way of improving a business because it can help companies to save money. To know more about sourcing agents, read on.

What Is a Sourcing Agent?

It is a particular type of agent who serves as a regional representative who does outsourcing responsibilities and roles on behalf of the business owner. Basically, these agents are employed by companies to buy products and components from low cost countries like Vietnam, India, or China. This is done to cut down the company's expenses and improve the business. With the right knowledge and skills, an agent is able to negotiate good prices, inspect different factories to check for ethical practices and quality, find factories which have ample equipment that can match the needs of your business, and determine which suppliers are able to meet deadlines as well as offer reliable services.

Important Facts You Should Know

A good Sourcing Agent China is someone who can help your business save money. He or she should be able to offer effective ways on how to outsource different products at low prices yet with great quality. This particular type of agent plays a vital role in your business. Most importantly, the agent is someone who can do sourcing business despite of the difference in language and culture.

How to Find the Best Sourcing Agent?

If you are looking for a reliable agent to do the job for you, there are important things which you need to consider. One of the most essential things to remember before hiring a sourcing agent is to find someone who has a profound understanding of the country or location in which you plan to do business. Your agent must be well-versed about your industry. Perhaps, you may ask a colleague if he or she can recommend a particular agent to you.

Another thing which you need to consider is to find a reliable agent who has the knowledge and skills to bid from various factories for you. Keep in mind that he or she does not have financial ties to any specific factories. In addition, you also need to choose an agent who can maintain ethical practices. It is very vital to choose someone who always makes it a point to do business with utmost efficiency.

It is also wise and practical to let your agent sign a non-disclosure agreement before giving him or her any confidential information about your latest product or service. Once the agent has signed the agreement, you should provide him or her, the needed information such as measurements, specifications, drawings, and other important information. You may search online and look for a reliable agent who is capable of doing responsibilities and roles with professionalism. To make it easier and more convenient for you, you can search for a professional sourcing agent company online to be able to find the most reliable choice. In most cases, these companies provide different types of services such as customs clearance, shipping and logistics, quality control, quality assurance, price negotiation, supplier or vendor selection, market research, raw materials pre-positioning, etc.

Minimizing China Sourcing Problems

Minimizing China Sourcing Problems

You can minimize your quality, technical and delivery problems with your Chinese suppliers by educating yourself on a better mode of supplier management of supplier culture, communications, workers, management and business styles. Most times I had to solve manufacturing problems, supplier-buyer technical disputes, or quality issues, which are created by US or European high flying VPs, technical or procurement executives, whom after a few trips to China, or working under the umbrella of a big multinational, claimed they know everything about China and then proceeded to create problems for their China suppliers and their own companies. Here is what they are doing wrong:

china sourcing company, like other fast moving emerging companies, have management people which switched jobs constantly and climbed the management ladder rapidly without time to gather management or working skills. Most are hired for good spoken English, but not talents by corporations setting up offices inside China.Most are hired in a hurry.

Local managers imagine themselves to a higher status when working for a foreign corporation like IBM or GE, and in their communication style with local suppliers. Thus creating antagonism from suppliers.

Imposition of Western style production management techniques, concepts and feedback onto China suppliers without full comprehension of how the supplier started off. It's akin to the US going to war with Iraq without a full understanding of the diversity of Iraqis and undercurrents of obstacles to change.

Simply said it's all about inexperience poor China outsourcing approach, bad supplier management build up and too much haste to hire people to work in or sent to China. I am seeing too many occasions when we have to support our customers' China Procurement Offices management and technical personnel in getting the right results from their Chinese suppliers. The Mattel problem can be a controlled problem if they had the right people to foresee the foreseeable problems from fast running suppliers in a fast growing country.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/862155

Video Greeting Cards for All Occasions

It is transcendence of human nature that we have come to an age where we can send video greeting cards to our friends and family during festivals and other occasions like birthday and marriage anniversary.
Standard greeting cards are those that are printed on high-quality paper and are rectangular in shape. Inside is a pre-printed message that suits the occasion. Sender of such a greeting card has an option to add a signature or handwritten message. Sender of such a card gets a matching envelope which is either decorated with glitter and ribbons or sender can decorate according to desire.
Then comes the age of photo cards. This is becoming quite popular among people for sending holiday greetings such as birthdays and marriage anniversaries,Christmas, New Year, Independence Day, etc. Either these cards are photo insert cards which have a hole cut in the center for a photo to slides in like a frame or printed photo cards where the photo is printed in the fine quality sheet with the message.
eGreeting cards have gained popularity in the recent past, with lots of web sites coming up with a wide range of flash based greeting cards and making it very simple for the user to select a card of their choice and occasion and then send it to the recipient on their email address. Web sites offer cards for all different occasions and different styles. Sender can add a personalized message to the card. These cards moved a step ahead and started coming with music. The moment the receiver opens a card, some music plays with the music. Birthday cards mostly have the traditional song- Happy Birthday day to you song.
In today's age we are able to download applications for phones where not only users can select nice looking templates but also add videos and messages and send them to their loved ones. These applications are the newest forms of sending special messages on special occasions. It is very simple to download video greeting card and costs only a meager amount. You can find some such application in the iTunes store and download them on your iPhone to send cards using iPhone. Once you have an application for sending video greeting cards then you don't have to search around web sites for a card. Just create a video with your family and friends and send a lovely personalized greeting card to your loved ones.

T-Shirt Screen Printing for Businesses

Custom printing is used to produce promotional T-shirts for new businesses, sweatshirts for colleges and universities, and team jerseys for children of all ages. When the project involves large quantities, the cheapest and most reliable printing method is called screen printing. It was invented nearly two thousand years ago in Ancient China.

The process is as simple as can be. A design is created and then attached to a mesh screen frame. Paint is applied to the design or stencil, which is then closed onto a blank garment. The design is essentially stamped onto the garment and left to dry. The process may be simple, but it is fast, affordable, and effective.

Screen printing is prized for its incredible versatility. The famous artist Andy Warhol used it to create his most notable works of arts, including his take on the Campbell's soup can. Screen printing remains the most popular method of custom printing for artists around the world. But when it comes to custom T-shirts New York, it does have its weaknesses.

The process of actually making or burning a stenciled design takes time and money. A trained expert can produce one fairly quickly, but the beginner may have a hard time. The good news is that once a design has been created a printer can produce as many custom T-shirts New York as he desires.

We need also mention that New York custom T-shirts are more expensive when the customer requests multiple colors. When the design is simple and monochromatic, an experienced printer can churn out hundreds of New York custom T-shirts each hour. But when there is more than one color, he will have to switch screens and stencils and apply different colors. Each custom garment will take much longer to complete.

And when it comes to full color custom T-shirts New York screen printing is not the right method. Applying a dozen different colors simply will not work with this age-old process. The paint will most likely smudge and the garments will take hours to dry. In short, it would be a monumental waste of time.

More intricate, colorful images and designs can only be produced with more contemporary custom printing china methods, like heat transfer and direct to garment printing. Both are more expensive than screen printing, but they produce a superior product. The best advice we can give you is to shop around a bit. Online custom printers in New York offer free price quotes to new customers. Shipping discounts for large order are also quite common.

Getting Quality Brochure Printing Services

Compared to other forms marketing materials, brochures are affordable and they have greater value as well. The fact the material can be moved to different locations is what gives it an edge. In essence, it can be passed from one individual to another. The following are factors that make brochure printing a smart choice.
• The materials used are affordable and as such, a smart choice for small businesses and startups. If you are operating within a limited budget, you can hire a printer from the comfort of your office and have the brochures competently created.
• The printing and development processes involved can be carried out during different types of resources and tools. This means that you can have them crafted online or from a local shop depending on what works best for you. Now more than ever, it is possible to access these services online.
If you are looking for quality brochure printing, the good news is that you can get it online with great ease. Through three steps, you can have your brochures project completed within no time.
• You should start by getting quotes on the services. This is important as it gives you an opportunity to compare the costs of the services and hence, make a well informed decision. The quote you get should have an estimate of the amount you should expect to spend by the time the project is completed.
• You can upload your artwork online. There are companies that give you the chance to upload your designs and this makes it easy to determine whether the file format you have used is the right one. By ensuring you use the right format, you don't have to exert too much effort with the rest of the process. Once you are convinced that the china printing companies has the ability of meeting your needs, you can ask them to proceed with the rest of brochure printing project.
Unlike in the past, it is possible to find high quality services. You simply need to know where to look. In this case, the printer you choose to work with should have a solid reputation. They should be known to adhere to high standards of printing and what is more, they should also have a reputation of using quality materials. You don't want to waste your time with a service provider who cannot meet your needs. For this reason, it is also advisable to ask for references. Talk to people who have used the brochure printing service before you to determine whether they have what it takes to meet your needs.