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Six Often Overlooked Links in a Supply Chain

1. The Suppliers of Your Supplier
Physically inspecting the source of components and materials that your manufacturer uses is very important. Never assume the best. Companies will try to cut corners to save money, so they need to be held accountable and closely watched to ensure that quality never diminishes.

2. Customs
Customs holds have caused many missed deadlines. Before making any shipment make sure to look into what type of goods can cause a hold by the customs department of both the shipping and receiving country. If you are worried that your shipment may experience a customs hold, contact a government agent for clarity.

3. Choice of Shipping Service
Cost is not the only factor when considering the shipping service to use for your goods and materials. It is important to develop a relationship with a representative at your preferred company so that you get optimal service and have a person at the ready to contact if any issues arise during the shipment.

4. Factory Cleanliness
A dirty factory is indicative that corners are cut in other places of the business. It may seem like a small thing but being clean and organized is something that should be insisted on for everybody in your supply chain.

5. Holidays, Disasters, and Shutdowns
Keep track of all federal holidays in the countries you operate in. These non-working days need to be accounted for when creating logistics timelines. More unforeseen events such as natural disasters and government shutdowns, such as recent Covid lockdowns, can also add additional days to shipping time.

6. Utilize Technology
Avoid employees performing monotonous tasks that could be instead done digitally. This will reduce human error and allow your workers to spend their time elsewhere. Innovative technology and software can automate tasks such as label creation, tracking, and inventory management.

If You Needed A Reason To Manufacture In China, Here’s 10

1. Lower Production Cost

Expect to spend less on molding and manufacturing when using a Chinese company. Other companies known for manufacturing such as USA, Japan, and Germany are almost always significantly more expensive.

 

2. Faster Production and Scalability

Lead times on production orders made in China are usually less than that of other countries. China makes it easy for businesses there to grow quickly, build new facilities, and expand with few obstacles. 

 

3. Willing to Work with Smaller Companies

Many manufacturers only want to work with large, well established brands. China’s manufacturing entrepreneurs are often more willing to work with start-ups and people at the beginning stages of development in hopes that the business grows over time.  

 

4. Pro-Business Government Policies 

China’s laws, rules, and regulations make it easy for businesses to grow year after year by not placing unnecessary restrictions on them and by supplying valuable incentives to manufacture in China. 

 

5. Abundance of Skilled Talent

China graduates more skilled laborers from university than anywhere else in the world. So many new engineers enter the world force every year in China that the large supply of skilled labor available keeps the cost for such services affordable. 

 

6. Stability

Over the last 30 years China has been the pinnacle of stability around the globe. While other countries often change leadership and policies, China’s consistency in this area gives business people confidence that what they invest in now will not change in the years to come. 

 

7. Modern Infrastructure

China has been at the leading edge of creating roads, bridges, and highways that efficiently transport people where they need to go. They are also known for their state of the art public transportation system, so you can have confidence that even if your interests are in several cities or provinces, you can travel between them easily. 

 

8. Abundance of Raw Materials

Basic commodities such as metal, wood, and chemicals cannot be found anywhere at cheaper prices than in the Chinese open market. Whatever the raw material is that you need for your company, it is most likely produced in China and can be purchased there at a fraction of the price than anywhere else in the world. 

 

9. Product Quality

There is a misconception that Chinese products are cheap and often break. This is due to past notions about products produced during the developmental stage of China’s growth. Now China is a global superpower that has all of the same or better technology and innovation as the rest of the world which allows them to supply products of the same quality as other developed nations. 

 

10. Language Barriers Disappearing 

In the past, communication with Chinese factories created a language barrier. Now with the push in education to train everyone to speak English, it is almost universal that an English only speaking business person can effectively communicate directly with people who work inside of Chinese factories.