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Join Renaud Anjoran, Founder & CEO of Sofeast, in this podcast aimed at importers who develop their own products as he discusses the hottest topics and shares actionable tips for manufacturing in China & Asia today!
WHO IS RENAUD?
Renaud is a French ISO 9001 & 14001 certified lead auditor, ASQ certified Quality Engineer and Quality Manager who has been working in the Chinese manufacturing industry since 2005. He is the founder of the Sofeast group that has over 200 staff globally and offers services (QA, product development & engineering, project management, Supply Chain Management, product compliance, reliability testing), contract manufacturing, and 3PL fulfillment for importers and businesses who develop their own products and buyers from China & SE Asia.
WHY LISTEN?
We‘ll discuss interesting topics for anyone who develops and sources their products from Asian suppliers and will share Renaud‘s decades of manufacturing experience, as well as inviting guests from the industry to get a different viewpoint. Our goal is to help you get better results and end up with suppliers and products that exceed your expectations!
Episodes
Friday Mar 20, 2026
Friday Mar 20, 2026
You’ve designed your product. You’ve built prototypes. Now you just need your first batch…
But suddenly:
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Suppliers stop replying
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MOQs jump higher
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Quotes disappear
If you only need 500–2,000 units, manufacturing gets tricky fast.
In today's episode 320, Adrian and Renaud break down:
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Why factories resist low-volume orders
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What’s really happening behind the scenes
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How to actually make low-volume production work
Episode Sections:
- 00:00 – The Low-Volume Manufacturing Problem
- 01:52 – Why Factories Resist Small Orders
- 05:33 – How Low Volume Fits into Product Development
- 09:03 – The Biggest Mistake: Testing Demand Too Late
- 12:33 – The Real Economics Behind Low Volume Production
- 18:02 – Supplier MOQs: The Hidden Constraint
- 20:26 – How to Make Low-Volume Manufacturing Work
- 26:31 – When Low Volume Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)
- 30:00 – Final Advice: Be Manufacturer-Ready
Related content…
- The New Product Introduction Process Guide (explains why you can't just jump from prototype to production)
- What is MOQ? (explains why factories push back on low volumes)
- Low Volume Manufacturing in China for Your New Product (written-version of this podcast)
- Flexible Manufacturing in China: How To Set It Up (shows when low-volume can work, if systems are designed for it)
- Why You Need Mature Product Designs BEFORE Working With A Chinese Manufacturer! (Show why low-volume manufacturing fails when the product isn’t ready)
This episode is brought to you by The Sofeast Group and includes links in the show notes to our blog posts and resources, and recommended books. For help with manufacturing in Asia, inspections, auditing, new product development, contract manufacturing, 3PL warehousing and fulfillment, visit sofeast.com.
Get in touch with us
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- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
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