China Manufacturing Decoded

https://feed.podbean.com/ChinaManufacturingDecoded/feed.xml

48.5K

Downloads

251

Episodes

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 Nov 26, 2021

Preparing For Chinese New Year 2022 Disruption

Friday Nov 26, 2021

In this episode...

Chinese New Year is approaching and at the time of recording in late November importers really need to be preparing for the disruption that occurs around this time of year!

When is CNY 2022, what disruption does it cause to your supply, and what can/should you do to prepare for and mitigate the negative effects of this difficult time period where the stability of supply and product quality often take a downward turn?

Find out in this episode..!

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

01:21 - When is Chinese New Year 2022?

02:26 - To avoid the disruption of CNY, what are the first and second-best scenarios for importers getting their product manufactured in China right now?

05:04 - When do factories start 'winding down' and what causes this phenomenon?

11:42 - What causes a drop in factory staff after CNY?

16:17 - What happens to quality when a factory has to hire a lot of new staff post CNY?

20:44 - The effect of time pressure before CNY.

24:47 - Is there an increased risk of suppliers going out of business at this time of year?

29:57 - Planning for inventory.

32:57 - How can inspections protect importers around the CNY period?

35:59 - Wrapping up

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Nov 19, 2021

What Are The Main Risks To Your Product IP?

Friday Nov 19, 2021

In this episode...

Anyone with an innovative product idea will understandably be worried about it being copied and sold on the market in competition with their own original product. To illustrate the dangers and some solutions, Renaud explores who might be the main risks to your product IP when developing and manufacturing a new product with Adrian from the team.

These actors may be either within or from outside of your supply chain, and they can strike either early on in the new product launch process or after your product has been on the market for a while.

Being forewarned is to be forearmed, so listen to and understand who these threats are and get some tips from Renaud to mitigate or avoid the risks altogether in order to keep your precious intellectual property as safe as possible.

This episode is based on just one chapter of our free new guide: IP Protection in China when Developing Your New Product [Importer’s Guide].

Here's a visual representation of the content we cover in this episode:

sources of risk to your product IP

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

00:58 - A chat about rising covid infections in China and what it might mean

05:37 - Today's topic - sources of risks to your product IP when developing and manufacturing it in China. This is based on this new guide from Sofeast: IP Protection in China when Developing Your New Product [Importer’s Guide].

06:36 - What kinds of products are most at risk of having their IP compromised and misused?

09:33 - What are the main risks to someone who's developing and manufacturing a new product? There are 4 situations to be aware of:

Being copied early from within your supply chain
Being copied early from outside of your supply chain
Being copied later from within your supply chain
Being copied later from outside of your supply chain

12:30 - (1). Who's at risk of copying us early from within our supply chain and what can be done to avoid it?

19:28 - Compartmentalizing the supply chain.

21:07 - Legal tools to prevent or mitigate being copied.

23:18 - (2). Who's at risk of copying us early from outside of our supply chain and what can be done to avoid it?

28:45 - Why copycat products can be made by companies anywhere, not just in China.

31:05 - The difference between copying a product idea and counterfeiting one.

34:01 - (3). Who's at risk of copying us later on from within our supply chain and what can be done to avoid it?

38:16 - (4). Who's at risk of copying us later on from outside of our supply chain and what can be done to avoid it?

41:27 - Patents as protection.

41:55 - Wrapping up

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Nov 12, 2021

The Importance Of Setting Up A Good Reliability Testing Plan (feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

Friday Nov 12, 2021

In this episode...

Renaud is joined by Andrew Amirnovin, our reliability expert at Sofeast, to discuss the topic of reliability testing plans which is closely related to product design, as well-designed products don't fail in the field as they're designed to be reliable.

Some companies bringing products to market think that reliability comes during the product manufacturing phase, but in this episode, you'll hear why that isn't the case.

Andrew also gives some guidance on how to reduce reliability issues, what a reliability test plan should include, and the role of ongoing reliability testing after production starts.

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introducing Andrew

02:54 - What is product reliability and why is it important?

07:54 - How to reduce common reliability problems that occur after some time?

10:58 - Do companies take reliability testing very seriously in general?

12:04 - At what point in the NPD process should you start thinking about product reliability?

14:11 - What do we learn from testing prototypes to failure?

17:43 - Should the reliability test plan be changed while iterating prototypes?

21:10 - An example of corner-cutting: The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 'disaster.'

26:20 - Another example: The Boeing 737 Max.

27:49 - What is the role of ongoing reliability testing during production?

31:18 - Product reliability risks caused by having an extended supply chain.

32:38 - Wrapping up

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Nov 05, 2021

Why Are US Logistics Under So Much Strain? + E-commerce Challenges (feat. Marshall Taplits)

Friday Nov 05, 2021

In this episode...

Renaud catches up with American supply chain and logistics expert, Marshall Taplits founder of Ship It Done a 3PL warehouse and e-commerce fulfillment center based on the East Coast, to talk about the difficult supply chain and logistics situation in the USA in the past couple of years. He answers: What's causing the logjams at ports? Is there a difference between East and West coast ports? Is transport overland or by air also problematic?

Marshall also sheds some light on how SMEs and e-commerce vendors can cope with the difficult situation, and some of the key challenges they face such as choosing between FBM and FBA and whether or not to ship nationally from one local warehouse.

There's been a lot of talk about how America's logistics system is broken in the media, so let's hear it from someone who's there working in this industry right now!

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introducing Marshall Taplits & Ship It Done

04:19 - What's causing the logjams at US ports, logistics to fail under the strain, and delays in getting products to customers? Is it as simple as, 'people have been buying more stuff due to lockdown?'

07:42 - The move to 'Just In Case' buying.

11:26 - Why is delivery to US ports being held up? Is simply it a lack of road and rail capacity to move goods away after delivery?

15:23 - Is the government likely to be able to bring about changes to improve the logistics situation?

17:37 - Could the 3-4 week break for manufacturers during Chinese New Year give the USA some much-needed breathing room to clear the excess goods and stabilize the supply chain situation?

23:41 - What can SMEs do to weather the storm, are there any workarounds?

27:20 - How about ports on the East Coast, are they less congested than California?

30:27 - What's the situation with air cargo?

31:41 - The difference between FBM and FBA and what frontloading by air means and their benefits for e-commerce vendors.

35:38 - Is it faster these days to send a container from China to California Long Beach or New York Elizabeth?

36:20 - When shipping FBM is it cheaper to post products locally within the US than longer distances?

39:04 - Wrapping up

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Oct 29, 2021

How design authority leads to product safety liability (feat. Clive Greenwood & Andrew Wilson)

Friday Oct 29, 2021

In this episode...

Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran is joined by two guests, Clive Greenwood and Andrew Wilson of WWMG associates to discuss the topic of liability for product safety issues. There's commonly a disconnect between Chinese manufacturers and their foreign customers over who is liable for any problems, such as consumer injury, caused by the products that they worked on. It depends on a number of things, such as who has the design authority and who issues the design specifications, etc.

If you are importing products you really need to have a handle on liability, as the consequences could be extremely costly and uncomfortable.

The panel aim to get to the bottom of it here...

Show Sections

00:00 - Introduction.

01:26 - When an American company, for example, works with a Chinese manufacturer to develop a new product, what do they expect the manufacturer to tell them?

05:00 - Product liability laws in the US & EU.

07:53 - How 'design authority' can be used to attribute liability.

12:09 - Post-DFMEA liability.

15:43 - Why letting your Chinese manufacturer 'help' develop a product could be a big mistake.

21:13 - Compliance for medical devices/products.

24:01 - Action items for companies who're designing a general consumer product to be manufactured in China.

31:58 - Product safety. What do we need to consider?

38:29 - Conclusion.

40:49 - Wrapping up.

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Oct 22, 2021

Is ‘Right To Repair‘ a headache or opportunity for manufacturers?

Friday Oct 22, 2021

In this episode...

Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran talks about the 'Right To Repair' movement and regulations that are starting to come into being here in late 2021 with Adrian from the team.

As sustainability is starting to permeate the public's consciousness, the mountains of e-waste produced each year are giving brands a bad name and upsetting customers. The right to repair aims to mitigate this problem.

What is the right to repair, why is it important, how could it affect manufacturers and electronic product design, and is it a headache or an opportunity for companies who're developing new electronic products?

Show Sections

00:00 - Introduction.

01:38 - What is the right to repair?

09:21 - Why and where are we seeing right to repair legislation appearing?

12:54 - What is included in the right to repair regulation (EU version)?

15:11 - How some hard-to-repair products are more durable & reliable and benefits of this.

18:51 - Apple as an example of products where being hard to repair enhances their durability.

23:58 - How product design may change to embrace 'Design For Repair/Maintainability' in future and is it an opportunity?

27:05 - Can right to repair discourage planned obsolescence?

31:39 - Optimizing products and how this can make a designer's job tougher.

32:59 - Wrapping up.

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Oct 15, 2021

Negotiating terms, leverage over suppliers, and describing your needs - Sourcing from China (Part 2)

Friday Oct 15, 2021

In this episode...

In episode 65 we discussed the different supplier options open to buyers who’re sourcing from China. One of the options is to do the sourcing yourself. Many importers want to pursue this, so we're creating a mini-series of episodes that explores the sourcing process from China with tips and best practices from Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran.

In part 1 of the series (episode 69), we looked at the early stage of sourcing where you find your potential suppliers, verify them, and cultivate backups once you’ve settled on a first choice.

Now, here in part 2, we’re going to explore the terms you need to negotiate with your chosen supplier, how to keep leverage over them, and how and why to clearly describe what you actually want from them at the pre-production stage.

Show Sections

00:00 - Introduction.

02:20 - Why is it important to be organized and avoid looking too inexperienced when negotiating terms with a new supplier?

05:27 - What terms do you need to negotiate?

05:50 - The price of the goods
07:02 - Lead time
09:58 - Incoterms
10:53 - IP protection
12:11 - Transparency over the supply chain & access to the manufacturing site
15:35 - The quality standards
17:53 - Payment terms

24:29 - How to keep leverage over suppliers?

28:09 - What payment tools do we have to keep leverage?

35:36 - Keeping leverage over your tooling.

38:20 - Paying by letter of credit.

40:49 - In what ways should you describe what you're expecting to receive from your supplier?

49:13 - Wrapping up.

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Oct 08, 2021

What Is The Cost Of Poor Quality? (feat. Clive Greenwood & Max Phythian)

Friday Oct 08, 2021

In this episode...

Sofeast CEO Renaud Anjoran is joined once again by the duo of Clive Greenwood who is a six sigma black belt with a focus on medical devices, quality, and operations, and Max Phythian a pure lean consultant who's worked for some of the largest names in the Auto industry. The three of them boast decades of experience in manufacturing around the world.

Today they're discussing the cost of quality, specifically of poor quality. You'll get answers to these questions: What does 'cost of poor quality' mean, where does it come from, what strategies can be followed to avoid it, and what's the most important thing to focus on first when working with a supplier who may not be too quality-focused? The panel all have their own thoughts on how to define the cost of quality and what it means to importers, so listen to their spirited conversation here.

Show Sections

00:00 - Introduction.

01:40 - When we talk about the cost related in some way to quality we have prevention and appraisal, internal failures, and external failures. What do these mean?

07:51 - What's the ROI of investing in zero defects?

13:28 - What benefits does QA provide aside from cost reduction?

20:13 - Supplier quality management.

25:13 - Design For Quality (DFQ) and why quality is an investment.

28:50 - What does the customer need to do if a Chinese manufacturer is unsophisticated and has little awareness about quality?

44:03 - Wrapping up.

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Thursday Sep 30, 2021

China‘s ‘Power Crunch‘ - What‘s Causing It & How Does It Affect Importers?

Thursday Sep 30, 2021

In this episode...

Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran explores the power cuts around China that seem to be getting worse at the time of recording in late September 2021 and are affecting the manufacturing industry and many supply chains around the country.

He answers the following questions:

Why is there a power crunch in China?
What its effects are on manufacturing and importers?
What importers can do to cope with this?

Show Sections

00:00 - Introduction.

01:28 - What is happening in China to cause power cuts and restrictions?

05:32 - Why is the manufacturing sector specifically so impacted by the power crunch?

07:28 - What are the reasons behind this power crunch in China?

18:59 - What can importers with Chinese supply chains do to mitigate the worst effects?

21:29 - Conclusion: What to make of it all and when could it go on until?

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Friday Sep 24, 2021

The First To Market Fallacy For Made-In-China Products

Friday Sep 24, 2021

In this episode...

Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran discusses if getting to market first before your competitors have a chance to copy your new product idea when manufacturing in China is worthwhile with Adrian from the team.

A recent China Law Blog article outlined why the perceived benefits of getting to market quickly are actually a fallacy, especially if corners have been cut in the name of speed when it comes to IP protection.

Who is out to copy your unique idea? When can getting to market first be considered a valid approach? What sorts of IP protection activities are advisable? Is building buzz about your new product before launching a great idea or a risky error?

You'll get answers to these questions and more in this episode!

Show Notes

00:00 - Introduction.

00:31 - Current China/Hong Kong Covid-19 situation, quarantine, and visas.

05:41 - What is the 'First To Market Argument?'

11:20 - Is being first to market always beneficial?

12:21 - The importance of strong IP protection.

13:40 - Does it make sense for low profile products to get to market quickly and deal with IP protection later? (This concept was discussed in episode 71 by Renaud and Andy Bartlett).

18:55 - What should higher profile product launches do?

21:07 - The 2 main IP infringement risks you face.

Your own manufacturer will copy your product and place it on the market first before you.
Copycat companies will notice your product's signs of success and market traction and copy you.

28:06 - Why creating a lot of buzz about your new product before it goes to market can be dangerous.

35:48 - How to combat being copied?

38:41 - Wrapping up.

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

There are more episodes to come, so remember to subscribe! You can do so in your favorite podcast apps here and don't forget to give us a 5-star rating, please:

Episodes

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Sections

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast

In this episode...

Show Notes

Related content...

Get in touch with us

Subscribe to the podcast