China Manufacturing Decoded
 

China Manufacturing Decoded

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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

BONUS: Covid Situation in China (24 Feb 2022)

Thursday Feb 24, 2022

Thursday Feb 24, 2022

In this episode, Renaud and Adrian give a bonus update on the Covid situation across China as localized Omicron outbreaks lead to restrictions and difficulty moving in and out of affected areas.

Why is this important information for importers?

Some major manufacturing hubs are affected, including Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Suzhou. This could mean that your supply chain is affected as workers are quarantined. Alternatively, it may affect your ability to keep control over or in contact with your supply chain and visits such as factory audits and product inspections may need to be cancelled.

Restrictions are affecting logistics, too, as shipping to and from China is currently subjected to fairly strict quarantine procedures.

We also explain some of the ways that we've used at Sofeast to keep providing remote services such as inspections at times when access to manufacturers is not possible...these could be helpful for you if your supplier is in an affected area.

Related content...

 

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Building Rapport With Suppliers - Sourcing from China (Part 5)

Friday Feb 18, 2022

Friday Feb 18, 2022

In this episode...

Many importers are new to sourcing from China so we've been creating a mini-series of episodes that explores the sourcing process with advice and best practices from Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran.

Up until now, we have discussed hard skills in parts 1-4 (links below) such as how to identify suitable suppliers, arrange backups, negotiate terms, create your quality standard, manage your project, and inspect product quality.

But dealing with suppliers takes soft skills, too, and this is the area that Renaud and Adrian explore today as they discuss how to build rapport and relationships with Chinese suppliers and the benefits of doing so.

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

02:48 - Examples of 3 types of typical customer/supplier relationships

07:25 - Reciprocity for favors between suppliers and customers

10:18 - What are the inner and outer circles in Chinese relationships? 

13:30 - Is it worth befriending your Chinese supplier to break into the inner circle? 

16:04 - What is the concept of 'face?'

23:13 - Tips for how to build relationships with suppliers in China.

26:20 - How to be seen as a 'good customer?'

28:15 - Risks facing customers without a good relationship

31:31 - How to get better results from email communication?

33:22 - Wrapping up. 

 

Related content...

These resources will also help you understand how to build relationships with suppliers or improve (or end) those that you already have:

And, if all else fails and you need to ditch your current supplier and switch to a new one...

 

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The Long-Term Costs of Poor Quality & Reliability (feat. Clive Greenwood & Andrew Amirnovin)

Friday Feb 11, 2022

Friday Feb 11, 2022

In this episode...

Renaud is joined this week by two guests who both have decades of industry experience each: Sofeast's reliability expert, Andrew Amirnovin who has a background in electrical engineering and a keen focus on product reliability, and Clive Greenwood a quality consultant at WWMG associates who is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has a special focus on medical devices and product compliance.

They'll be discussing the long-term costs of poor product quality and reliability, including some real product examples you've probably heard of, the negative effects of poor reliability and quality products hitting the market, how to prevent those issues when developing & making a product, and how to prevent those issues when building a quality management system.

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & today's topic

01:16 - Clive & Andrew introductions and industry experience

03:59 - Some real-life examples of products that suffered from bad quality and reliability

11:17 - People often focus on quality, but not reliability. A mistake?

17:28 - How to make a reliable product and prevent quality & reliability issues?

27:27 - Where do design engineers go wrong?

34:34 - Compliance standards

37:22 - A list of typical costs of poor quality once a bad product hits the field

39:39 - The example of a defective toy and how it affected the brand

42:47 - The relationship between the design and quality & reliability teams

47:45 - Process risk analysis

50:51 - The 8D corrective action process

55:26 - Summary and conclusion

 

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All About Industrial Design (feat. Andy Bartlett)

Friday Feb 04, 2022

Friday Feb 04, 2022

In this episode...

Adrian from the Sofeast team catches up with a friend of the show, British product designer Andy Bartlett, to have a lively chat all about industrial design.

If you're bringing your new product idea to market you're going to need to work with an industrial designer to explore the idea and create designs that can actually be produced by a supplier in their factory. So let's get acquainted with some of the key aspects of industrial design here.

What is industrial design? What are the best practices followed by designers? What tools might they use and when? What role does CMF (color, material, finish) play in the design process? What do industrial designers need to know from you when you start working with them? 

These and more questions will be answered by Andy, so keep listening to find out...

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings 

00:59 - Today's topic 

1:10 - Andy introduces himself and his experience as a product designer

02:16 - What is industrial design?

04:56 - When can/should you engage an industrial designer?

07:13 - What tools & processes will industrial designers use?

11:34 - Can you go into prototyping before finishing 3D designs?

13:24 - CMF: Color, Material, and Finishes

17:22 - Is it beneficial for industrial designers to specialize in one product type or have a broader experience?

19:14 - Why compromise is a useful skill for designers

21:11 - What information do industrial designers need from their clients at the start of an engagement and how to manage the customer's requirements?

28:57 - Tips about being a part of a multinational project (customer in one country, designer in another, production supplier in Asia)

33:33 - Wrapping up. 

 

Related content...

Andy has been on the show before, of course, and you may remember him from shows about good project management of Chinese suppliers and NPI process best practices. 

 

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Chinese Or Western Model Manufacturer. Which To Use In China?

Friday Jan 28, 2022

Friday Jan 28, 2022

In this episode...

Sofeast's CEO Renaud recently wrote this guest post on Harris Bricken's China Law Blog about the two main product development models importers will experience when sourcing a Chinese manufacturing partner. Today he goes deeper, joined by Adrian from the Sofeast team, and explains what they are in detail, why expectations about how most Chinese manufacturers will behave need to change, and their pros & cons to you if you're searching for a manufacturer right now. You'll learn which model to use, how to structure your relationship with a Chinese manufacturer, protect IP effectively, and much more...

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

01:59 - Who does the product engineering design work?

08:16 - The 'Western Model' and its pros & cons

18:13 - The 'Chinese Model' and its pros & cons

33:03 - How do you select which model is better for your needs?

38:50 - Wrapping up. 

 

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Risks You Face When Skipping New Product Introduction Steps (feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

Friday Jan 21, 2022

Friday Jan 21, 2022

In this episode...

The NPI process constitutes a lot of time, money, and effort before your product is even ready for manufacturing. Some manufacturers rush into mass production without following an NPI process or by skipping some of its key phases. Sofeast's CEO Renaud and reliability expert Andrew are going to revisit the NPI process and explain why skipping its phases is a terrible idea while illustrating the many risks you face if doing so.

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

01:11 - Looking back at one of our most popular older episodes about the NPI process

Episode 23: Analysing the (NPI) New Product Introduction Process & its Benefits is one of our all-time most popular episodes, and in it, Renaud went through our 6-phase NPI process for bringing your product from concept through to mass production. 

02:53 - Today's focus: The risks of skipping the different NPI phases and rushing into production

04:16 - Concept/Idea & Documenting the requirements

10:05 - Feasibility study/Proof of concept

13:42 - Sourcing key components and materials early

19:40 - Getting feedback on the design before production

24:38 - In-depth testing during pre-production

30:20 - Pilot runs

34:56 - Wrapping up. 

 

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What Makes An Appropriate NNN Agreement?

Friday Jan 14, 2022

Friday Jan 14, 2022

In this episode...

NNN agreements are important legal tools importers should use to protect their IP. Renaud chats with Adrian about what they are, what does and doesn't make sense, and some of the common errors made with them that could leave you with an unenforceable agreement and no protection at all!

First, though, they kick off by examining the increasing Covid cases and their effect on supply chains in China as of Mid-January 2022...

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction

01:10 - Exploring the worsening Covid situation across China. 

11:45 - What is an NNN agreement?

18:40 - What do importers often get wrong when drafting and using NNN agreements?

34:46 - Wrapping up. 

 

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Use final inspections to verify order quality BEFORE shipment - Sourcing from China (Part 4)

Friday Jan 07, 2022

Friday Jan 07, 2022

In this episode...

Many importers are new to sourcing from China so we've been creating a mini-series of episodes that explores the sourcing process with advice and best practices from Sofeast's CEO Renaud Anjoran.

In part 3 of the series, we discussed how to manage your project with your outsourced manufacturer and the role of inspections during the production process.

Now, the production is all but over and your shipment date approaches, but there's one final step before shipping: performing a final inspection. This represents your chance to check the quantity, finished product quality, packaging and labelling, and more, in order to avoid any poor quality products being shipped with no chance to make changes once they arrive with you. Let's explore this important inspection here...

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introduction into where we are in the series and today's topic: final inspections.

02:30 - What are the risks of letting products ship without performing a final inspection? 

11:04 - What is a final inspection? 

16:18 - When are final inspections usually performed, and why?

19:02 - Where should the final inspection take place and who does it? 

24:11 - Why it's a very busy time period for inspections just before Chinese New Year.

25:51 - What are the unique benefits of a final inspection in comparison to earlier product inspections?

31:51 - Wrapping up. 

 

Related content...

 

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Looking Back At 2021’s Key Stories For Importers From China

Friday Dec 31, 2021

Friday Dec 31, 2021

In this episode...

Renaud recaps some of 2021's biggest stories for manufacturers, especially those with Chinese supply chains, with Adrian from the team.

It's been one tough year with Covid, supply chain issues, material cost rises, and so much more pushing us all to the limit. So what did Renaud make of it all, and what are his predictions for 2022?

In addition, we also give you an insight into Sofeast's different business units' activities and achievements during 2021, some of our plans for next year, and recap our top podcast episodes and some key content you may have missed.

 

Show Sections

00:00 - New Year Greetings

01:25 - Covid 19. 

03:48 - The supply chain crisis. 

05:04 - Just-in-time being replaced by just-in-case. 

07:13 - Tensions between China and other countries. 

09:56 - Diversifying supply chains out of China. 

13:59 - The 'exodus' of manufacturers from China. Real, or over-hyped?

17:02 - Predictions for 2022? 

22:00 - What has Sofeast been up to in 2021? 

31:56 - 5 top episodes of the podcast in 2021. These 5 episodes were the most popular with you all this year. 

  1. Jon Monroe | How Did Sea Freight End Up In Such An Expensive Mess In 2021?
  2. 3 Quality Control Plans & Why They’re Needed BEFORE Production
  3. The Many Benefits Of Preventive Maintenance
  4. Analysing the (NPI) New Product Introduction Process & its Benefits
  5. Manufacture in China, Vietnam, India, or Elsewhere in 2021?

37:51 - A few suggestions for great pieces of content we've created in 2021 that you may have missed. We create regular content on our resources center. Take a look if you haven't already. Notably, our IP Protection guide for companies who're developing new products and manufacturing in China, our guide to 9 types of packaging, their pros & cons, costs, and green credentials, and our white papers on bioplastics, printing processes used in manufacturing, benefits of silicone, and more.

42:13 - Wrapping up ~ happy new year to all of our listeners! 🎉 

 

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The 3 Elements Your Factory Needs To Get Right For Good Manufacturing Performance (feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

Friday Dec 17, 2021

Friday Dec 17, 2021

In this episode...

Your host Renaud is joined once again by Andrew Amirnovin, our reliability expert at Sofeast, to discuss the 3 elements a factory (yours or your supplier's) needs to get right in order for you to get good manufacturing performance. This would result in the results we want in the longer term: good product quality, costs in line with our expectations, fast delivery times, and safe products.

If you feel that your supplier can improve any of the above, for example, then this episode will be helpful in providing you with guidance about where changes need to be made based on Renaud and Andrew's decades of experience and real learnings from our projects over the years with Sofeast clients in China, Vietnam, India, and other areas of Asia.

 

Show Sections

00:00 - Greetings & introducing Andrew

01:50 - Explaining today's topic - the elements needed for good manufacturing performance.

03:45 - A quick overview of the 3 elements: An effective management system, manufacturing processes under control, and well-designed products properly transferred to manufacturing.

05:49 - 1. The management system.

19:36 - 2. Running manufacturing processes following best practices.

29:00 - 3. Well-designed products that are properly transferred to manufacturing.

44:07 - Conclusion: What you need in place to have good manufacturing.

45:19 - Wrapping up

 

Related content...

 

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