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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 Oct 13, 2023
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Sofeast's CEO Renaud flies solo in this episode and discusses what he thought of the recent Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson. What can we, the manufacturing community, learn from this enigmatic character? As you'll hear, one of his specialities is making positive DFM (Design for Manufacturing) changes, so there will be plenty of focus on those, but also on his 5-point algorithm for success, triumphs and failures in manufacturing, and more.
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introduction.
06:25 - Elon Musk: A great contributor to humanity?
09:21 - Automation then de-automation
11:26 - Making product design engineers responsible for the manufacturing process.
13:24 - Musk's 5-point algorithm for success.
23:44 - The 'Idiot Index'.
25:44 - Material science: The unexpected choice to replace carbon fiber with stainless steel in some SpaceX parts.
27:31 - Using a revolutionary stainless-steel body for the cyber truck.
30:30 - Changing how die-casting is used in the automotive trade.
32:23 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- What is Design for Manufacturing (DFM)?
- DFM for PCBA – 40+ Improvements
- Get help from Sofeast's product engineers to examine your product and suggest ways that it can be improved for manufacturability by purchasing our DFM review for Manufacturing in Asia.
- DFM and DFA explainer video
- The Design for X Approach: 12 Common Examples
- DFX: Product Design Optimizations You Should Consider [Podcast]
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 06, 2023
Friday Oct 06, 2023
In this episode...
Adrian and Andrew Amirnovin, Sofeast's reliability expert and our head of New Product Development, are back on the pod and taking you on a journey into what testing to failure is, its benefits, and why you will find it a useful tool in your product reliability testing arsenal.
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introducing today's topic.
01:28 - What is test to failure?
05:33 - Why does testing to failure matter to companies who are bringing a new product to market (5 reasons)?
14:30 - Some examples where weaknesses were found in products which allowed them to be fixed.
19:56 - What kinds of methodologies can we follow when doing test to failure?
32:31 - Products and industries where this is a very useful kind of testing to do.
37:20 - Is test to failure wasteful?
41:10 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Get help from Sofeast to do Reliability Engineering & Testing (in a China lab) - we provide reliability engineering services including reliability testing on component and PCB levels as well as the product level on various types of consumer products. Some of these tests include drop, vibration, temperature and humidity and package testing. We can customize the right tests for your product.
- How To Do Product Reliability Testing?
- DFR Design For Reliability Guide & Implementation Secrets
- How Many Product Samples Are Required For Reliability & Compliance Testing?
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 29, 2023
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Sofeast's CEO Renaud explains what a manufacturing organizational chart is and, critically, 7 key things that we can learn about our suppliers from theirs. During your sourcing journey, Renaud's advice will help you spot potential issues with some red flags to be aware of. (Adrian from the team hosts).
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introduction.
02:03 - What is an organizational chart?
06:39 - 1. No Quality Dept.
10:26 - 2. Placing the quality department under the production manager.
14:44 - 3. Putting the production manager in charge of the planning department.
16:20 - 4. No planning system at all!
20:35 - 5. No team of manufacturing engineers.
24:16 - 6. No dedicated HR department or the HR staff are at a junior level.
27:08 - 7. Job titles are unclear on the org chart and sometimes inappropriate for the person.
30:44 - Summary and wrapping up.
Related content...
- Organizational chart definition
- Manufacturing Organizational Chart: Top 7 Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Organizational Physics: The Science of Growing a Business Hardcover – Lex Sisney
- Designed to Scale: How to Structure Your Business for Exponential Growth - Lex Sisney
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
In this episode...
Renaud hosts today and is joined by Andrew Amirnovin, Sofeast's reliability expert and our head of New Product Development, to cover the topic of reliability data and how it can be used to help you make better products and reduce your costs.
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introducing today's topic.
00:43 - What kind of reliability data can we get?
04:43 - Keeping a database of past issues or 'lessons learnt.'
10:29 - Where do issues that occur during manufacturing come from?
12:50 - How can reliability data be used to make better products?
17:16 - How user experience can influence a new testing plan.
19:46 - Over-engineering and reliability: Mercedes Cars in the 1980s and NOKIA phones that seemed to be indestructible.
25:11 - How can reliability data be used to cut production costs?
27:56 - An example from the early automobile industry: Henry Ford's Model-T Kingpin
33:52 - Takata airbag safety scandal.
38:39 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Get help from Sofeast to do Reliability Engineering & Testing (in a China lab) - we provide reliability engineering services including reliability testing on component and PCB levels as well as the product level on various types of consumer products. Some of these tests include drop, vibration, temperature and humidity and package testing. We can customize the right tests for your product.
- The story of the NOKIA 3210
- How To Do Product Reliability Testing?
- DFR Design For Reliability Guide & Implementation Secrets
- Henry Ford kingpin story
- Takata airbag recall
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 15, 2023
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Renaud makes it clear where you need to be with new product designs before you approach Chinese manufacturers. He also explains the risks with immature designs, common red flags, and the work you'll need to do to have designs that can be called 'ready to industrialize.'
Show Sections
00:00 - Introduction.
01:24 - What do we mean by mature product designs?
04:54 - Don't ignore important phases and milestones in the NPI process.
07:30 - What the average Chinese manufacturer will need from you before they can get started.
09:45 - Approaching suppliers in the right way.
16:20 - Is there a risk that a 'bad' manufacturer might take your project with immature designs and lead to failure and wasted time and money?
18:53 - Common red flags demonstrating that product designs are immature.
25:41 - Summary and wrapping up.
Related content...
- Why Skipping NPI Phases Is A Big Mistake
- See our visualization of the NPI process
- The Benefits of a Feasibility Study (during new product development)
- The Hardware Academy
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 08, 2023
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Renaud welcomes e-commerce guru and host of the popular 'The Seller Process' podcast, Gianmarco Meli, to the podcast today to talk about building better systems and processes for your company if you're importing and selling products that you make or buy in low-cost Asia online via e-commerce and want to be more successful.
Show Sections
00:00 - Introducing today's topic and Gianmarco.
04:19 - When starting up with e-commerce, what to work on (and optimize/systematize) first?
15:52 - Tips for systematizing and improving processes.
21:11 - When importing products and selling them in e-commerce, what are the biggest risks to watch out for? And what are the processes that really make a difference in reaching business objectives?
27:09 - The number 1 risk when selling products online.
30:02 - How to build good relationships with suppliers?
39:10 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- The NPI Process for Effective Product Development
- Navigating Compliance: Protecting Your Business in Today’s Market
- Get started sourcing from China...Listen to our DIY Sourcing from China Series
- Kraljic Matrix: Sourcing a Strategic Supplier – Are YOU a Good Fit for THEM?
- Check Sofeast's various supply chain management solutions where we can help you with sourcing, managing suppliers, storing and fulfilling your products from China, and much more!
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 01, 2023
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Renaud and Adrian talk about what a feasibility study for new products is, its benefits, and everything you need to know in order to implement yours. This will really help you to identify potential issues long before you manufacture your product, saving time and money on correcting them later on.
Show Sections
00:00 - Introduction.
02:01 - Many people don't consider doing a feasibility study.
03:11 - The 6 phases of the NPI process for an electro-mechanical product.
15:12 - The role of industrial designers in realizing concepts where the product needs to look good and who else helps you here.
20:10 - What to do in projects where figuring out how to make the product work is paramount.
23:01 - Using the feasibility study's designs and prototypes for marketing and sales.
24:54 - The 'Just Do It' or 'Go' syndrome is the biggest mistake to avoid.
38:30 - What if a product is rushed into mass production?
44:21 - Tips on how to do your own feasibility study based on how large businesses conduct theirs.
50:26 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Why Skipping NPI Phases Is A Big Mistake
- Crowdfunding Failures: 4 Great Prototypes That Failed To Launch
- dFMEA: When to use it and how to get best results [Podcast]
- Don’t Send Immature Product Designs To A Chinese Manufacturer!
- See our visualization of the NPI process
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
In this episode...
Join Andrew Amirnovin, Sofeast's reliability expert and our head of New Product Development, on a deep dive into what component-level testing is, the process followed for selecting and testing components that won't let you down, and the various benefits you'll get by doing this during the product design and development process.
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introducing today's topic.
01:21 - What is the difference between component-level and product-level testing?
08:14 - What's the component qualification process?
15:59 - The 10-point component testing and evaluation process.
36:13 - Why businesses and entrepreneurs bringing a new product to market shouldn't be expected to have the testing expertise in-house and what we do to help.
40:18 - Examples of problems that might occur if component testing is not done properly.
43:37 - Do YOU need to decide on and do all types of component-level testing?
47:10 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Get help from Sofeast to do Reliability Engineering & Testing (in a China lab) - we provide reliability engineering services including reliability testing on component and PCB levels as well as the product level on various types of consumer products. Some of these tests include drop, vibration, temperature and humidity and package testing. We can customize the right tests for your product.
- How To Ensure your Chinese Factory Purchases Good Components?
- What is the Pilot Run for Components and Products?
- Component Selection: Should I Use Tried-and-Tested OR Cutting-Edge Components?
- CTQ Components: How Component Engineers Manage Their Quality
- How To Reduce The Risks Of Substandard Components In Your Productions
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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 Aug 18, 2023
Friday Aug 18, 2023
Renaud and our senior engineer Paul Adams discuss the Taguchi method, also known as Robust Design. The Taguchi method is a tool used in engineering and manufacturing to improve product and process quality and reduce defects at an early stage. It is a statistical analysis approach used early in the product development process that reduces your costs and improves product quality and reliability, so is a popular way to develop products that are less risky to manufacture.
Show Sections
00:00 - Introduction.
01:07 - What is the Taguchi method? (Summary)
04:01 - Would a Taguchi method analysis point out risks and provide solutions about how to change the product design and/or manufacturing processes so the product could be made consistently well?
06:36 - Example: Plastic injection molding.
12:25 - Taguchi method is not a recent innovation, it's a well-established methodology.
18:03 - What do you need for good finished products?
21:05 - Benefits of doing early Taguchi analysis.
24:54 - The concept of value loss.
30:49 - How do teams who try to develop a new product without using the Taguchi methodology usually get on?
34:13 - When to follow a Taguchi testing approach?
36:50 - Caution: Statistical approaches are not a magic bullet.
38:49 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Robust Design: Enhancing Product Quality and Performance
- New Product Launch: Planning & Discovery Phases Are So Important
- Don’t Send Immature Product Designs To A Chinese Manufacturer!
- Basic Statistics Any Chinese Factory Can Understand
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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:
Saturday Aug 12, 2023
Saturday Aug 12, 2023
In this episode...
China-based British compliance expert, Clive Greenwood, joins Renaud this time to discuss the risks that cheap Li-ion batteries from China flooding the globe pose to consumers.
They go on to discuss in detail the health and safety and compliance laws governing batteries (and most products), and forthcoming sustainability laws that will be in place from next year that will affect all importers. It doesn't matter if you're in the EU, USA, or elsewhere; you're running out of time to comply with the laws discussed, and no, those cheap batteries aren't going to be compliant...
Show Sections
00:00 - Greetings and introducing Clive.
02:41 - Today's topic: The Risks Posed by Cheap Batteries from China.
06:09 - The battery lifecycle.
11:31 - Some examples of the differences in cost and risk of batteries and EV components from China.
20:19 - Existing and forthcoming standards and regulations affecting batteries.
26:52 - How personal EVs will probably be governed by IATF 16949 in future.
29:10 - New legislation coming in 2024 and 2025 that targets consumer lithium batteries specifically and what this means to importers.
37:19 - From 2025 the liability for fires and other dangers caused by poor-quality batteries is going to be on YOU, the importer, and there's no escape.
41:13 - Selling products with a Li-ion battery? Take these actions to avoid problems...
43:47 - Most issues with batteries are 'near-misses' that importers may never hear about leading to a lack of awareness about the risks with batteries.
45:35 - Chargers and the prevention of battery fires.
47:51 - The ESPR represents a serious challenge for importers with a supply chain in China (and other Asian countries to an extent).
50:19 - Liability for problems won't wait for the importer to put things right, they need to be right the first time around.
52:14 - What changes are happening in other parts of the world regarding health and safety?
57:08 - Wrapping up.
Related content...
- Chinese battery danger Telegraph article
- Get help from Sofeast to prepare to comply with the EU ESPR
- What is the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation?
- The EU Ecodesign Regulation Is Coming, But Are You Prepared? [Podcast part 1]
- How To Comply With The EU Ecodesign Regulation? [Podcast part 2]
- E Waste Impact on the Environment (Analysis)
- Understanding The Environmental Impact of EV Batteries
Get in touch with us
- Connect with us on LinkedIn
- Send us a tweet @sofeast
- Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB
- Contact us via Sofeast's contact page
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
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: