While in a taxi on my way to meet a minister from the Chinese government I was warned not to mention Tibet. It wasn’t on my list of questions, but there are plenty other ways you can put your foot in it while overseas. My error was mild – telling my hosts at the beginning [...]
The quality of goods and services sourced by purchasers can be make or break for the reputation of their organisation. And the issue of quality assurance is one that seems particularly high on the agenda when it comes to low cost country sourcing. China has had its knocks when it comes to product excellence – [...]
Some buyers are yet to begin low cost country sourcing, while others have been doing it for years. They have reliable suppliers who produce goods to specification and deliver on time, but are they extracting all the value they can from these long supply chains? Observers in China believe not. They say even large, well-established, [...]
According to the latest SM poll 36 per cent of buyers source from China, with a further 4 per cent beginning in the next 12 months. And even those that do not buy directly from suppliers in the country said many of the products they buy originate in China anyway. But how many have actually [...]
One Chinese logistics expert tells SM: “If you ask a regular guy from the US what they think it’s like in China, the answer would generally come back: “Probably people don’t have a TV in their house, maybe they still wear pigtails.” Very old views and the UK may be the same.” “But when they [...]
According this story on the BBC website, inflation in India has hit a three-year high and is being blamed on increasing food and energy costs. The government has taken action to combat the prices by banning the export of non-basmati rice and scrapping import duty on other food goods. Such is the concern, the county’s [...]
In this issue, Yijiang Li points out 10 key considerations when sourcing from low-cost regions including local customs, logistics and intellectual property issues. What are your top tips for low-cost country sourcing? Any lessons you’ve learnt and would like to share?
In this issue’s soapbox, Ken Cole says that English buyers could learn a lot from their Scottish counterparts when it comes to efficiency. "Within a short period of time, Scottish public services have made rapid progress in driving out costs and redeploying scarce resources at a pace its English counterparts could only dream of. Why? [...]
