Blog
Reshoring is a Move You Need to Think Through Very Carefully
An abandoned warehouse located in Loveland, Colorado. (Photo: Tara Evans) “This pandemic has underscored the vital importance of reshoring our supply chains and bringing them back into the United States, where they belong, where they should have never left.” –...
What You Need to Know About Reasonable Testing Programs
No one wants to import a product into the US and then find out that it has been deemed unsafe by the authorities—or worse—has actually injured someone. Imagine that you purchase an order of adult sweatshirts from a manufacturer in Cambodia and have them shipped to...
Restarting Production Soon? Don’t Expect It To Be Easy
The United States has been social distancing for weeks and much of the economy has been shut down, but now things are slowly starting to open up again. At the beginning of May, about half of the states have partially reopened and are allowing certain businesses like...
Manufacturing in Indonesia: 3 Things You Need to Consider
Have you been looking at potential manufacturers in Indonesia to either replace or supplement your China manufacturing? Is it something that you’ve thought about? Since the U.S.-China trade war began in 2018 many importers have been transitioning production from China...
This is Why PPE Importers Are Frustrated Right Now
Masks, gloves, face shields, and other types of personal protective equipment (PPE) are in high demand right now. Because of this, the prices for some PPE items have gone up by more than 1000%. This is according to a report by the Society for Healthcare Organization...
Quality Control for Furniture: What Importers Need to Know
Are you working with furniture manufacturers in low-cost countries like China, India, or Vietnam? Imagine that you place an order for 2,375 wooden tables and the shipment arrives at your warehouse. This table is a hot item and you’re excited to get more pieces into...
Do Not Forget These 3 Key Fundamentals When Sourcing PPE
With the global pandemic raging, countries in Europe and the Americas are fighting to get every last piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) they can. Tensions are high and the U.S. has reportedly been “paying far above the market price for medical-grade masks,”...
Quality Control is Now More Important Than Ever in China
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on not only the health of entire nations but also on the health of the world economy. At first, when China shut down its factories to control the outbreak, importers in the U.S. and Europe were concerned about how soon...
Finding Good Mask Suppliers in a Desperate World
In the wake of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, entire healthcare systems have become stressed and the demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has gone through the roof. Hospitals are desperate to get their hands on respirator masks and other equipment to...
How to Write a Purchase Order That Protects Your Interests
Failure to set expectations with suppliers is something that often comes back to bite importers, especially newer ones, hard. Missed shipping dates, inaccurate quantities, misunderstood payment terms–these are all things that can be avoided by setting the right...
Does Conducting Social Audits Make You Socially Responsible?
Since the 1990s, a large percentage of global manufacturing has moved to developing economies, helping companies in the already developed world accomplish their goal of reducing production costs. However, since that time, many companies have faced issues with their...
How to Improve Product Quality With Third-Party Inspections
Recently, a company that makes water bottles and travel mugs had to recall about 5.7 million kids water bottles. The water bottles, some of which featured cute images of cartoon animals, were recalled because they posed a choking hazard to children. The silicone spout...
Manufacturing in Cambodia: a Good Alternative to China?
Since 2018, an increasing number of importers have been looking for alternatives to China, with a desire to either replace or supplement their Chinese manufacturers. The U.S.-China trade war has put billions of dollars worth of tariffs on imports from the country and...
What is First Article Inspection and Why is it Important?
Imagine that you’ve hired an injection molding factory in China to produce a precision plastic automotive part. The dimensions of the part are critical, and you’ve contracted with a third-party inspection company to conduct a final random inspection. 100% of the parts...
3 Alternatives to China for Sourcing in Southeast Asia
How do you diversify your supply chain and minimize the disruptions that might stem from natural disasters, geopolitical events, or other unexpected circumstances? This is a question many importers have asked themselves in the last few weeks. With an unpredictable...
The Coronavirus Will Affect Manufacturing in 2 Big Ways
Since the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak started in Wuhan last month, many people across the world have become quite nervous. The WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and the U.S. government made the decision to deny...
Wuhan Coronavirus: What do Importers Need to Know?
Pictured Here: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus particles (yellow) attached to the surface of an infected VERO E6 cell (blue). Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick,...
Manufacturing in Vietnam: This is What You Need to Know
Since the U.S.-China trade war began in 2018, many importers have scrambled to shift some or all of their production to Vietnam. In fact, Vietnam’s imports to the U.S. through November 2019 totaled $60.9 billion, up from $45.4 billion during the same period in 2018,...