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5 Tips to Help You Work With Chinese Suppliers in 2021
As a result of the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic, many importers have either moved production away from China or are considering a move in the future. Other countries in Asia and some in Latin America have seen increased interest and export volumes as...
How to Use Inspection Data to Maximize Your Quality Spend
Do you conduct more than two dozen third-party inspections per year with each of your manufacturers? If so, you’re sitting on a gold mine of data that can help you manage your QC budget more effectively. How so? Every time you conduct an inspection, you get an...
What is a T/T Payment? How to Pay Suppliers in China
For new e-commerce sellers, sending that first payment to a Chinese supplier can be confusing. With all the different options available — Paypal, Alibaba Trade Assurance, LC payments, etc. — it can be hard to determine which one is appropriate for your situation. You...
Can You Inspect Multiple SKUs In a Single Lot to Cut Costs?
If you are working with a third-party inspection company (like Insight), you are undoubtedly paying by the “man-day.” That means that as you place larger orders, your costs will go up since it might take more man-days to complete an inspection. As an importer...
Will There Really Be a “New Normal” for Supply Chains?
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my...
What Does MOQ Mean? Here’s What You Need to Know
If you’re getting started as an eCommerce seller and looking for manufacturers, you may have come across the term MOQ and been confused by it. What is MOQ? MOQ stands for “Minimum Order Quantity” and it’s the minimum number of pieces of a product that a supplier will...
Will the Coronavirus Crisis Change Trade Shows Forever?
Image Source: Collision ConfAs an importer, you may rely on trade shows and trade fairs to help you identify new product sources, keep up with industry trends, network with peers, or inspire fresh new ideas. If so, the global pandemic has probably hurt your ability to...
Shipping Marks: 5 Things You Need To Put On Your Cartons
When you are importing goods from overseas, it’s important that your cartons can be recognized at a glance, include instructions for proper handling, and provide the information needed to ensure correct delivery. This is where shipping marks come in. According to...
Going From Product Design to Store Shelves (A Timeline)
Do you have a new product design that you want to manufacture and get onto store shelves ASAP? It is important to be realistic about timelines. At Insight, we do a lot of sourcing in Asia and sometimes would-be importers will come to us with a design and expect that...
Chinese Trading Companies: Are They Really That Bad?
If you’ve been going through the process of searching for new suppliers, you may have noticed at some point that not all of the companies you find online are factories. While browsing the Alibaba platform, for example, you may eventually find that there are also a lot...
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...