The Vietnamese manufacturing industry has boomed in recent years, and the country has continually grown its exports. In 2012, Vietnam exported just over $114 trillion worth of goods — items ranging from textiles to electronics. By 2022, exports ballooned over $370...
Supply Chain Management
What is Supplier Development, and Why is it So Important?
Finding a trustworthy supplier is key if you’re looking to establish an effective and efficient supply chain. Sometimes, a supplier relationship can start off great, but new issues develop over time, such as a decline in quality, shipping issues, or social...
Chinese New Year Shutdown 2023: Avoid Problems With Your Factory
Every time Chinese New Year (CNY) comes around, a new crop of importers gets thrown for a loop. Rookie buyers often fail to anticipate the holiday’s impact on their production timelines, shipping timelines, and quality control. As many seasoned importers know, it’s...
3 Ways to Improve Quality in Your Supply Chain
The supply chains of today are complex, often made up of many suppliers and sub-suppliers in various countries. Working with manufacturers overseas can be challenging, which means that managing your relationships well is essential to getting the best possible results...
The Importance of Traceability in Manufacturing: What You Need to Know
No profitable company gets ahead by keeping lackluster or confusing accounting records — after all, thorough financial tracking guarantees you’re investing your resources well and protects you from audits. Likewise, smart manufacturing companies know that tracing and...
What is Cost of Quality (CoQ) and How Does This Methodology Work?
Tiny errors in manufacturing may seem, well, tiny. But from humble seeds, big issues can sprout. The longer quality issues go unchecked, the larger and more costly they grow. Eventually, something that seemed like no big deal can become a huge drain on your time and...
Sourcing in Sri Lanka: Is it a Good Fit for Your China Plus One Strategy?
As China's labor costs rise and supply chains tighten, many importers have shifted toward a China plus one approach in recent years. And a relatively new player in the Asian economy, Sri Lanka, is quickly rising as a key possibility for sourcing. The country offers...
Manufacturing in Turkey: Is it a Good Option for Importers?
Many importers have chosen to diversify their manufacturing locations in recent years to include European countries. This trend accelerated when the COVID-19 pandemic started wreaking havoc on global economies and markets. Turkey is among a few nations that have...
What is the China Plus One Strategy, and What Should You Know About It?
In recent years, many companies have adopted a 'China Plus One' strategy for managing their global supply chains. In other words, rather than relying solely on a Chinese manufacturer to make their products, they establish additional supplier relationships in another...
What is Supplier Quality Management? Plus 3 Important Tips
Today’s supply chains are complex, and manufacturers rely on them to get the raw materials and parts they need to make their products. A car might have over 30,000 individual parts, and while an automaker will manufacture some of those parts in-house, they’ll likely...