Pandablog

Production Drawings and Samples

Every purchaser/buyer whether they are developing new or producing existing products should have a detailed set of drawings and samples of their product to ensure that no changes creep into it over time. We have all heard nightmare stories of manufacturers over a period substituting cheaper, lower quality components to increase their profit margin. A local eye on the materials used and manufacturing process will help to eliminate the chances of this happening to your product. Moving forward with your production partner, you need to be sure that the quality is maintained so your product’s integrity is never called into question.

We all know why the manufacturers will attempt to substitute components and elements of the product for substandard and cheaper parts. They do this as inflation rises in China, raw materials increase in price, local wages rise, tax increases and the only place where they can squeeze extra revenue and margin from is the products they produce. Having understood this it is most important that you are represented during production runs and your product guidelines and rules are fully adhered to.

Make sure you maintain control of all documentation at all times. When an SME finds a manufacturer to develop new products it is very tempting just to use the manufacturer’s designs (as seen on a trade show or factory/showroom visit) and to place your logo or label on it. This item is part of your brand now. You should request all details of the item including;

- Material type and specification

- Material samples

- Technical drawings, inc. tolerances and weights

- Notes on production

- Product samples

If you have this information, you will be better prepared and find it easier to source your items from other factories if the need arises. ISO9001:14001 states that all the above can and should be provided by the manufacturer so there is no reason not to have it. This is also a useful leverage tool. Knowing that you have relevant information, the supplier will be more incentivised to keep you happy.

For a free quotation and consultation, visit our official China sourcing and quality control website.

As we have all experienced, once it is in the hands of the production facility more often than not there is a lot of confusion over what the production schedule actually is. This is usually due to a breakdown in communication between departments.

The production schedule the sales department agree with you will often be a different date to the actual production department’s. If you’d planned to visit you might find out that your order is not scheduled when you were told it was. The disconnect in many factories is between the production department and whomever your contact is there. If you want a realistic picture of your production and a 3^rd party to identify possible issues during the production process, a quality control service is very useful.

Factories can promise quality control and introduce you to their QC department but these departments are not incentivised to protect and look after your product during production. Most workers in factories are paid per item; this means that the more they produce, the more they will be paid. They are not incentivised to find any differences between your guidelines and the product being produced. Of course they are manufacturing the item ordered but there are those fine details that make a quality product. This is where a 3^rd party can be brought in to look after your product at a fraction of the cost it would be for your company to visit.

It’s useful to get to know the production department heads for a little extra information. This allows you to know how closely the sales/logistics and production departments work together.

For a free quotation and consultation on managing your order, please visit the ETP official website.

Nobody wants the aggravation of moving production facility to a new supplier but your business should always have a backup plan in place. You need to be prepared for every eventuality. Raw material prices, wages and taxes are always on the rise and everyone finds their profits squeezed at some point. If there are manufacturers with better connections, facilities and experience that can alleviate the pressure you are facing in your market then they need to be investigated and considered. Even if you don’t need to make a change at the present, as a research exercise you can feel confident knowing you truly have the best deal.

I recall a client who had completed a lengthy search finding the right manufacturer and finally developing and sourcing a product that ‘worked’ for them, suddenly found themselves under pressure from their retailer to reduce their production costs. They had found the right balance of a good product for a price they were willing to pay. Afterwards, somewhere higher up in the supply chain, a decision was made to reduce the cost of the item to make it more competitive/increase profits in their home markets.

The client carried on as instructed, removing this bit and that bit, adding cheaper materials and cheaper packaging. To no surprise, the first draft of the cheaper product worked out a little more expensive than the current item. This was blamed on rising material costs, labour costs, tax rates, shipping, etc.

The process of reengineering a product put the whole deal back on the table with the manufacturer who used the opportunity to renegotiate their prices. If the client later reverted back to the original product and decide the whole cost cutting exercise was a waste of time, the manufacturer can simply use the excuses made during most recent pricing process to push the cost up of the original product.

As it happens, their original product increased in demand but they didn’t have any in stock to sell because they had decided to stop all production in favour of finding that hallowed “cheaper alternative”. What started as an exercise in saving some money, turned into a loss of profit over their busiest time of year.

It would have made more tactical sense to go to a new manufacturer and ask them to produce a cheaper product using cheaper materials. This way the client would have a cheaper development product in process, while maintaining the option of the superior product at a previously agreed price.

A local and on the ground knowledge of business attitudes and production in China can help your organisation make the right strategic decisions.

For a free, no strings consultation and quotation, visit the ETP official sourcing and quality control China website.

For those of us who are attempting to or have already created a brand, we know the many challenges involved in getting it recognized and noticed. There are numerous marketing, advertising and promotion techniques and many pieces of literature that can help inform you of the best ways to build your brand. They may not all be relevant but you will find ideas that you would be willing to try in order to build a stronger and more recognizable brand.

Of all these options, I believe the best and most reliable route towards a stronger brand is in fact the most fundamental; make sure you have the best product in your class. The best product may mean the most durable. It may mean the finest materials or the latest design. It may mean the best price in its category. Whatever the criteria, it all stems from one thing; manufacture and fabrication.

I have been sourcing in China for 10 years. I have visited countless factories and have been in countless situations revolving around the quality of a product. It’s true what they say, that you ‘get what you pay for’, but first it is vital to know exactly what you are paying for. Making informed decisions on suppliers and manufacturers coupled with correct management of your orders throughout the process will enable you to find that extra value.

For example, you can be told that a manufacturer produces 200-500 containers a year or that the ‘laoban’ (big boss) made 500million dollars last year. Both seem impressive and may sway you to use them as a supplier. But these ‘facts’ are precisely the ones that need to be looked beyond and instead concentrate on the pride in which the sales department and department-heads take in their jobs.

They will always pay special attention to you for the first and second orders. But soon enough, you’ll find yourself just another client and the preferential treatment you used to get will wane.

It’s a good idea never to have, ‘all your eggs in one basket’ with regards to producing your goods. If your production needs are large enough it is a good idea to split them over 2 or more facilities. A backup is incredibly useful. It gives you leverage over each manufacturer as the threat of losing an order will always be there. You will notice the question, ‘do you manufacture these anywhere else?’ is always one of the first to come up.

Another advantage of splitting your production across facilities is it allows you to manage your individual orders and overall production schedule with greater effectiveness. Communication is a massive issue when dealing with facilities, and expecting an informed or honest response when asking a mid-level employee about the production schedule of a large number of products is problematic at best. Being able to limit your enquiries to a few direct questions with the key people can streamline the process on both ends. This ultimately allows you to apply pressure in the right areas to ensure production that meets your schedule.

On hand factory and manufacture experience can help you overcome these problems and assist your fabrication of a better product and ultimately a better brand.

For advice on managing your product development in China, visit the official ETP website: www.enterthepanda.com