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Quality control in China: Another great graphic from Renaud

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Quality control in China Another great graphic from Renaud

Renaud Anjoran provides a tremendous service to the world with his Quality Inspection Tipsblog. Yes, our sister company, Asia Quality Focus, technically competes with Renaud’s company in the 3rd party inspection space, but Asia’s a mighty big place and he’s a fine fellow who has a real knack for blogging and a genuine skill for creating simple graphical representations of the common issues faced by foreign buyers dealing with Chinese vendors.

Quality control in China

His latest, “How to prepare a QC inspection checklist” is well worth a look.

Trade shows in China & Holiday Schedule for PassageMaker – 2011

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Trade shows in China & Holiday Schedule for PassageMaker

As part of the China Sourcing Information Center (CSIC) booth, PassageMaker will be exhibiting at various trade shows in China as listed below. PassageMaker staff will also be hosting level 100, 200 and advanced level 300 sourcing seminars at each of the shows in conjunction with www.GlobalSources.com. The shows and seminars are free to attend.

And because so many of our clients and prospective clients like to visit us in Shenzhen, included is our holiday schedule for this year as well.

Here are all the Global Sources trade shows we’ll be attending in 2011 (booth numbers will be posted as they are assigned):

12-14 January – Shanghai – Baby & Children’s Products; Fashion Accessories; Gifts & Premiums; Home Products; Swimwear & Underwear

Chinese New Year Holiday: 2-9 February

Tomb-Sweeping Holiday: 3-5 April

12-15 April – Hong Kong – Electronics & Components; Security Products; Solar & Energy Saving Products

20-23 April – Hong Kong – Home Products; Baby & Children’s Products; Gifts & Premiums; Medical & Health Products

27-30 April – Hong Kong – Underwear & Swimwear; Fashion Accessories; Garments & Textiles

May Day Holiday: 30 April – 2 May

31 May – 2 June – Dubai – Electronics; Home Products; Baby & Children’s Products; Gifts & Premiums; Fashion Accessories; Hardware & Building Materials; Garments & Textiles

Dragon Boat Holiday: 4-6 June

28-30 June – Shanghai – Electronics

11-13 July – Miami – Gifts & Premiums; Home Products; Fashion Accessories; Garments & Textiles; Baby & Children’s Products; Electronics

Moon Cake Holiday: 10-12 September

National Day Holiday: 1-7 October

12-15 October – Hong Kong – Electronics & Components; Security Products; Solar & Energy Saving Products

20-23 October – Hong Kong – Home Products; Baby & Children’s Products; Gifts & Premiums; Medical & Health Products; Christmas & Seasonal Products

27-30 October – Hong Kong – Underwear & Swimwear; Fashion Accessories; Garments & Textiles

13-25 November – Mumbai – Electronics & Components; Security Products; Home Products; Gifts & Premiums; Hardware & Building Materials; Auto Parts & Accessories; Bathroom Products

30 November – 2 December – Johannesburg – Home Products; Gifts & Premiums; Electronics; Hardware & Building Materials; Garments & Textiles; Fashion Accessories; Medical & Health Products; Solar & Energy Saving Products

6-8 December – Singapore – Home Products; Gifts & Premiums; Hardware & Building Materials; Garments & Textiles; Auto Parts & Accessories; Food & Beverages

To learn more about the shows and seminars, please visit Global Sources.

We look forward to seeing you at the shows!

Assorted dumplings and fried goodness, plus lots and lots of meat (including horse and donkey meat)

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Day 26 honey hebe are horrified that bees were ordered 1024x768

I had the opportunity to speak to a group of students the other day about doing business in China and Asia in general. As always, the subject of food and alcohol came up. I explained the business banquet and the rules of consumption, which in my experience are:

  1. There is no such thing as a glass of wine with dinner. If you say you don’t drink for religious or medical reasons, they will accept that, but if you start drinking, you are on a bus with no brakes, next stop Hangover Town.
  2. Everyone smokes, everywhere, all the time. Whether or not you smoke is irrelevant. At table, in the restrooms, in elevators, they will smoke. There will be smoking at dinner, and the further the drinking goes, the more smoking and the more they will encourage you to smoke. If you are a professional athlete, not the place for you. On that note, Chinese cities probably aren’t the best place for you anyway.
  3. You should eat anything put in front of you. As above, unless you have solid religious or medical reasons to say no, you WILL be eating whatever is ordered, especially if you are with me. No sissies at my table.

These ground rules established in the audiences’ heads, I recounted the epic drinking contests, food poisoning, hangovers, food poisoning, blackouts, and yet more food poisoning. You might think that with this track record I would be gun-shy trying new things but it is exactly the opposite. The most exciting cuisines in the world are in Asia, and good food is everywhere waiting to be tried. Including honey bees.

On my last trip to China, the highlight was donkey meat – best red meat I’ve ever tried. The Chinese have a saying, 天上龙肉，地上驴肉, “tiān shàng lóng ròu, dì shang lú ròu”, or “the best meat in heaven is dragon meat, the best meat on earth is donkey meat.” I have to agree.

Day 26 honey hebe are horrified that bees were ordered 1024x768

Day 7 donkey meat 11 1024x768

Day 7 donkey meat1 1024x768

PassageMaker‘s Director of New Project Development, Dave Learn, is an adventurous traveler and an exceptional photographer. I live vicariously through Dave’s Flickr page, and his photos of his recent trip to Mongolia inspired the title of this post.

David Dayton of Silk Road International, a good friend of all of us at PassageMaker, says that there are really several different Chinas. The interior (where 400 million people live on a dollar a day or less) is a different world from the conspicuous wealth of the Bund in Shanghai. You need to get out and experience all that the Chinas have to offer, and the same applies to Asia in general. A friend of mine once said the cuisine is the principal art form of any culture, and nowhere is this more evident than Asia, and China specifically. So if you are going to go to the trouble to journey to China, do NOT eat all your meals in the hotel or at McDonald’s. Get out and risk food poisoning, because the rewards are worth it.

Introducing our new Tool and Die Steward service

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Introducing our new Tool and Die Steward service

Dan Harris of the China Law Blog has a great post today, “How To Protect Your Molds And Tooling In China“. If you are not already a subscriber, you ought to take a minute to become one.

Money ‘graph:

If you do not take the right steps with your Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) before you ship over your mold or tooling, it is nearly certain you will never get them back. As soon as something goes wrong between you and your Chinese OEM manufacturer, the OEM manufacturer typically will use your mold or tooling for ransom. It is the very rare OEM relationship that lasts forever and if you do not take steps to protect your mold/tooling, it will be the even rarer relationship where your Chinese OEM company does not end up with either your mold/tooling or at least with your having to expend considerable funds securing their return.

Amen, Brother. Preach it.

Even though in this case he is referring to tooling provided by the client to the supplier, it is the same with tooling you buy from the supplier or from a contract tooling shop in China. Make sure the ownership of the tool is clear.

PassageMaker has just launched a new Tool and Die Steward (TDS) service that addresses the physical control of your tools. Dan is right that you should have iron clad contracts in place, but what if the vendor damages your tooling, rents it out to a competitor (this really happens), makes a copy of the tooling, goes out of the business and sells the tooling for scrap, etc.? A properly drafted agreement is great, but nothing beats having the tools in your possession.

Our TDS service can be tailored to your needs, but the short version is we take possession of your tool, make sure it is stored properly at our Assembly Center, and when it is time to run your order we will deliver the tool to the supplier for the production run and pick it back up when complete. You can even have our personnel supervise the production run to make sure the vendor treats the tool well and doesn’t run extra parts to sell out the back door.

If you’re like most of our clients, you’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars in tooling in China and it behooves you to look after that investment. Let us know if we can be of assistance!

How I love Taiwan

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A very interesting article on the recent elections in Taiwan. I lived there in 1998 and miss it a bit everyday.

My experience in Taiwan tells me that the folks in Beijing should not fear the animal spirits of democracy. The CCP has done an amazing job of creating the conditions for economic growth; self-evident over the last 20 years. I am betting they would still dominate the field in a fair election.

Regardless of the political aspect, I heartily agree with the author that Taiwan feels like the real China. If you’ve been to The Forbidden City in Beijing, you really need to go to the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The Maoists spared the buildings, but the Nationalists saved the contents of the buildings.

And if you are ever in Taipei, I strongly suggest Da Wang Gong Niu Rou Mian on ShiDa Lu for the best beef noodle soup in the world!

Back in the saddle again

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I haven’t blogged in the last few weeks because I’ve been moving. Sometime over a beer I will tell you the whole profanity-laced version of why we had to move, of why we had to move in such a short period of time, from a house with heat into one without, from a house with walls and paint into one where we immediately had to start demolition on half the house, such that we are really camping, weaving in and out of piles of our stuff, covered to try and prevent insulation and dust from seeping into everything.

In the long run, it is a good thing, as this is the house we always wanted. I bought the house I grew up in from my Father, now the third generation to own it since my grandparents bought it 50 years ago. It was a great house and when we are finished renovating, it will be again. But this was certainly not how I envisioned the deed going down.

Suffice it to say, I’m way behind on everything, including blogging. And there has been so much to blog about, from the re-branding of our sister company, Asia Quality Focus (formerly China Quality Focus), to celebrate the opening of their new office in Bangladesh, to the launch of the China Sourcing Information Center and its monthly online magazine, The China Sourcer. I look forward to getting back to it, especially the blogging.

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, a great and distinctly American holiday. I am thankful for many things, far too many to list, but most especially for the opportunity to do something I love while keeping my family happy. And for finally having internet access after two weeks. More on that little adventure tomorrow!

Election Night Predictions!

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In honor of my friend, Morgan Griffith, who just defeated 14-term incumbent Rick Boucher in the Virgina 9th Congressional District, let me make the following brief prediction.

Morgan will be a good and responsible Congressman. He will stay true to himself and not become enamored of life in Washington, DC. We will all miss him when he is away and I know his wife, Hilary, is probably cheering and weeping at the same time as this means she will see even less of him once he takes office. Congratulations Morgan and Hilary. It could not have happened to two better and kinder people.

On the subject of whether the new Tea Party flavored Republican House will have a negligible impact on the America’s trade with China, I will make the following prediction:

Nothing will change.

Not because it shouldn’t, but because it can’t. Not yet. Not for a long while.

As long as the USA is borrowing money in shiploads from the Chinese, there will be little to no leverage. As long as the USA continues to pursue policies that make the USA an unattractive place to start a business, there will be no hope of changing the rationale for doing business in China.

I approach this as someone who watched his Father start a metal stamping company in the USA during the 1980’s. That company, still in business today, would never be started today. The parts would be outsourced to China, because that’s what the math would tell you to do.

I write this with no special joy, despite how I earn my living. It is simply a recognition of the reality of my surroundings.

The USA will be gridlocked at the federal level until at least the 2012 elections. Having a bulwark in the House to stop the anti-competitive agenda of the last two years will be a good thing, but the numbers are not there to start turning the ship.

If the USA wants to compete with China, tax policy will have to change. Trade policy will have to change. Health care, OSHA, EPA, Department of Education, on and on and on, will have to change. And this won’t happen with a divided Washington.

Will the GOP House be better for PassageMaker’s business? I firmly believe it will. Entrepreneurs and small-to-medium businesses are risk averse. Now they can sleep a little easier that they will get to keep some of their earnings. Gridlock is at least stable, and even a less than optimal stability is preferable to the roller coaster we’ve been on the last few years. We’ve had a number of projects stall out because of clients who weren’t sure of the business climate. I am betting this changes for the better.

So, Congratulations Morgan! And on what other China business blog are you going to get a Fishbone reference on election night? I know that they didn’t mean it when they wrote the song, but listen to the lyrics – is there a better Tea Party anthem?

A picture is worth a thousand words

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Renaud Anjoran has done it again with a beautiful cartoon showing the steps involved in a typical random inspection. His blog is a great resource and this is the type of simple graphic communication I hope to move to on the PassageMaker website. Now that trade show season is almost over, I am hoping that we can get the long awaited video tours of our services and facilities up on the site soon.

Well done, Renaud!

And for other excellent graphic design, check out the new Asia Quality Focus (formerly China Quality Focus) website. They changed the name to recognize their new office in Bangladesh, serving South Asia.

I am betting I can beat Dan Harris and Renaud Anjoran at pool…

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Only because I can’t beat them at blogging. I am daily reminded of how badly I am outclassed at blogging by the China Law Blog and the Quality Inspection Tips blog. I get daily gems from these two blogs, and these days if i post once a week I am lucky. Needless to say, I recommend you subscribe to both.

I am not nearly as erudite as these gentlemen. They daily manage to serve up something worth reading, and by that measure, if I produce something worth reading once a month, hallelujah.

I titled this post as I did, because it is a daily discipline that I play 4-5 games of 8 ball on my home table. I have a fine old AMF pool table and shoot a few games each night as I complete my daily correspondence with PassageMaker’s clients around the world. If you are ever in Salem around 10 PM – 1 AM Eastern, be sure to stop by for a game. This is nothing more than relaxation, so I shouldn’t read too much into it, but I will anyway for the sake of this blog.

I am a better than fair shot, and 5 and 6 ball runs are common in my game. I have only ever had one 8 ball run off the break, and my opponent in that blessed game has refused to play me ever since (nearly 20 years and counting).

The reason I torture you with such an agonizing metaphor, is that pool tables are NOT the same in China. You would think that pool is pool around the world, but as with so many things, local differences make ALL the difference.

I am a pretty good shot, but when in China, I have to adjust my game. Chinese pool tables have rounded bumpers around the pockets, versus the standard angled bumpers on American tables. This means that a shot that would go in in America will bounce out in China. This has taught me to have a gentle hand and plan my shots better than is required in the USA.

This is an apt metaphor for doing business in China. What is easy and straightforward in the USA is a miss in China. Not a week goes by that I don’t have a client that wants to cut corners and do things “quick” in China. I always push back, insisting that they take their time, whether that means finishing their design database (rather than leaving the engineering up to the Chinese suppliers) or taking steps to properly protect their intellectual property by filing for Chinese patents and trademarks.

My point is that you always have to assume that doing business in China will take longer and be more difficult than the same task in your home market. 99.9% of the time this will be the case.

China is the way to go for inexpensive tooling and production parts, but it is NOT always the easiest way to go. Before you decide to work in China, you need to make sure you understand the difficulties involved, something PassageMaker can help you with.

Because those round pockets are a bitch.

I am not sure if I’d want to live there

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ambani 460 1739069c1

Interesting article about the world’s most expensive house, built by the richest man in India to the tune of around US$1 billion.

It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one studio, a ballroom, guestrooms and a range of lounges and a 50 seater cinema.

There is even an elevated garden with ceiling space to accommodate small trees.

The roof has three helicopter pads and there is also underground parking for 160 cars, which will come in handy for guests at Ambani’s forthcoming housewarming party.

From the top floors of the 173m high property are spectacular views of Mumbai and of the Arabian Sea.

Sounds pretty swanky, and I’m sure it is, but the picture really surprised me.

ambani 460 1739069c1

The building is cool enough, but I expected it to be in the middle of a park-like estate with lawns and trees, etc. Very interesting…reminds me why my first home is in small town America where I can afford to live on four acres of land in the middle of town. As much as I love Asia in general and China in particular, the population density doesn’t allow you to stretch out. Only way to go is up.