Sofeast CEO, Renaud, and Adrian from the team continue our mini-series of episodes about doing your own sourcing from China in this, our 7th part. By now, you’ve found and vetted a supplier and are working with them on production. There will doubt be positives and negatives, so the question is, how to improve the negatives?
Let’s say that quality sometimes needs to be better. Do you ditch the supplier and find a new one that can do a better job of quality, or do you work with the supplier to help them improve it?
Often, implementing a supplier development program to improve their results is much more effective than switching to a new supplier and starting from scratch, and in this episode, Renaud explains why this is, how to build your development program, and best practices to follow.
Listen here!
Listen: How to develop your Chinese suppliers? – Sourcing from China (7)
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Episode sections
- 00:00 – Greetings & Introduction
- 02:20 – What is supplier development and is it overlooked by buyers?
- Next, we’ll go into the 5 steps a supplier development program includes:
- 08:36 – 1. Selecting suppliers with the right profile.
- 12:43 – 2. Helping the supplier during product development and new productions.
- 17:09 – How phases 1 & 2 are connected to being a hands-on buyer and building rapport with the supplier.
- 18:44 – 3. Ensure your quality standard is met.
- 27:34 – Proactive approaches. 4. Targeting low-hanging fruits (small projects for quick wins).
- 33:05 – 5. Reorganizing manufacturing and/or supply chain processes.
- 38:51 – Summarizing what a supplier development plan is.
- 40:46 – When is supplier development worthwhile over switching suppliers and starting again?
- 41:45 – Why we started our own contract manufacturing subsidiary to embody the best practices discussed here.
- 43:21 – Wrapping up.
Related content…
- Part 1: Good Fit, Sourcing, Vetting, & Backups [Podcast]
- Part 2: Negotiations, Terms, Leverage, & Quality Standards [Podcast]
- Part 3: Project Management & Checking Quality Early [Podcast]
- Part 4: Final Inspections [Podcast]
- Part 5: Building Rapport [Podcast]
- Part 6: Hands-on or hands-off buyer to follow up on production? [Podcast]
- Switching to a new Chinese manufacturer
- Assistance to source new suppliers (paid solution from Sofeast)
- Ultimate guide to Sourcing from China and Developing your Suppliers (eBook)
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