Sofeast Knowledgebase Blog

Renaud and compliance expert Clive Greenwood are back with a warning for importers who sell products in the EU about the impending EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) which is due to come into effect in May 2023. This … Continue reading →

– A special guest post by Brad Pritts. US readers may recognize the question as an allusion to a classic American children’s book – “Are you my mother?” dating to the 1960s! Many tales have been told about difficulty identifying … Continue reading →

Many electronic products are developed and manufactured without confirming that they don’t contain unreliable components. There are many reasons why a manufacturer rushes to get a product into production, such as to outpace copycats, sheer excitement, or their supplier pushing … Continue reading →

Following China’s 20th Communist Party Congress in October ’22, the West has been left with questions about China’s future intentions and how this affects manufacturers with a Chinese supply chain. We all remember how the Covid lockdown in China around … Continue reading →

It’s the end of the month again so that means it’s time for Sofeast’s sourcing team to give you an up-to-date picture of the costs of China raw materials. We track these costs each month to help you understand if … Continue reading →

Renaud and Adrian cover a topic that most importers, regardless of where they are manufacturing in the world, will value: cost-cutting! There are 9 measures you could use to reduce your business costs here ranging from fairly low-hanging fruit, such … Continue reading →

I’ve written before about Chinese trading companies masquerading as legitimate manufacturers before on a number of occasions on my blog QualityInspection.org, and the threats they can pose to importers haven’t disappeared. Here are some reasons why trading companies might be … Continue reading →

Renaud takes you through the more theoretical side of quality, sharing several interesting definitions, exploring the difference between ‘little q’ and ‘Big Q’ quality, and sharing some insight into how to improve quality in your supply chain. Every importer sees … Continue reading →

Renaud and Adrian discuss something that founders of hardware startups often neglect: validating their product idea. Founders love their idea, but is that enough to guarantee success? Will an investor buy into your pitch based on your gut feeling alone? … Continue reading →

The strong and vibrant ‘paintjob’ on automobiles is often produced by E Coating, a cross between painting and plating. India has a number of great companies who’re experts in the e coating process and could be options for importers sourcing … Continue reading →