Endorsed Service Providers

CBI Consulting

Take a look at http://cbiconsulting.com.cn/ for details, but in summary, this firm has conducted countless background investigations on individuals and companies throughout Greater China. This information can be very valuable when selecting a potential supplier.

CBI has unique capabilities to gather information in ways that multinational companies and factory auditors might not. CBI finds and/or places informants into factories to develop intelligence (with this informant staying in the factory for as long as clients wish). As such CBI can provide insight into unauthorized or illicit activity at factories or partner companies, and investigate a supply chain from the ground up, generating hard data about security and efficiency.  So after you find a supplier, this company can keep discretely keep an eye on things for the buyer.

This company is also an excellent provider of due diligence reports on Chinese companies at very reasonable pricing. Traditional Due diligence often supplements the buyer’s Supplier Identification and Analysis research. Check out www.cbiconsulting.com.cn for details.

Fiducia Management Consultants

Fiducia Management Consultants was formed in 1982 with the vision to serve as a business link between China and the West.

Fiducia has been helping clients successfully establish and support operations in Greater China for almost three decades. By offering our international expertise and local know-how, we  guide international companies through the complexities of the dynamic Chinese business environment. Fiducia is a multidisciplinary firm with over 80 experienced and dedicated specialists and four offices strategically located in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Fiducia is the CSIC’s endorsed service provider for the following services:

• Incorporation Services:Fiducia helps clients with company formation in China and Hong Kong, and provide all necessary company secretarial services in compliance with legal requirements. All related administration is supported by theirCorporate Services team to ensure efficient set up and reliable operations. Fiducia is also equipped to effectively carry out the process of de-registration.
• Outsourced Accounting:Fiducia is well versed and experienced in finance and accounting areas for both China and Hong Kong. Services include implementation of a transparent accounting system to comply with Chinese bookkeeping standards, preparation of monthly or yearly financial statements as well as arranging and preparing annual audits and handling tax queries from the tax authorities.

For a more comprehensive description on each of Fiducia’s dedicated services, please visit www.fiducia-china.com for more information.

Engineering

It is no secret that China has become the manufacturing base for the world. Yet the local engineering available here is not always able to live up to the expectations of demanding international clients in terms of production process knowledge, quality expectations, English language communications, project management and engineering experience.

Contact CSIC and we will be happy to introduce you to an appropriate engineer for your project.

Available services include, but are not limited to:

Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Ensuring that the concept is valid and the right materials and production processes are in place to ensure price, quality and lead time targets are achieved.

Asia Quality Focus

For those buyers that need on site product inspection and factory auditing, CSIC highly recommends Asia Quality Focus (AQF).

They are a  Western-managed, Asia-based inspection company.  AQF provides Quality Control inspections, factory audits and helps buyers determine the relevant certifications needed for their various products. The AQF team is composed of local and Western quality experts, combining local cultural roots and Western background & business practices. Moreover, their expertise covers a wide range of products and they are able to help and support clients from various industries and can provide services in China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Taiwan.

Their fees start at 298 USD per man-day in Asia and service details can be reviewed by visiting www.AsiaQualityFocus.com for more information.

Global Sources

There are only a handful of mega-players in the field of on-line supplier directories. In our opinion, Global Sources is the best one because the supplier list is amazing in its comprehensiveness, the site is easy to use, the suppliers go through a more rigorous validation process than suppliers in other directories, its ratio of actual factory to trading company is better than the rest and most important- using it is free for international buyers.  We hope you benefit from www.GlobalSources.com as much as we here at CSIC have.

PassageMaker

PassageMaker (PM) can be of support for those buyers that need help with Supplier Identification, Vendor Coordination, Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Final Assembly.

PM is a US owned and operated company based in China. PM specializes in helping clients find suppliers and manage their China supply chain, with a special focus on clients who are concerned about protecting intellectual property (IP) and ensuring the quality is to specification.

PM’s assembly center serves as both a “black box” to protect IP and a quality gate. Simply put, components and semi-finished goods are delivered to their facility from your approved sub suppliers and then final assembly/packaging takes place at PassageMaker. As the sub suppliers don’t see the finished product, their ability to steal ideas and designs is limited. While final assembly is taking place under the PM roof they can also inspect the goods to confirm quality. Visit www.PSSchina.com for more information including their rate sheet and case studies.

The term “tooling” refers to the jigs, fixtures, dies, molds, machine tools, cutting tools, gauges, and other tools which are used to create a given product.  For example, a plastic comb is made by injecting melted plastic into a mold which has a cavity in the shape of the desired comb.  There are almost as many tool and die shops out there in China as there are factories.  If you need help finding the right partner for your tooling, the Supplier Identification & Vendor Coordination services are also provided. PassageMaker has an interesting service they have dubbed “the tooling steward”.  Here is some background:

You may have heard some horror stories such as:

• The supplier rented out the American client’s tooling to another factory who supplied the buyer’s direct competition!
• A German company’s supplier went out of business on short notice and liquidated their tool and die room.  Buyer’s precious tools were sold for scrap before the German company even knew the supplier was out of business.  Resulting court case proved ineffective and no compensation ever achieved.
• The Australian buyer’s supplier has not only failed to oil and maintain the tooling, but they dropped it from a 2 meter high fork lift. 70,000 AUD tooling was rendered useless and court case went on for 3 years before the Australian buyer gave up.

PassageMaker offers a solution to help buyers avoid that kind of drama in cases where the buyer can’t trust the supplier and have little faith that the court system in China will protect the buyer’s interest. . They decided to call their service the “China Tool and Die Steward” because just like the absent owner of a large residence, foreign buyers need somebody they can trust on-the-ground to look after their valuable possession while they are no longer in China themselves.

The “tooling steward” service can include the following:  Storing the tool and dies at PassageMaker’s warehouse between production runs.

• Pickup and Delivery service to ensure a clear record of possession and accountability.
• Tagging and Tracking.  You will know the location and status of your tooling at all times.
• Schedule Maintenance on your tooling.
• “Tool and die watchmen” can even be made available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to literally stand next to your tooling while in production at your vendor.
• Most importantly, as a 100% American-Owned company PassageMaker understands and fully respects Non-Disclosure/ Non-Compete Agreements.

Visit www.PSSchina.com for more information.

Chibridge

Chibridge is a Chinese law firm servicing international clients by providing legal advice and services relevant to foreign buyers. Owner Sophie Mao previously work in an international law firm and states “I understand how the big multinational law firms work, and my Chinese law firm can provide the same level of service at a better rate. The international firms often get business because they communicate with the overseas clients very well, but at my firm not only do we strive for excellent communications, but we have the local understanding: local lawyers, local prices, local culture and business environment”. In short, Chibridge offers “professional service”, “efficient communication” and is “solution oriented”.

Services Offered:

• Intellectual Property Registration and Litigation
• Dispute Resolution, Arbitration & Litigation
• China Corporate Law (labor, employment, taxation, corporate governance & general counsel)
• International Trade Law (contract review & general counsel)
• Technical and General Translation

Legal costs reflect scope of services. For example:

• Total all in costs (legal advisor + government fees) for IP registration start at 5000 RMB.
• Project based legal advice is done on an hourly rate ranging from 1500 RMB to 1000 RMB, depending on the seniority of the legal advisor. For most cases, rather than paying an hourly rate, clients prefer and we are willing to charge a flat fee.
• Clients may have Chibridge on retainer starting at 30,000 RMB per year.

Visit www.chibridge.net for more information.