I write the blog for the same reasons I authored the 300 page “Essential Reference Guide to China Sourcing”. Here is an excerpt to explain my motivation
Due to business culture, distance and language barriers it is an unfortunate fact that most China sourcing projects conducted by first time buyers who don’t have the support of experienced China hands or advisors simply do not meet original targets for price, quality or lead time. Based on my own sourcing experience as well as the knowledge gained from interviewing hundreds of other buyers in China, I realized that there were common pitfalls as well as best practices which separate the winning and losing sourcing programs. This book/ blog is a collection and explanation of these best practices and common pitfalls that are especially important to the new-to-China buyer, but also of interest to even veteran China hands. While there is no guarantee that even if the rules, strategies and templates provided in this book/blog are followed you will not encounter problems in China, I am confident that this blog and book can help the reader develop a strategy that will significantly improve their odds of orchestrating a successful sourcing program in China.
While the vendor coordination and advisory services provided by my company, PassageMaker (www.PSSchina.com), far outweigh the fees charged, not every prospective client, especially smaller companies or entrepreneurs, have the initial budget to hire professional service providers like my firm. As a result, some try to cross these dangerous, shark-infested, waters on their own. Therefore my goal in writing this book is to provide them with an affordable basic course on sourcing, so they have a fighting chance at success. In other words, my goal is to give practical solutions to common problems which any company can afford and implement.
In this blog I will be happy to present success stories and provide inside information gleaned from my 12 years as a sourcing agent and manufacturer in China. Perhaps more importantly, I also plan to share the intimate details of some China sourcing failures so that the reader can learn from the mistakes of others, including my own mistakes (and there are plenty!)
In short, “Another China blog” is not your typical China blog. We will focus almost exclusively on the topic of China sourcing. I will use plain English to explain the often complex realities of China Sourcing by focusing on topics like project management, quality control, negotiations, trends, tools, best practices and common pitfalls. I’ll add personal stories and engage general China issues only when it is relevant for the reader.
