Made in China - The Truth

After making several purchases in my lifetime of products made in China (tongue in cheek) as well as hearing about the questionable quality of Chinese manufacturing, I did some research to get a deeper perspective on the subject. While I'm not going to spend 6 weeks researching, the following already makes so much sense that this article satiated my curiosity. No need for more numbers, graphs, committee meetings, peer reviews, ...

Read a Forbes article depicting the experience of a group of college grads who chose to move to China during the Great Recession here in the US. What they found after much trial by fire was that legitimate Chinese factories will perform at the pleasure of those hiring them.

In other words, many companies, American or otherwise, go to China to negotiate the lowest possible production cost, cut corners on materials used and then, to make matters worse, never actually monitor the process or the final product!

Misconceptions, Preconceived Ideas

Foreigners to China oft make several mistakes when delving into the Chinese Manufacturing Jungle while the blame fall on manufacturers:

1. Foreigners don't communicate, are myopic on profits and don't follow through, from blueprint to final product. Companies who pay for quality, get quality ­— penny pinchers get crap ~ you get what you pay for.

2. Responsibility for quality products rests with the distributor, not the manufacturer! Think immersion & collaboration versus delegation of responsibility.

3. Cut out the middleman and thereby legitimately cut costs and have more control over the end-result.

In the end, if you wish to engage foreign manufacturers, you must first build a relationship with those who either meet or exceed your own country's quality standards, understand your product, understand the manufacturing process and guide the process using quality materials and verify the quality of the end product!

Most importantly, prioritize quality over profit.