What’s happening in packaging

China and Taiwan--Just A Tiny Piece of Global Sourcing

Companies are growing increasingly leery of sourcing from China or Taiwan, and who’s to blame them? Especially recently, with the two rattling sabers at each other and China showing off its very advanced new missile technology.

Does caution make sense? Sure! But it’s important to remember that China and Taiwan are just one tiny little piece of global sourcing.

Some people hope that global sourcing will just go away. But it won’t, and it doesn’t need to. There are major sources in South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, and Latin America.

So, if you don’t want to source from China or Taiwan, no problem. Work with a company who can not only find and then vet suppliers for products and materials you need but holds them accountable to inspect and ship on time.

Global sourcing requires having a network of vetted suppliers from all over the world (not just one geographical area). Here are 10 things to make sure your global suppliers are inspecting for:

  1. Security—into and out of the factory
  2. Cleanliness
  3. Machinery and upkeep of machinery
  4. Experience of shipping to major retailers and distribution hubs
  5. Do they follow all child labor laws?
  6. Their adherence with all environmental laws.
  7. Lead times
  8. Trial and sample orders
  9. Ability to scale—hot rush orders
  10. Quality Control

Global sourcing is not a fad, and it won’t go away just because China’s not looking so attractive these days. We’ve been saying this a lot lately, but it bears repeating:

No matter what your problems are, there are always options! Grand-scale change is fast becoming a way of life, so let’s get agile and pivot when things change. Let’s stop bemoaning the problems and start finding the solutions. If nothing else, it’s a much happier way of life.

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