Canton Fair Tips
The first phase of the Canton Fair is underway. Unless you are based in China, this is one of the few opportunities to meet with suppliers face to face. Here are some tips for before you leave and while you are there.
Preparation:
- Know the location of the suppliers you want to visit. Get their booth number before you go. Booth numbers are available on the Canton Fair website.
- Schedule meeting times with the suppliers you want to meet.
- Bring plenty of business cards. Some buyers even print business cards especially for the fair with a special contact email address so they can filter out spam.
- Wear comfortable shoes. It’s a lot of walking on unforgiving floors.
- Know when to go. Look up what phase has your product categories.
At the Fair:
- Find out if the potential supplier you are talking to is a trading company or a manufacturer.
- Find out where the factory is located and go visit it (do not pass up an opportunity to visit a factory) if possible.
- Get accurate quotes on products. Cover all the aspects of pricing (packaging, shipping and payment terms, etc).
- Get detailed info about potential suppliers- what markets they export to, do they have an export license, who are their customers, what are their production capacities, how much of the manufacturing process do they outsource, etc.
- Take detailed notes about conversation with suppliers, including specs and pricing.
- Note about the interaction with the supplier. How well do they communicate? Would you feel comfortable working with them?
- Be organized. Have a system to keep track of all the suppliers you meet and the information they give you.
- Bring a small rolling suitcase to carry all the brochures.
- Be on the lookout for new companies in your industry, new products, etc.
- Gather info on material pricing, market changes, general trends of what’s going on (labor shortages, price increases, power shortages, etc).
Canton Fair (Spring 2012) Dates and Phases
The Canton Fair is China’s largest trade fair. Buyers from all over the world flock to Guangzhou, Guangdong to attend this bi-annual event. The fair boasts an enormous selection of suppliers from dozens of industries. Last session had over 24,000 exhibitors and over 200,000 overseas buyers. For overseas buyers sourcing in China, this is excellent starting point in your trip to China. The Fair takes place every Spring and Autumn. Each session is split into 3 phases. Here are the dates of the April 2012 session:
Phase 1: April 15-19. This phase is for industries like as electronics, appliances, hardware and tools, chemical products, lighting equipment, vehicles and parts, machinery, building materials.
Phase 2: April 23-27: This phase is for consumer goods, gifts and home decorations
Phase 3: May 1-5: This phase is for textiles and garments, shoes, food, office supplies, cases and bags, recreation products, medicines, medical devices and health products.
For a complete list of products, go here.
The Canton Fair website has information on registration, finding hotels and basic fair info. Follow this link.
Material Testing and Working with a Chinese Supplier
At InTouch Services, we work with Chinese suppliers on issues related to testing on a daily basis. Here are some tales from the field:
“Don’t worry. It’s lead-free. Besides, we never show lab testing documentation to our customers because our customers never need it.” That’s what one supplier said in response to our inquiries about the material safety and quality of a child’s necklace. For any experienced buyer, this should raise an alarm. You the importer are responsible for making sure your product conforms to all industry standards and legal requirements. And children’s jewelry is one of the most sensitive items for such issues.
We had been helping one of our clients develop suppliers in China for children’s jewelry. The samples received from this particular supplier looked great. Our client was happy with the quality, design and pricing of these samples. Despite the factory’s reassurances, we strongly advised our client to move forward with chemical testing. The results came back and they were shocking. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) limit for lead in children’s jewelry is 100ppm (parts per million). Our “lead-free” necklace was 595,000ppm, or about 60% total lead. Wisely, the buyer decided to move on and continue the search for a viable supplier.
Trusting a supplier in China at their word only is dangerous, especially if you have never met them face to face or visited their factory.
Often, buyers attempt to protect themselves by asking or even requiring the factory to provide material testing documents. These certificates offer very limited security. It is easy for the factory to get a hold of certification or doctor existing documents to satisfy your request. Even real certification of pre-production samples isn’t enough to ensure the product is safe. There is no guarantee that the materials they used in the past will be used in your product. There may be plenty of honest suppliers, but it’s better to err on the side of caution when you bear all the risk, and they bear none, for a dangerous product. Test your own product at an independent lab.
Another strategy buyers employ is to have product inspections. Product inspections are an invaluable service (and an essential part of your China sourcing strategy!) but do have some limitations regarding material quality. Product quality only starts with a “PASS” from an inspection, as they cover the functional and appearance aspects. Without documented proof that your products are safe, you may find your product’s name listed on one of the numerous product recalls. And that isn’t fun.
Don’t think you’ll get caught? Here are some links.
Various Children’s Jewellery (Impulse! & Co. and Party Princess)
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1489
Necklace with a snake pendant
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1490
Heart Locket Charms and Hockey Goalie Charms by John Bead
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1491
Necklaces with strawberry pendant and a camera pendant
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1492
Various antique silver and brass colored pendants, beads and charms
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1497
Various Dynamite Long Necklaces and Pendants
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1498
Heart shaped pendant and plastic plug bracelet
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1495
Various Anex Jewellery
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1499
“Writer’s block” brand necklace with love, peace and globe charms by Jude M Designs (Liquidation World)
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1500
Two styles of pendants from Novelty Necklace and Fashion Jewelry brand
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1501
Carina “Special Sparkle” Necklaces
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1502
Love Pearl pendant and necklace and Tour Collection AC/DC pendant and necklace
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1503
Hair barrettes with attached charms of various design
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1505
The use of Gantt Charts in Production Monitoring
Example Gantt Chart
Being involved in a wide range of production monitoring projects in China, it’s important that we’re efficient and use the right tools, in order to manage the projects effectively. One tool that we use, especially in the fabrication of industrial projects (but with applications for commercial and consumer products as well) is called a Gantt chart.
A Gantt chart is like a GPS for manufacturing projects. It shows what elements are involved in the project from start to finish, where the production is supposed to be what point of time, and if the project is on schedule on or not. Gantt charts are used in manufacturing projects to have a bird’s eye view of the progress of production. Below is a modified Gantt chart used for keeping track of an industrial manufacturing project.
Gantt Chart Example and Legend
How it works
A. Tasks – Shows the breakdown of tasks required to complete this manufacturing project. This particular project is divided into 3 sections:
- Designing
- Purchasing
- Manufacturing
B. Legend – Shows what the colors signify in parts D and E.
- Green: On Track – Factory worked on a task according to schedule and it is not been
- Yellow: Missed – Factory DID NOT WORK on a task on the day they were supposed to.
- Red: Not on track – The factory DID NOT COMPLETE task according to schedule and the task has extended beyond its completion date.
- Blue: Complete – Factory has completed task
- Black: Estimated Schedule
C. Dates – Start and end dates of each task and a time line.
D. Status – What percent of this task is complete (factory’s or auditors estimate) and if the task is on track or not.
E. Schedule – Layout of schedule and whether each task is on time on not
F. Resources – How many workers worked on a specific task
Gantt in Production Monitoring
Using a Gantt Chart during Production Monitoring adds value to the service already being provided. While creating a Gantt chart is not difficult, it can be time consuming when the production facility is unable or unwilling to provide a breakdown of tasks and their respective estimated start and end dates. Gantt charts can and should be acquired from production facilities prior to the start of production. Since most projects are at least somewhat time sensitive, a Gantt Chart concretizes an agreed-upon timeline and can be used to hold the factory accountable in terms of completing a project on time.
Once acquired, an auditor on-site everyday (who is already monitoring the quality of the project) can verify and maintain a record of whether the factory is producing as per schedule.
This added to Production Monitoring gives the buyer a better idea of where quality issues could arise from. For example, in the above chart, only 4 workers were assigned to Sandblast and primer painting, which was already 10 days off track. The buyer, noticing this, could ask their auditor to pay extra attention to the painting and sandblasting to make sure the factory isn’t skimping on quality in order to make up for lost time.
