The Best Supplier Portfolio

What is the best supplier portfolio? 

How do you build a big supplier list and keep your buying power with core suppliers?

You know how sometimes you get a short lead-time order and all of the sudden it seems like all the suppliers who called you day and night are busy right at that time?

In a perfect world we would have a long list of qualified suppliers that one of them will always be ready to take your order at a competitive price and ship it on time.

But in this world we have cost, production control and buying power consideration that push us to reduce our suppliers number. In addition, we de-prioritize finding new suppliers so we have more time to solve issues with pending orders.

There are two dilemmas we constantly deal with:.................Read More

A Must Have Before Negotiation

Establishing good relationship with your Suppliers is important to secure quality and timely production. But that alone is not always enough in the long run. Even the biggest companies find themselves facing situations where their suppliers choose to work on someone else’s order or insist on unworkable terms. So what’s the solution?..........Read More

The Art Of Sourcing Leads

In sourcing, just like in sales, in order to reach your target audience (suppliers) you need leads.

Leads are the loose ends you can follow until you find your supplier at the other end of the line. People who've been in the sourcing business long enough know loose ends are all around us..........Read More

The best way to control your production

The best way to control your production in China, as well as in other places in the world, depends a lot on a few things of which three are very important: Your sourcing strategy, your resources and your capabilities. It is very possible to control your production at a very affordable cost. It all depends on how you design your sourcing strategy considering your resources and capabilities..........Read the article or watch the video below

About me

I arrived in Asia back in 1994. In 1997 I settled down in Guangdong and started by providing quality control services. By 2002, a New York office was opened, that sold to some of the most respected labels in America, as well as other countries.

Starting 2006 I was involved in the establishment of an operation that eventually designed, manufactured and retailed woman apparel under its own brand, with stores located in major cities in China.

I have been fortunate to work with great people, dealing with various fashion industry products (mainly apparel, but also footwear, accessories and skincare).

I mainly lead business development, improvement and change in many of the functions I head. I think the number one contributor to this is the combination of my ability to speak mandarin fluently and good quality people skills. It puts me very often in the “Front line” when speaking to suppliers, customers, employees and government officials.
Interacting with people from such a wide spectrum definitely gives me an excellent perspective of the environment I work in. The type of career I have allows me to constantly improve what I think is one of the best ways of managing fashion companies in China.

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