Communication Decreases Quality Issues

Your supplier may be helping you "in letter"
but dangerous when not "in spirit"

Working in China with a team that is daily handling factories, it is hard for me to fathom how companies, in different time zones, in a different language, do it from abroad.

JLmade is made up of mostly Chinese teammates. 

9-year anniversary in China_Pt II

My 2nd Apt., downtown Nanjing.  

You can find Part I here.  As of last week, I’ve been in China on a consecutive tour-of-duty since December 2001.  This posting cover memoirs of that first year. 

My flight landed in Shanghai and from there a driver was supposed to take me to Nanjing.  After coming out of the gate in Shanghai, I didn’t see my driver.  He was to have been there with a sign.

Coming to China as an Expat, Should I Learn Chinese?

Your company is sending you to China for an extended amount of time; for example… 3 to 4 year contract.  And you are considering that it might not be necessary to learn the language!?!?

Emailing the Factory / Supplier in China

If you’re emailing specifications and confirmations to your Chinese supplier remember not to write to them the same way you would write to your cousin or your colleague.   

Spring Festival: Enjoying Traditional Lanterns

Keep in mind with your supplier, whether factory or trading company, English is their 2^nd language.  I know this is obvious, but the way most overseas buyers email their suppliers, you would think they are not aware of this.