Feb 12 2008
yet another chinese products boycott
It seems like some people are finally taking action about the quality of China products: Trader Joe’s. (Not including the recent lawsuit, which I posted on here) The Los Angeles Times reports ( h/t to CDT as usual) that Trader Joe’s is about to pull items imported from China. Sounds like big news, but I really doubt there will be any widespread boycott of Chinese products. (Sorry to the folks at NMICToys, but I really don’t think avoiding China is a successful business strategy)
The article reads:
Trader Joe’s is taking some of its Chinese food off the menu.
The Monrovia-based grocery store chain, known for its wide selection of budget gourmet and ethnic offerings, said today it would phase out the sale of single-ingredient items, including garlic and spinach, that are imported from China.
“Our customers have voiced their concerns about products from this region and we have listened,” the company said in a statement. It didn’t detail what those concerns were or identify the products about which customers complained.
In the last year, imports from China have come under increased scrutiny because of a string of discoveries of tainted goods from that country.
Pet food made from Chinese grain was found to be laced with melamine, a chemical additive that made the food to appear to have high protein levels, and sickened or killed thousands of cats and dogs. Mattel Inc. and other toy makers recalled millions of Chinese-made toys because they were contaminated with lead paint.
Hanson and other food safety experts cited the improper use of sewage for fertilizer, the application of excess or dangerous pesticides and the use of illegal antibiotics in seafood farming.
“China also still has a problem with corruption,” Hanson said.
China is the sixth-leading supplier of agricultural products to the U.S. With seafood included, it is the third-largest supplier of imported food, according to Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C.
Trader Joe’s, which has about 300 stores around the country, plans to phase out any single-ingredient food items sourced from mainland China by April 1. It will replace the goods with “products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products,” the statement said.
The company will continue to stock products that include Chinese ingredients. Shoppers haven’t complained about those items, a spokeswoman said.
The cynic in me notes that at least the American yuppie population can afford to go to a place that boycotts some Chinese products, whereas others will have to settle for chains like Walmart (which will continue to stock Chinese products). I don’t think this is the lesson to be drawn from this article. I cannot foresee America abandoning Chinese products en masse. The business of import-export to and from China will not dry up anytime soon.
So what does this really mean? For those businesses still using Chinese suppliers, do your due diligence first. And then do some quality control. And again. And again. QC is your friend. All Roads had some very good ideas in an old post:
1) In the beginning, a decision should have been made to either put in a local team in-house or find a firm that would represent them.
If order sizes or frequency do not warrant an in country team, then find an agency, consultancy, or other 3rd party that you can trust to represent you. Create terms that tie them to the quality and timeliness of deliveries.
Often times, while a trading company may offer a hirer level of unbiased QC than a manufacturer, payments still occur before shipment…. at that point, the buyer bears the entire financial risk of a bad shipment no matter what a contract may say
2) Take the time to understand the QC process of each supplier and then work that into your home based process. Make sure they are meeting your process, not the other way around.
this process will let you gain a better understand not only where problems may crop up, but also, how a supplier is prepared to deal with such problems.
3) Structure payment terms so that a significant portion of the money is delivered after successful inspection of production samples (samples take off the line in mid-process of order fulfillment) and so that some portion is remitted following final delivery and inspection.
Note: with a China based team or agent, this can occur in China, and Chinese manufacturers will be reluctant to give those terms if shipping outside of China
4) Make frequent site visits, with multiple yearly visits by home based team being made with local team.
You wouldn’t drop your kids off at kindergarten on the first day and come back a year later… of course not…
Visibility is security, and putting eyeballs on a supplier’s operations is the best way to ensure that quality will continue to be met. Multiple trips per order are best, and often times it is here where people get lazy….
5) If language barriers exist, bring your own translators who are impartial. Make sure they have experience in manufacturing environments and have a list of technical terms used in the industry ahead of time. DO NOT rely on a supplier to provide an unbiased translation.
And for those thinking about starting to build relationships with Chinese manufacturers/suppliers, start thinking ahead to QC. It will hurt you down the road if you do not.
