Chinese New Year, 2015

Source in Asia Limited would like to thank their Customers, Suppliers and friends for the support given to the company over the last year.  This year, it is the year of the Goat.

Some fun facts:

• The phrase 'Happy New Year' in Chinese is 'Gung Hei Fat Choi' which means 'May You Have Good Fortune'.
• China witnesses the world's largest human migration (famously known as Chunyan) during the festival as over a billion people board planes, trains, boats, buses, and cars to reunite with their families.
• During the festivities beautiful red-coloured paper cut-outs are used to decorate doors and windows. The themes of these paper cut-outs are of happiness, good fortune, longevity and wealth.
• Children in China receive red envelopes filled with cash as gifts on New Year's Day. The amount they receive is usually an even number but it cannot be divisible by four as number 4 means death in Chinese.
• The lantern festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year which takes place on the 15th day of the celebration. While the lanterns are believed to light the way for the rest of the year, they are also meant to guide lost or mischievous spirits to heaven.
• On New Year's Day, the Chinese don't wash their hair as they believe it might wash away their good luck for the rest of the year.
• People stay at home and welcome the God of Wealth on the 5th day of the New Year which is called Po Woo. Visiting friends or family is believed to bring bad luck for both the families.

For the year of the goat:

• Lucky Colours:  Brown, Red, Purple.
• Lucky Numbers:  2, 7.
• Lucky Flowers:  Carnation, Primrose.
• Chinese for goat is Yang.
• Lucky Months:  August, November.
• Lucky Direction:  North.

Thank you to our Customers.

Source in Asia Limited wish to thank all their customers for the help given through 2013, and look forward to successfully working with them in 2014.

Illuminated Plant Containers Coming Soon.

COMING SOON.

Make your gardens and homes look stunning and create the "WOW" factor with your friends by using Illuminated Plant Containers.

The pots combine garden lighting with your planting in a quality product.  The products look fantastic both intenally and externally with the products being safe for use both inside and outside.

LED Illuminated Plant Containers and furniture are becoming Vogue for both homes and Businesses and Source in Asia Limited are adding a comprehensive product range to their website shop.

The product range will incude illuminated plant containers, decorative cubes and balls, tables stools and chairs, with Bar/Restaurant Furniture being added later.

All products will be offered at VERY COMPETATIVE PRICES, with the products being shipped directly from the manufacturer.

For more details on these products and costs, please contact the following:

SOURCE IN ASIA LIMITED.
Tel:  +44 (0) 1772 466658.
Mail:  info@source-in-asiatoday.co.uk

China Trivia – 3

·         The modern word “China” most likely derives from the name of the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty first unified China in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial period which would last until A.D. 1912.

·         Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for emperors only.

·         Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.

·         Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min.

·         Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West.

·         The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently the leading bicycle manufacturer.

·         If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

·         About 700,000 engineers graduate annually from schools in China.

·         China has more English-speaking inhabitants than England.

·         China's money is called renminbi, meaning the "people's currency".

·         The world's largest producer of apples is China.

Hope you enjoyed these Trivia items.

China' first wine cellar opens in Changli county

The Moutai wine cellar, China's first deep storage wine facility, opened in Changli county, Hebei province on Aug 12, 2013. Built over the course of seven years by the Moutai Wine Company, the wine cellar ushers in a new form of wine-storage in China. It is the only constant temperature natural wine cellar in the country, representing elements of Moutai wine and a traditional wine cellar.

Changli county is known as "the home of the Chinese wine grape" and also "China's dry red wine city." The county sits at 39 degrees north latitude, the same as Bordeaux in France, a region recognized as one of the best areas in the world for growing grapes.

In July 2002, through investments from the Kwei Chou Moutai Group, the Changli Moutai Wine Co, was formed and began making wine with techniques imported from Bordeaux. Currently, the company's annual wine production has exceeded over 10,000 tons, with fixed assets extending beyond the hundred million yuan mark.

 

How to conduct a social compliance audit of a China factory.

How to conduct a social compliance audit of a China factory.

Corporate Social Responsibility audits, also commonly referred to as Ethical Sourcing audits or Social Compliance audits should be an integral part of every global supply chain. These audits are often conducted in such a way that suppliers are evaluated in their compliance with local laws. Some brands and retailers have additional standards and requirements that must be met by suppliers who wish to manufacture their products.

It is important to ensure that each participant in your supply chain (possibly even subcontractors) is evaluated to determine the conditions that their employees work under. Besides the obvious damage to individuals and communities that unethical manufacturing practices can lead to, they can also cause significant damage to your brand when they are publicized.

When conducting a CSR audit, auditors will need to address three key aspects of the supplier’s operation:

1. The physical facilities of the factory
2. Employment policies and other documentation on file
3. Employee interviews

Below, I have described each aspect, and the types of common issues that are found during CSR audits throughout mainland China.

1. Complete facility walk-through
A walk through of the entire facility – production area, warehouse, dormitories, canteen, etc – will give your auditors insight into the physical conditions the employees work in every day.

Local Chinese law requires that basic amenities be upheld at all factories: Enough space to move around and work in production areas, adequate ventilation, clearly marked and unobstructed emergency exits, sanitary cafeterias and restrooms, and easy access to potable water.

The majority of a supplier's compliance issues are usually discovered during this walkthrough. Common issues include machines lacking proper safety equipment, exposed or unmarked electrical wiring, chemicals that lack warning and information labels, and a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

2. Thorough documentation review
Complimenting the facility walk-through, a documentation review will illustrate the kinds of policies and atmosphere employees are surrounded by. These are less tangible aspects of their employment situations (at least for observers) that have a huge impact on their daily lives.

Complimenting the facility walk-through, a documentation review will illustrate the kinds of policies and atmosphere employees are surrounded by. These are less tangible aspects of their employment situations (at least for observers) that have a huge impact on their daily lives.

Employee attendance records and payroll records are heavily scrutinized during this phase of the audit. Thorough auditors will request the previous 6 to 12 months of records for review. By comparing these records, auditors will be able to determine if the factory is adhering to labour regulations related to minimum wages, over time wages, and maximum working hours. Not surprisingly, non-compliance with those exact regulations are the most commonly reported issues from this stage of the audit.

Additionally, auditors will request all documentation regarding hiring practices and conditions of employment. Auditors will try to establish what the factory’s official policies are regarding discrimination, disciplinary action, retention of employee identification, termination conditions, and many important factors. These can be a good barometer for the attitude of employees towards management.

3. Employee interviews
A walk-through of the facility and documentation reviews yield valuable information, but there is no substitute for talking to the employees themselves. CSR is inherently a human-centric issue, so the people that work (and sometimes live) at the factory must be made a focal point of any investigation of working conditions.

Interviews with randomly selected workers will serve to gauge the employees understanding of the policies they work under and their feelings on the physical conditions as well, putting the information gathered in the steps above into much-needed context.

If employees report discrimination, or do not understand how their wages are calculated, feel that they are obligated to work excessive overtime, or bring up grievances about the state of their dormitories, these should all be considered red flags. Such claims will warrant further investigation, and suppliers should be counselled on how to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

Service outsourcing increasing rapidly in Nantong area

The contract amount of service outsourcing in Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area reached 510 million yuan ($83 million) a year-on-year growth of 65 percent in the first half of the year, and the real amount amounting to 430 million yuan, up by 64 percent over the previous year.

The area has taken the lead in the city of Nantong in the number and scale of outsourcing companies, Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area reported.

The government of the area has spent more than 500 million yuan on service outsourcing sites on 200,000 square meters of ground and has worked hard to establish a comprehensive production and living area, including nearly 100,000 sq m for living.

Wang Jianhua, of the Federal Software (Nantong) Co, said that they are providing after-sale outsourcing services for many Chinese software enterprises, such as Kingsoft and Rising.

Meanwhile, the Aisin (Nantong) Spare Parts Co, which supplies Toyota, will provide R&D services for China’s auto manufacturers.

The area has nearly a hundred outsourcing enterprises focused on call center services, software and information services, innovative design, and bio-pharmaceuticals R&D outsourcing.

Thank you to our Customers and Suppliers.

TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS.

Source in Asia Limited would like to thank their customers and their suppliers for the help given through the past year, and look forward to working with them in the coming lunar year.  May both customers and suppliers have good fortune, wealth, happinss and longevity in their business during the year for the snake.

CHINESE NEW YEAR, 2013 - THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE

Chinese New Year Around the world rings in the Year of the snake.

 

 

On February 10, 2013, Chinese people around the world will welcome the new year, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

 

Gong Xi Fa Ca! That’s the traditional Chinese New Year greeting that means “wishing you prosperity” in Mandarin. The first day of the Chinese New Year – February 10, 2013 – is the most important of Chinese holidays, celebrated by over 1.3 billion people in China and by millions of ethnic Chinese around the world. It’s a celebration that lasts for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. For 2013, it’s the Year of the Snake.

Snake Personality

The person born in the year of snake is the wisest and most enigmatic of all. He/she can become a philosopher, a theologian, a political lizard or a wily financier. Such person is a thinker who also likes to live well. The snake - person loves books, music, clothes, and fine food; but with all his fondness for the good things of life, his innate elegance gives him a dislike for frivolities and foolish talk.

They like communicating and like interesting conversations, although if the conversation becomes repetitive their attention may soon wander. It is almost impossible to fix their attention for long talking about the weather. They prefer to focus on new interesting unusual ides and intelligent discussion in general.

In money matters, people born in the year of snake have good luck; they don't have to worry about money too much, such people will always be able to find couple of banknotes if they need it. The snake person has an ability to read complex situations quickly and then set about resolving them in a quiet, controlled manner. It is much more convenient and useful for this people to work independently, because in this case they have freedom to travel and negotiate on their own terms. The snake people can not stand being limited by others and this is another reason for them to work solo. People born in this year are logical and organized workers and have all the qualities needed to acquire new skills. They also have a very good memory and that enables them to fulfil the projects thoroughly. They are purposeful and getting towards their aim spotting potential troubles and reacting immediately. On the other hand, should they have achieved their goal the snake people usually withdraw to gather their thoughts and rest. But they need not much time to renew their energies and be ready for new challenges.

 

Ideal Job for the Snake Include

Professor, Linguist, Teacher, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Astrologer, Clairvoyant, Personnel officer, Public relations executive, Interior designer.

Horoscope background

Lucky Numbers:  1, 2, 4, 6, 13, 24, 42, 46
Equivalent Western Sign: Taurus
Element: FIRE
Color: RED
Yin/Yang: YANG

 

Celebrity

Some Famous Snakes: Kim Basinger, Randy Crawford, Bob Dylan, Greta Garbo, Art Garfunkel, Audrey Hepburn, Paul Hogan, Liz Hurley, Carole King, Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Mike Oldfield, Ryan O'Neal, Dorothy Parker, Brad Pitt, Brooke Shields, Paul Simon, Dionne Warwick, Oprah Winfrey, Virginia Woolf, Susannah York.

Positive and Negative Capability

Positive:   The Snake can be amiable, compromising, fun-loving, altruistic, honorable, sympathetic, philosophical, charitable, a paragon of fashion, intuitive, discreet, diplomatic, amusing and sexy.
Negative:   The Snake can also be self-righteous, imperious, judgmental, conniving, mendacious, grabby, clinging, pessimistic, fickle, haughty, ostentatious and a very sore loser.

Recent Visit to China.

Just come back from China this weekend after a successful business trip, working on Automotive Moulding, push button painting and Laser etching.  Also visited new suppliers in preparation for new projects.  Back out at the beginning of August.

2012

Best wishes for an excellent and prosperous 2012.

Chinese set to Invest record amounts into European manufacturing.

Investment into Europe by Chinese manufacturing companies is set to reach record levels in the second half of 2011. The total value of the transactions announced in the first six months of the year is well over US$1billion, and this figure is expected to increase by the end of the year. This will make it the largest volume of deals announced in a decade, surpassing the record of eight deals into Europe that were completed in 2010.

China Gives CK Polimers a Green bill of health.

CK Polimers (Hong Kong) the Chinese operation of Lincolnshire based CK Group, has been awarded an AQSIQ licence, accreditation required by all companies exporting recyclables to China.

The AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the Peoples Republic of China) registration is intended to ensure that recyclables exported to China are free of contaminanets and therefore pose little or no risk to China's environment or public health.

As new markets are developed in South Asia, this will be a big boost to delivering recyclables tou end user partners and offers a consistant route to market for our supply customers.

Chinese New Year - 2012.

In 2012, it becomes the year of the Dragon, the most auspicious animal in the Chinese Zodiac, and the only mythological creature. The Dragon epitomises the Yang (Male/Warm) energy.

The year of the Dragon is associated with Honesty, Sensitivity, Enthusiasm and a great passion for life.

Chinese New Year falls on the 23rd January, 2012.

Famous people who were born in the year of the Dragon.

Hairdresser - Vidal Sassoon.

Singer - Fats Domino.

Comedians - Bob Monkhouse and Jimmy Tarbuck.

Actor - Al Pocino.

Ex Beatle - John Lennon.

A new hotel opens every four days.

China is opening an International Hotel every four days, making it the worlds fatest hotel market, Shanghai Morning post reported.

From 2010 until 2013, 90 new Internationally branded hotels will have opened every year, according to the latest Jones LaSelle Survey quoted by the paper.

Due to the rapid rate of urbanization and property development in China, a large number of hotels can appear in a short period of time. While this increase has led to more fierce competition, a high demand for hotels has alleviated potential competition-related problems.

The paper also stated that the increase in business trips contributed to the healthy performance of the hotel market in 2010 and the first half of 2011, which also allowed hotels to increase incomes through occupancy-driven rather than price-driven patterns.

Profits of Tsingtao Brewery rises 21.62% in H1 of 2011

Tsingtao Brewery Co., China's second-largest brewer by volume, said that its first-half profits rose 21.62% year-on-year due to higher sales volume and expanded production capacity.

Net profits rose to 989.9M Yuan (US$155M), or 0.73 Yuan/share, from 813.9M Yuan, 0.6Yuan, one year earlier.

Sales climbed 21.1% to 11.87billion Yuan. The company sold 3.75M kilolitres of beer during the first half, a rise of 20.6% year-on-year.

The brewer increased its production capacity and introduced diversified products to cater to growing demand in the world's most populous country.

The company aims for annual beer sales of 10M kilolitres in 2014.

However the company said exchange rate fluctuations are likely to affect its margins as it relies on imported barley to brew beer.

The countries beer output increased 11.4% from one year earlier to 23.5M kilolitres during the first half, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Outsourcing your Manufacturing to China.

The main reason for outsourcing manufacturing to China are the low labour costs which allow components/products to be manufactured competatively. Many companies, world wide, manufacture goods competatively in China and other low cost areas. Below, are some of the things to consider when outsouring:

1. Ensure that your product can be manufactured easily and it is essential that a cost reduction exercise is carried out to investigate improvements for manufacture.
2. Re-assess the strategies of your Company to ensure the benefits of outsourcing and offshore manufacturing achieve the goals your company requires.
3. Research your prospective Outsourcing requirement and process.
4. Costs which need to be considered, and are normally overlooked, are the costs for Project Managements and Travel. Doing outsourcing yourself, may eventually cost your savings generated in your manufacture.
5. Use a recognised outsourcing company like SOURCE-IN-ASIA TODAY LIMITED to generate prospective suppliers in China to carry out your work.
6. Ensure, that through your Outsourcing Company, dedicated lines of communication are available, especially in English.
7. Give as much information relating to the product, including any previously encountered difficulties and concerns, as these need to be included in the setting up of the product, to maintain a like for like situation. REMEMBER, you cannot expect the product to be improved by outsourcing.
8. Using a UK outsourcing company will allow you pass all the required information to the Chinese supplier, as the company should visit the supplier to discuss the project and go through the requirements face to face, as SOURCE-IN-ASIA TODAY LIMITED would do.
9. Get your outsourcing company to give you as much information as possible on the supplier who will be carrying out your manufacturing. Information to obtain are items like a process audit for your product, Company Information, Accreditations for Quality Requirements.
10. Before placing large orders, place a sample order, obtaining as much manufacturing information as possible. This will allow you to go through the sample batch in detail and understand the quality and whether they meet your expectations of the product. This will also allow you to carry out possible changes prior to volume production.
11. Make sure that your outsourcing sourcing company is using suppliers which conform to the Environmental/Ethical policy for companies in China.
12. Transportation is also a cost which needs to be taken into account when outsourcing, as again, these costs can be large. Using an outsourcing company will ensure that the goods are transported by a reputable company, at the most economical solution, air freight or sea freight. All costs should include door to door carriage, insurance, duties and taxes.

For further information please visit SOURCE-IN-ASIA TODAY LIMITED website www.source-in-asiatoday.co.uk or contact lynnjones@source-in-asiatoday.co.uk

Chinese Trivia - 2.

• Ketchup originated in China as a pickled fish sauce called ke-tsiap.
• Chopsticks originated in China approximately 4,000 years ago.
• The Great Wall stretch for about 4,500 miles across Northern China.
• China is now the worlds largest apple producer, followed by the US in second place.
• Fingerprinting was used in China as early as 700AD.
• 30% of Chinese Adults live with their parents.
• 20% of the worlds polulation lives in China.

China Mobile Axes International Roaming Fees.

China Molbile Ltd said it would slash International Roaming Fees in 38 countries including Australia, Singapore and Canada by up to 80% starting 2nd August, 2011. It is uncertain at present, whether any European Countries are included in this latest change. It is the fifth time since 2010, that the world's largest wireless carrier by subscribers, has cut International Roaming Fees.

Doing Business in China.

FLEXIBILITY.

China has become the place to outsource to over the last decade, and a large amount of companies have already done this, but there are still risks in doing so. In the present climate, suppliers have gone out of business, and this creates large disruptions for the customer when it occurs. It is therefore important that customers remain flexible and multi-source their components or goods.

SUPPLIER NETWORKS.

It is important that customers utilise established UK companies to source and set up production with supplier networks in China, to achieve the cost savings that customers seek. By using established UK companies, relationships with the Chinese suppliers are already in place, especially in terms of honesty and integrity, and therefore a large part of the risk of "going on your own" strategy is removed.

ARE LOWEST COSTS BEST?

When sourcing in China, customers must look at whether they wish to go down the "lowest cost route" or down "a low cost route". The "lowest cost route" normally gives risk as suppliers are in the lower quality bracket, cutting corners, poor facilities, facilities which the customer would not use back in the UK and you get what you pay for. If the customer wishes to go down this route, then China may not be the offshore country he should be using. The better option is the "lowest cost route" where suppliers are of a standard which ensures that suppliers have quality accreditation's, that they follow a QMS system, operate to audited procedures, and have facilities which the customer would feel was there own company. The costs will not be the cheapest, but over time, as relationships build, there will opportunities to achieve cost downs on goods.

SUPPLIER LOCATIONS.

Part of the selection of a supplier must be the location of the facilities, as things like a proper infrastructure, allowing goods to be quickly moved from the factory to the port, Government incentives to used companies in special development location, good transport locations with major motorway facilities, ease of entering and exiting China on business trips. In addition, there certain cities which are noted for manufacturing a certain type of product, which means it will difficult to achieve competitiveness elsewhere in China.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

Cultural differences are the most important changes from the west. When doing business with Chinese suppliers, you will find that discussing technical points, it will involve the full team, and discusions on a single point will take time, something the west are not used to. One of the other main points is the breaking off for lunch which will take 11/2 - 2 hours, again something the west are not prepared for. Be polite, as to be abrupt may send the wrong message. Also remember, a large amount of discussion and work is carried on during the evening meal, so also be prepared for this.

I hope that this small insight into doing business in China has been helpful, and should you require any further information, please contact Source-in-Asia Today Limited, who will be only too pleased to help or discuss any points you have.