December 29, 2022

NY Special: Sofeast Review of 2022’s Top Stories for Importers

42 minutes

In this episode...

Renaud and Adrian review 2022's largest geopolitical and new stories that have affected manufacturers with supply chains in China (and other Asian countries to a lesser extent).

Covid has continued to be problematic in China for numerous reasons, even now that the Zero Covid policy has been dropped, the Russian invasion has the world nervously looking at China's actions towards Taiwan, the USA and China continue to fight a trade war, and other Western countries' relationships with China have also started to worsen. That's just a few of the stories discussed!

We also cover some of the Sofeast group's activities and achievements during 2022, and refresh your memory about our top podcasts and best pieces of content published during the year!

See you back here in 2023! 😉

Show Sections

00:00 - New Year's Greetings

01:20 - Covid's effects in 2022 and into 2023.

08:57 - Logistics and shipping costs and availability.

12:06 - Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

15:14 - The US/China trade war and tech war.

21:03 - Political friction increasing between the West and China.

24:27 - The expansion of Chinese-owned enterprises around the world and the future of ODM products.

29:21 - Key Sofeast group highlights from 2022.

33:01 - Top podcast episodes of 2022.

These episodes were the most popular with you all this year.

Is It Time For North American Importers To Leave China? (Feat. Andrew Hupert)

How to develop your Chinese suppliers? - Sourcing from China (Part 7)

Levels of Quality Standards (from Basic to Advanced)

An Effective QA Program For New Electronic Products

’Design for X’ Overview: 12 Optimizations for New Products (Feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

The One ’MUST DO’ Before Mass Producing Your New Product (Feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

Chinese Or Western Model Manufacturer. Which To Use In China?

Risks You Face When Skipping New Product Introduction Steps (feat. Andrew Amirnovin)

Factory Audits = Better Suppliers = Better Quality Products. Real Data Analysis! (Feat. Prof. Neale O’Connor FCPA)

Calculating the Cash Needed to Prototype and Launch your New Product

How To Start Developing Your New Product (Feat. Liz Long)

38:33 - Sofeast Content highlights

A series of in-depth articles about the types of plastics that can be chosen for various common types of products like signage, electronic products, etc. How to Choose the Correct Outdoor Plastics for your next Product? (4 Guides) and Sourcing Guides for Internal Use Plastic Mechanical Parts.

Content about product environmental impacts:

- What is the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation?

- The EU Ecodesign Regulation Is Coming, But Are You Prepared? (Podcast part 1)

- How To Comply With The EU Ecodesign Regulation? (Podcast part 2)

- Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Requirements: What Manufacturers need to know

- How To Do an LCA? (Measuring a Product’s Environmental Impact)

- Minimizing a Product’s ‘Cradle to Grave’ Environmental Impact

- 15 Key Eco Certifications For Green Manufacturers

Blog posts about sourcing different popular products from India.

41:25 - Wrapping up ~ happy new year to all of our listeners! 🎉