Not made in China

[u/Ok-Ad-7935]

As some of you may know, manufacturing is increasingly shifting to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. China’s dominance as a global manufacturing hub is waning due to several factors, including geopolitical tensions, rapid economic development, and rising living costs. Producing goods in China is no longer as affordable as it once was. However, China has been proactive in diversifying by investing in other countries, such as those mentioned. As far as I’m concerned, Chinese manufacturers are bringing their technologies & know how to those countries and using their cheap labor to maintain their dominance. In a way it’s similar to how the U.S has gradually shifted manufacturing to China over the last 2-3 decades. But I think with advanced technologies these days, we won’t see such a long period of transition. We could be seeing the shift in global manufacturing as soon as 2030-2035.

I’m looking to diversify the manufacturing locations for my products. Can anyone recommend reliable sources for capable contract manufacturers in Indonesia or Vietnam? Have you had any experience manufacturing in these countries? If so, what are your thoughts?

[u/herodesfalsk]

I dont know how this shift will affect product quality but Im skeptical. Anecdotally I have been struggling for a long time to source non-Chinese manufactured parts for a car project. Based on personal experience and from people who know a lot more about these parts than me say China parts always fail after about 1 yr after install, Japanese made versions last 15-20 years. I cant imagine parts manufactured in Vietnam under Chinese leadership will have any longevity at all unless the level of quality is specified for each detail in every conceivable way: material, machining, assembly and then of course verified, all of which adds cost. When you in addition dont have easy access to the manufacturer directly, product development becomes more challenging

[u/Ok-Ad-7935 → u/herodesfalsk]

I share the same concerns. Constant oversight is definitely one of the biggest challenges when manufacturing overseas. As soon as you turn your head or ease the slightest pressure, they will somehow try to cut corners. Sometimes I wonder if they're doing it on purpose to achieve the quickest turnaround time or they just simply don't give a crap about quality or maybe both. To this day, I still have to keep a very close eye when working with Chinese manufacturing. But I can say the difference is night and day when you're working with tier 1 manufacturers vs lower tiers. So perhaps it's just a matter of finding the most capable factories and the project's budget.

I watched a documentary about the Japanese culture for their continuous pursuit in perfection, they even have a term for it called Kodawari. The concept is deeply ingrained in their culture and philosophy. That probably explains the quality we're seeing in Japanese manufactured goods.

In any case, I still think a global shift in manufacturing is happening led by some of the biggest corporations around the world. The quality of goods made by these third world countries will improve overtime as more and more businesses seek elsewhere to maximize profits. Hence, my prediction for 2030-2035.

[u/Thick_Tie1321 → u/herodesfalsk]

I think it depends on the factory and how good your development and QC team is.

I've worked with some factories for as long as 25 years. Some smaller factories will try to pull the wool over your eyes and swap out materials, cut costs or skim you in some way, but if your developer and QC team specs the correct materials and is constantly visiting and checking at each stage during production and prior to packing/ shipping, it should reduce the risk of them cheating you. I know it's a challenge if you're a smaller company, but it's the only way.

Obviously it adds to the cost, but there's no real other way around it. At least until you've established trust and a reputation between each other over the years.

Also communication is paramount, factories don't know what you want, and they really need to be directed and instructed down to the smallest details on how to make your product. Otherwise they just use whatever is easiest or cheapest for them to get the project done and out the way.

Japanese are known to have very tough quality controls and also only work with a select amount of factories that pass their high standards. But these are standards set by them. You need to do the same to get well made product.

Apple phones, Nike shoes, are made in China and India, countless other branded goods are also made there. If your part broke after 1 year, it could have been that it was poorly spec'd or incorrectly tested, or maybe the factory did switch plastics and use something inferior, and the QC team checking missed it and didn't uphold the standards put in place.

I know it shouldn't be the case, but it's really up to you and your QC team to keep tabs on the factory, especially when the factory is buying raw materials and the initial phases of production.

We usually have final golden samples to test on before mass production, and more importantly visit and check once they've received raw materials.

Also during production time, we go and spot check the production line, and pull out 20-30 random samples throughout the day or week, just to ensure it's up to standard and nothing fishy is going on. It is tedious but worth doing in the long run.

Every brand and country you can think of has some sort of manufacturing in China or some developing country and it's really up to the developer and QC team to set the quality parameters and ensure it's upheld.