

The Factory Floor: Picking (and Maintaining) a Partner - dfox
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=2794

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dsugarman
Great article and great insights. Working with Chinese Manufacturers takes a
lot of time and know how. For many hardware companies on HN, they quickly
realize what a process manufacturing really becomes. Frequent trips to China
and effectively communicating isn't always feasible.

Another option is HD Trade Services (YC S12). We help find factories, manage
relationships (including communication and specs translation into Mandarin),
and handle Quality Control (Factory Audits, Inspections) and Logistics
(including fulfillment in the US). We are currently helping high profile start
ups take their prototype to reality. We are based in the US but have boots in
the ground in China to handle sourcing, communications, QC and more.

check us out! www.hdtradeservices.com

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nakedrobot2
Hi, I tried to request an invite, and also tried "sending you a note" (bottom
left of page). When i click 'send' on either one, nothing happens.

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dsugarman
Hi, sorry about this. What browser are you using?

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nakedrobot2
chrome on mac.

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neltnerb
Thanks so much for this article, it's really helpful. I'm currently setting up
manufacturing in China using Seeed Studios for a prototype run of 1000 units,
and it's really helpful to see that based on the advice here they're probably
a decent partner =)

Maybe not the best match for a million unit run, but for this quantity, and at
this stage of development, they seem to be doing a great job!

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afarrell
You can also use objective sources of data like credit reports, inspections,
and customs records to verify legitimacy and competence. Panjiva does a good
job of presenting this information as well as helping you reach out to a
partner. <http://panjiva.com/search/global-supplier?q=angle+brackets>

(Disclosure: I used to work for and am still friends with them.)

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peteretep
It took a few starts on this to realize that it was really talking about
factories, rather than being some kind of cute analogy for startups...

