Derf
Addicted to ArboristSite
I spend some time over on GarageJournal forums and there was an interesting thread about Chinese manufactured parts as explained by an ex-VP sales of an undisclosed large-production company. He said that typically when a company makes the decision to move their production overseas, specifically to China, it has 80% to do with cost savings and 20% to with production capabilities. Being that cost is the major motivator, the conversation goes something like, "we make this widget for $20 and sell it for $30, but we'd really like to make this widget for $10 and sell it for $30 (or $25 to undercut the competition). The Chinese, happy to oblige, make the part for $10, which necessitates
using lower quality materials
spending less time post-processing and assembling parts, to the detriment of quality control
and other general cost-quality shortcuts to turn out a cheaper product, in a higher production volume.
Then these products come to the US, and sometimes the quality is so below what people are used to that they complain that it is "cheap Chinese crap". The reality is, it isn't so much the Chinese's fault, its the fault of the company that dictates the low price point.
This trend has repeated itself before in history. Some of you may remember "Jap Crap" from the 80's, and eventually Japan began to limit the amount low-quality production work they did. Now, typically, Japanese quality is considered top shelf. China now too is going through these growing pains.
Every time I read someone saying that 'its cheap Chinese crap' I feel there is a stigma towards the Chinese. And every time I think, "they're just making it cheap because they were told to make it cheap."
[/Rant]
using lower quality materials
spending less time post-processing and assembling parts, to the detriment of quality control
and other general cost-quality shortcuts to turn out a cheaper product, in a higher production volume.
Then these products come to the US, and sometimes the quality is so below what people are used to that they complain that it is "cheap Chinese crap". The reality is, it isn't so much the Chinese's fault, its the fault of the company that dictates the low price point.
This trend has repeated itself before in history. Some of you may remember "Jap Crap" from the 80's, and eventually Japan began to limit the amount low-quality production work they did. Now, typically, Japanese quality is considered top shelf. China now too is going through these growing pains.
Every time I read someone saying that 'its cheap Chinese crap' I feel there is a stigma towards the Chinese. And every time I think, "they're just making it cheap because they were told to make it cheap."
[/Rant]