Review of Poorly Made in China: An Insider’s Account of the Tactics Behind China’s Production Game

In this series of blog posts,  CSIC volunteer and sourcing expert Renaud Anjoran of AQF offers a review of  various China business books and gives his opinion on their relevance to the typical international buyer.

Very insightful book

I really enjoyed this book. I control the quality of shipments in China myself, so I recognized many situations that I previously encountered. The book is peppered with excellent insights about Chinese culture. It is also often funny, and it is very easy to read.

I would specifically recommend this book to people who are curious about the manufacturing environment in China. They will discover a whole new world.
The only downside is that the book only describes situations where importers are unprepared and fall in the traps of unscrupulous Chinese suppliers. It is not perfectly representative, but it does a great job explaining why so many quality issues originate from China.

The other problem is that it does not address how to solve the problems. So it is not very useful if you are looking for answers.  Read “Poorly Made in China” first to get a feel for the situation in China, then pick up Mike Bellamy’s “the essential guide to China sourcing” to get some strategies on how to deal with the mess.

Reviewed by Renaud Anjoran

Wishing you successful China sourcing!

(Renaud, thanks for mentioning my book.)

Posted by Mike Bellamy, host of “Ask the Experts” at the China Sourcing Information Center.

Mike Bellamy is an Advisory Board Member & Featured Blogger at the not-for-profit China Sourcing Information Center (www.ChinaSourcingInfo.org). He is also the author of, “The Essential Reference Guide to China Sourcing” (chinasourcinginfo.org/book) and founder of PassageMaker Sourcing Solutions (www.PSSchina.com)