Welcome to this weeks Sourcing Spotlight. This newsletter comes to you straight from China. I’ve spent around 10 days here with suppliers, visiting factories and exploring the Canton Fair, while also gathering insights on what’s really happening on the ground and my gosh, it’s fascinating. Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter, where I’ll dive deeper into the thoughts and feelings out here, as well as the predictions from this side of the world.
However, this week’s newsletter will focus on the one thing that has propelled China to where it is today: the “Made in China” 10-year strategy, launched in 2015.
Ten years ago, “Made in China 2025” was announced with little fanfare outside policy circles. Today, it’s one of the most consequential industrial strategies of the 21st century. From electric vehicles and 5G to biotech and AI, China’s manufacturing machine has evolved dramatically and not without controversy. As the plan hits its ten-year mark, the results are far from black and white. Has China succeeded in rewriting the rules of global industry? Or are its ambitions still held back by critical dependencies and geopolitical headwinds?
Here’s what a decade of state-led transformation really looks like and why it matters to every global supply chain, tech investor, and trade strategist today.
Click here to read more.
With tariffs still in the spotlight, and for many businesses, they’ve exposed a hard truth: relying too heavily on a single country for sourcing, especially China, can be a risky game. Over the past decade, in the race for better margins and cheaper products, many of us may have sacrificed long-term resilience for short-term gains. But with costs rising and small businesses feeling the pressure, is it time to rethink the way we build our supply chains? In this article, I reflect on what I’ve learned as a buyer, the pitfalls of over-consolidation, and why diversification in many different countries (not just one) might just be your strongest competitive edge in the years ahead. Click here to read more.
💡 Top Sourcing Tip of the Week:
Don’t just source a product—source a capability.
When vetting factories, focus on what they excel at, not just what they can do. A supplier that specialises in your product category will offer better quality, faster turnaround, and fewer headaches than one trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Look for core strengths, not just price tags.
And that’s a wrap for this weeks newsletter….
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