> RussellMc wrote: > > My number one rule for manufacturing in ... is "You have to be there > > !!!". Olin said: > Maybe if you have very high volumes such that you still come out ahead wi= th > the small price advantage after paying for being there, this is worth it. > For most of us, that isn't worth it.* Yes. I agree completely. By "being there" I mean having a person who is competent in your product technically, has authority to act on your behalf up to a sensibly high level, and who utterly is acting on your behalf and nobody else's and they need to be present and involved whenever anything relevant to producing your product is happening. This person could be a 'national' or a furriner from a company specialising in such things. Or it could be you. However you achieve it they must be your eyes, hands, mouth and brain. It may be that there are organisations and people who could handle this without 'being your person', but its not my experience so far across a moderate number of factories and associated companies. My suggestion that there appears to be something fundamentally different in the way which business is done compared with "the west" (Include Serbia in that :-) ) has been met with various degrees of scepticism and the implication that I just need to learn to communicate better While that's true :-) - I'm so far not convinced that my basic premise is totally unfounded.. * fwiw I recently managed 1+ week in China for $US2000 all up incl airfares, 4* hotel, meals and internal travel. That was exceptionally cheap due to a special air fare - add say $US500 to that usually. Note no allowance has been made in that for cost of visitor. So $1/unit at 2500 volume, 10 cents at 25,000 volume. 2.5 cents/unit at 100,000 volume. Certainly is volume dependant. > Instead, you can use a manufacturer that isn't trying to get away with > whatever they can, is in part of the world where the cost can still be lo= w, > and is good at communicating. =A0I've had good experiences with Djula. = =A0He's > pobably done a dozen or so builds for us by now, both for our own product= s > and for our customers thru us. =A0I have never been to Novi Sad or Serbia= and > have never met anyone from his organization or even talked to them. =A0Al= l > communication has been via email, and things have worked out well. I have noted your ongoing comments over several years and (mentally) filed them away for future reference. > I have had things made in China, and it's a different process. =A0Like Ru= ssell > said, you have to be much more personally envolved. =A0The unit price is = a bit > less in China, but unless your volumes are very high, it doesn't make > economic sense. Aye. Russell --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .