Why Choosing the Wrong Factory Can Kill Your Product

Описание: Many manufacturing projects don’t fail because of bad ideas, they fail because the wrong factory was chosen.

In this episode of China Manufacturing Decoded, Adrian and Renaud explain why manufacturer–product mismatch remains one of the most common (and expensive) sourcing mistakes importers make, especially as products become more electronic, complex, or regulated.

We discuss real-world examples where:

✅ Mechanical suppliers are asked to assemble electronic products

✅ Factories skip Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and go straight to tooling

✅ Cost-focused manufacturers are expected to deliver premium quality

✅ Buyers assume “experience” automatically transfers across product categories

You’ll learn why factories are focused systems, why suppliers rarely self-disqualify, and how early audits and capability analysis can prevent costly rework, scrapped tooling, and delayed launches.

Key takeaway:
If a factory’s experience, processes, and priorities don’t align with your product’s real requirements, no amount of optimism or “we’ll figure it out” will save the project.

⏱ Episode Chapters

00:00 Intro – why factory experience still matters in 2026
01:04 Basic due diligence vs real factory suitability
02:01 The core mistake: misunderstanding what your project actually requires
03:19 Real case: asking a mechanical supplier to assemble electronics
05:22 What electronic products really require beyond “assembly”
07:12 Electronics discipline: IPC, ESD & skilled labor
09:27 Quality control blind spots without electronics experience
10:00 Salvage projects after choosing the wrong supplier
10:20 Skipping DFM and going straight to tooling
11:36 Why Apple’s model works (and why most companies can’t copy it)
12:30 Factory focus: cost-driven vs quality-driven manufacturers
14:40 Regulated products: why experience is mandatory
15:36 Why suppliers rarely admit they’re the wrong fit
17:17 “Fake it till you make it” in manufacturing
20:49 Lessons from Poorly Made in China
22:35 The buyer’s responsibility
25:23 Audits + analysis as cheap insurance
26:40 Wrap-up

🔗 Related resources

Sofeast
https://www.sofeast.com/knowledgebase...

https://www.sofeast.com/knowledgebase...

https://www.sofeast.com/knowledgebase...

Agilian
https://www.agiliantech.com/blog/11-w...

https://www.agiliantech.com/blog/elec...

QualityInspection.org
https://qualityinspection.org/switch-...

https://qualityinspection.org/7-reaso...

📌 About the podcast

China Manufacturing Decoded helps importers, hardware startups, and product teams manufacture more effectively in China and across Asia, covering sourcing, audits, QA, NPI, and contract manufacturing realities.

👉 Learn more at https://www.sofeast.com/