Mainland Factory Visits

I'm going to try to keep this post relatively short. However, this post is basically the main reason for this entire program and my summer in Hong Kong. I'm taking two supply chain classes here in China, and this past week I got to see multiple supply chains at work firsthand.

We spent Monday-Thursday in Mainland China, visiting Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan, touring factories. It was really interesting to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into one seemingly simple product, like a baby doll or a calculator. My class is following four products backward through their supply chains on this trip: an Eat & Sleep baby doll, a TI calculator, a Melamine kitchen plate, and a pair of Mossimo jeans, all sold at Target, who partners with McCombs for this program.

Our first factory visit was to Hong Kong City Toys where we saw thousands of baby dolls and other toys being made. The process of molding their heads, to painting on their faces, to sewing in each strand of hair is ridiculous....something I had never even thought of before.

Baby doll head molds

Me and some classmates touring the factory

A worker sewing hair into doll head

After lunch we rode our charter bus to Dongguan and toured Kinpo Electrics, Inc. to visit the calculator factory. The factory was pretty high-tech with advantageous work conditions compared to the other factories. There were so, so many workers, and all so young, most younger than myself, who go to work after graduating high school, rather than going to a university.

The next visit was on Wednesday 6/26/13 to Dong Guan Thousand Perfection Melamine Ware Co., Ltd.

 where we got to see Melamine plates and other kitchenware being made. This factory was very interesting as well. Once again, I never knew, or even thought of for that matter, how much work went into a little everyday product that we take for granted. For example, I witnessed a woman working at a machine drilling numerous holes through hundreds of colanders and strainers, and men working barehanded with dangerous machinery to smooth the edges of plates and bowls. These visits have truly given me a new way of thinking about and appreciating things, and have definitely made me even more grateful for the life I have.

The last visit was to Panyu-Cheng Wah Garment Company Limited. This tour has literally changed my shopping experience from now on. In this ONE factory we saw shirts being made for Abercrombie & Fitch, and jeans being made for Target, J.Crew, Madewell, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, and more. It's amazing to know that these jeans of all different brands, stores, and social standards are all made and sewn on production lines just feet away from each other, and sell for hundreds of dollars apart....

*No pictures of the last three factories are posted because photos weren't allowed.*