Outsourcing in China

Design News publishes an engineer's diary of an outsourcing trip to China. Great info for any small business thinking about outsourcing manufacture of their product to China. A few good points the author makes:

1. Even at low production levels outsourcing to China can be cost effective.

2. When you go to China get a Skype account with SkypeOut. Call quality is better than land lines or mobile phones, and the cost is of calling home is very cheap. I also recommend a good set of headphones like the Plantronics DSP-400s

2. Bring a portable GPS receiver in case you or your cab driver get lost. Having been to Guangzhou myself I can say that this is a great idea. Even if you can speak your hotel's name in Chinese, your driver may not understand you, and he may not know how to get to your hotel. Carrying a matchbook or business card with your hotel's name written in Chinese characters is wise, but will be of little help if you happen to hop into a cab with an illiterate driver.