I think of working with our Chinese factories as an “us with them” relationship.

Not an “us and them” relationship.

Why It’s Important

It’s an important distinction with our brand’s largest business partner.

“Us and them” means we treat them simply as a contractor.

“Us with them” means we treat them like a key business partner.

The shift in thinking is significant.

How it Can Help You Grow Together

Conflicts are easily resolved because we care about what’s good for them.

They see that.

Then they reciprocate and care about what’s good for us too.

And so we grow together.

My Goal? 

My aim is to one day be sharing baijiu with them on my 20th visit to China (and after dozens of POs) while talking about how fast our kids have grown.

How about you? How do you see your relationship with your suppliers?