#16 | Daniel Krassenstein | Supply Chains and Shanghai

Global supply chain expert Daniel Krassenstein on learning Chinese in Taiwan, Jakarta in the 90s, Shanghai's Jewish refugee history, and how one attack in the Red Sea can add two weeks to your shipment. With over 20 years' experience in China and more than 25 years in Asia Pacific, Dan is what is known as a global supply chain expert. Our wide-ranging conversation covers following in his family's footsteps, learning Chinese in Taiwan, and his time in Jakarta and Shanghai, where we overlapped and met. We also discuss risks like COVID and Yemen and other ongoing challenges to supply chain management. Follow Daniel Krassenstein on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/machodan Chapters 0:00 Welcome Daniel Krassenstein 1:01 What a global supply chain expert does 3:08 A family in shipping and trucking 6:22 From Venezuela to Taiwan 9:31 Seeing past race 13:44 Learning Mandarin in Taipei 20:03 Guanxi and networking 24:12 Into the ballpoint pen business 26:19 Taiwan, China and manufacturing 32:43 India's rise in manufacturing 38:09 Sea-Land and the expat package 43:25 Indonesia in the early 90s 53:00 Shanghai and consolidation 56:09 Puxi, Pudong and expat life 59:13 Shanghai's Jewish refugees 1:01:29 Doing business the Chinese way 1:07:57 Caught in a Japan problem 1:11:08 The cat that escaped at the airport 1:13:18 Panama and Mexico 1:16:32 Building his own company 1:22:54 Starting over 1:29:17 How Shanghai got expensive 1:31:26 Moving to LA 1:36:41 Watching COVID from outside China 1:42:02 A daughter who thinks globally 1:45:17 Writing about doing business in China 1:49:38 Cost, time and quality 1:54:57 Managing factories through COVID 2:00:27 Corporate social responsibility 2:04:45 What freight really costs 2:06:44 Yemen, the Red Sea and the long way round 2:13:19 Geopolitics and global trade 2:24:05 The Strait of Hormuz and other risks 2:32:39 Friend-shoring and regional manufacturing 2:40:58 Balance in life The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com