I have put together 10 tips to help you on your next sourcing project in China. I have spent several years sourcing in China, including setting up and running representative offices for my employers in the UK. This is not a fully exhaustive list (I did have more than 30 tips, and a more detailed look at purchasing from the country will appear in an upcoming edition of SM) but they are the ones I thought most helpful to act as a checklist. (more…)
It has been argued that £37 billion could be saved from UK public expenditure through improved procurement. But we cannot rebalance the nation’s accounts merely by aggregating then salami-slicing chunks of expenditure, any more than we can remedy areas of neglect by casting money at them. Real progress comes from setting well-evaluated near and longer-term objectives, and managing their achievement. (more…)
In recent months, I have been reading a significant number of media articles concerning rising costs in China, and how this will result in higher prices being passed on to US and European retailers and consumers.
From our Shanghai office’s experience on the ground, I am happy to say that statements such as “every single retailer has and is paying more for the items they sell” or “Americans, Europeans and other buyers will have to pay more for those goods or seek lower-cost suppliers elsewhere” can be proven inaccurate by improved execution in upstream supply chain operations. The reality is, there are greater cost savings in China to be achieved. (more…)
As gift-giving is a big part of business culture in China, it can be difficult to know what’s appropriate. No clocks (too similar to the word for death), umbrellas (sounds like “loss”) or a green hat (it means they are a cuckold).
The last time they met, in 2009, President Barack Obama gave President Hu Jintao a US-manufactured edition of the board game Go. No word as yet on what the US president gave his Chinese counterpart this week, but some others have stepped forward with some “gifts” that probably won’t be appreciated. (more…)
Recent talk and trends suggest there could be a move back to more local sourcing in future. Price volatility, the need to adapt quickly to changes, as well as coping with increased risks – such as severe weather or natural disasters – that can hit the supply chain – are starting to be cited as reasons to source closer to home. (more…)
Failings in public sector purchasing might make taxpayers angry, but politicians generally don’t have to worry about it threatening their position.
But when the taxpayer in question is an extremely wealthy, successful businessman and TV personality with a bewildering hairdo, they might have to think again. (more…)
Once, America’s west coast was the hotbed of free-market capitalism. High-tech software and hardware companies sprung up demanding access to foreign markets, during a period of carnivorous competition in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s described in Only the Paranoid Survive by founder and former CEO of chip maker Intel, Andy Grove.
Now Grove is concerned that, while the US innovates, the jobs go to the Far East and China. (more…)
“For me, socks are like sex,” said Prince George (the Blackadder version, anyway). “Tons of it about, but I never seem to get any.”
I was reminded of this episode of the sitcom – which focuses on the Prince’s wild spending (£59,000 on socks) – when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced this week it is switching the contract for socks for soldiers, sailors and pilots from its supplier of more than 80 years. (more…)
No surprise there, but this time Katie Price appeared in the pages of the Guardian – and doubtless other broadsheets – and it concerned procurement, again… (more…)
I have put together 10 tips to help you on your next sourcing project in China. I have spent several years sourcing in China, including setting up and running representative offices for my employers in the UK. This is not a fully exhaustive list (I did have more than 30 tips, and a more detailed look at purchasing from the country will appear in an upcoming edition of SM) but they are the ones I thought most helpful to act as a checklist. (more…)![[Bloglines]](http://blog.supplymanagement.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
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