A Conversation on doing business in China
The following is a recap of a January 21, 2009 panel discussion hosted by the Orlando Chapter of ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) on the ins and outs of doing business in China. David Alexander, president of BaySource Global www.baysourceglobal.com was one of the featured speakers along with Brian Su of Artisan Business Group and Jim Gaynor, CEO of Lightpath Technologies.
ACG Moderator: Discuss how this global recession has impacted doing business with and in China
Alexander: The Credit crisis affecting all industries. Volumes are down and many factories dependent on U.S. retail and consumer volume have closed. People are strongly revisiting “In-Sourcing” due to attrition in volumes. A local trade association predicts that by late January, Dongguan and its neighbors Shenzhen and Guangzhou will lose 9,000 of their 45,000 factories.“Many factories are looking at completely empty order books," warned Stephen Green, head of China research at Standard Chartered, who believes the export sector may even shrink next year. Green believes China will see 7.9% growth in 2009 - well below the double digit figures of the past five years.“Government statistics show that 67,000 factories of various sizes were shuttered in China in the first half of the year,” said Cao Jianhai, an industrial economics researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. By year’s end, he said, more than 100,000 plants will have closed. The wave of factory closings began in Guangdong province, where the nation’s economic reforms were launched three decades ago. The region accounts for about 30% of China’s exports, but over the last couple of years, Shenzhen, Dongguan and other cities in the area have sought to clean up the environment and create an economy based more on services and higher-value products. Makers of labor-intensive goods such as shoes, garments and furniture no longer felt welcome.”Stanley Lau, deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, a trade group with 3,000 members, has estimated that as many as 15% of the 70,000 factories run by Hong Kong businesspeople in the mainland will close this year. He says many more are likely to shut after Chinese New Year in February, when millions of migrant laborers will return home for several days. “Once workers go home, they can close down the factory quietly,” he said in an interview in Hong Kong.
ACG Moderator: Given this recession, specifically, how has the outsourced manufacturing space been impacted?
Alexander: People have been forced to re-analyze bringing manufacturing back due to lower volumes. Less scale means reduced leverage with factories. Reduced demand = longer lead times with higher volume/less frequent orders. Carrying costs of capital increases; customer response times impacted. IKEA for instance has recently opened a plant in Virginia.In an April survey of nearly 1,000 companies by RSM McGladrey, the number planning to move offshore fell by 20% from a year earlier
ACG Moderator: Further explore the costs of shipping/freight as they impact this model
Alexander: Increased energy costs toward the end of 08 meant freight as a % of COGS increased. There were fewer containers coming into port—first declines since 2006; down 1.5% from Nov 07. At $150 barrel 40’ container $8,000 vs. $3,000 a year ago or $100. At $200 it would be $15K. Through July 19, U.S. railroads had carried 5 million shipping containers, down 3.4% with the same period last year. Containers that slow to 23mph from 29MPH save 20% but this means freight lines have to add containers. However, freight increases alone not cause in wholesale trade pattern shift back to US mfg. The Economy is key driver. Higher fuel costs will also cause a shift in Lean inventory. May see proliferation in warehouses to be closer to customers. The Freight Transportation Services Index dropped 1.4 percent from October to November to 107.6, the lowest level since January, 2004. The index is down 4.9 percent from its historic peak of 113.1 reached in November, 2005, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported.
ACG Moderator: Discuss the Chinese economy both how it's being impacted by this economy internally and how externally the commodity markets are being impacted around the world.
Alexander: China's exports fell in November for the first time in seven years and manufacturing activity shrank in December for a third straight month. Material costs will always fluctuate globally and are consistent around the world. With fuel and energy costs subsiding a bit and with material costs softening, Labor is still the key driver for the feasibility of offshore manufacturing.
Still it seems like the economy is chugging along normally though. In the city where one colleague lives there were more than 4000 cars newly registered in the first week of Jan alone. This is a city of 3M people and the roads are already crowded. We are not sure how many weeks like that one in Jan. we can survive and still keep cars moving along. Also, remember, the Chinese are good at saving money. The China economy is predicted to be as large as U.S. by 2030. All this said, this crisis has been a time of reckoning. Americans are buying fewer Chinese DVD players and microwave ovens. Trade is collapsing, and thousands of workers are losing their jobs. Chinese leaders are terrified of social unrest. Having allowed the renminbi to rise a little after 2005, the Chinese government is now under intense pressure domestically to reverse course and depreciate it. China’s fortunes remain tethered to those of the United States. And the reverse is equally true. The Treasury conducts nearly daily auctions of billions of dollars’ worth of government bonds. For the past five years, China has been one of the most prolific bidders. It holds $652 billion in Treasury debt, up from $459 billion a year ago. Add in its Fannie Mae bonds and other holdings, and analysts figure China owns $1 of every $10 of America’s public debt. The Treasury is conducting more auctions than ever to finance its $700 billion bailout of the banks. Still more will be needed to pay for the incoming Obama administration’s stimulus package. The United States, economists say, will depend on the Chinese to keep buying that debt, perpetuating the American spending habit.Many firms in the auto, luxury, travel & tourism and real estate industries have begun reporting a significant decline in spend. Where the greatest opportunity lies, is in the rural economy. It is the economy that has lagged far behind the others - It is the economy that has more than 700 million people - It is the economy were small nominal gains can equate to large.
ACG Moderator: Discuss the idea of building markets in China coming from the U.S. or Europe
Alexander: According to The Kiplinger Letter, for 2009, trade will shrink worldwide by 2.1 percent to $115 billion and U.S. exports will drop 0.5 percent. It said the hardest hit areas will be machine tools, chemicals, plastics, mining gear and turbines, while medical products, farm goods and construction equipment should weather 2009 relatively well. Kiplinger predicted no worldwide growth for gross domestic products in 2009, and negative growth in the U.S. There are still good opportunities for growth. Certain products that sell well in China and come from USA are mostly niche items. Examples: Zippo Lighters, cosmetics from famous names like Estee Lauder cars, and famous brand clothing. Western brands will always be in demand.
ACG Moderator: Discuss how the Chinese government is impacting companies that want to either invest in China financially or via a joint venture or with manufacturing facilities - VAT rebates, and clean industry versus smokestacks
Alexander: In July, 07 VAT rebates were rescinded for 553 industries. The gov't just increased the VAT refund for exported goods to help with the economy. The price of raw materials is way down now so batteries, and other items have gone down in price about 30%. China will increase the export tax rebates for some machinery products as of Jan. 1, 2009, in a bid to alleviate cost burdens on exporters (back to 17%). The most recent increase took effect on Dec.1, covering 3,770 items of labor-intensive, mechanical and electrical products, or 27.9 percent of the country's total exports.
ACG Moderator: Discuss product quality concerns in Chinese manufacturing
Alexander: Any U.S. concern marketing a product manufactured in China is ultimately responsible for product/project management. This means clearly stating product specs and tolerances, material specs, defect rates, etc When we leave too much in the hands of Chinese manufacturers is when we run into issues.China does need better IT and process control. There is a lot of opportunity for IT/IS but also the Chinese don't know they need this. They don't even use part numbers in most businesses... Our biggest opportunity from US to China is to engrain our production management know-how. One of the main problems in producing quality here is that the workers and managers themselves don't know what to expect in a quality product because they don't consume such items. "They have no feel for what quality is."There is also little accountability for goods that fail after some time in service. Example: If you buy a new house, everything will be perfect when you buy it but things will soon start to break because they weren't made well. They might try to fix it but how can you fix a tile floor if all the tiles were installed following a standard that is not up to par? Example: they paint bare wood or walls without priming the wood first. The paint looks great for a year, then it lifts off in big sections but it’s too late for anyone to be accountable then. Your average Chinese homeowner has no idea how to paint or do other home repairs compared to the average American.This is why you need to have your interests well looked after. Also, a serious weakness of Chinese engineers is their reluctance to ask questions. This has to do with the cultural myth of “lose face.”Because of the importance of relationships and family sometimes they will hire their friend/family member instead of hiring the best person for the job. This also limits their success in some ways. Take Auto parts for instance. The Speed at which China has been industrialized means quality concerns and recalls are growing. Their revolution happened in a quarter of the time that ours did.The Chinese are unfamiliar with or don’t care about U.S. auto quality standards. Under federal law the importer of record is responsible for recalls and quality concerns. Many small importers (anyone can be importer) aren’t familiar with regulations and suppliers don’t have the capital to handle recalls.We also have to communicate the long term implications of the business opportunity to the Chinese factory. If they think a project is ‘one and done’ then this impacts price Everything is a negotiation.
ACG Moderator: Discuss the cultural differences especially as it relates to building relationships in China.
Alexander: The Chinese always consider their relationship with another person when they do business with that person. For example, they can never turn away from doing business with a friend even if there is a better product they should be seeking. At least they can't do it in front of everyone so they might do it secretly. The Chinese prefer to deal with people they know and trust. Western companies have to make themselves known to the Chinese before any business can take place. Furthermore, this relationship is not simply between companies but also between individuals at a personal level. The relationship is not just before sales take place but it is an ongoing process. The company has to maintain the relationship if it wants to do more business with the Chinese. The relationship sometimes begins based on money then moves to integrity and trustworthiness. Frequent contact is important.
ACG Moderator: Discuss other emerging markets such as Vietnam, South America and Mexico briefly as they relate to the evolution of the Chinese markets and increased shipping costs.
Alexander: Much is predicated on fuel costs. Also higher expenses, plus higher taxes and stricter enforcement of labor and environmental standards, are causing some manufacturers to leave for lower-cost markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and India.Despite its huge pool of unskilled rural laborers, China's supply of experienced, skilled talent falls far short of demand. The gap has been pushing wages up by 10 percent to 15 percent a year.Inland cities like Luoyang and Wuhan, outside the traditional export zones of Guangdong and the Yangtze River Delta, near Shanghai are emerging. In inland China, wages still lag far behind the richer eastern and southern coastal areas.
Instead of worrying about China, companies are better off embracing the opportunities.
Solutia Inc. Chief Executive Jeffry Quinn on Monday signed $182 million in contracts with companies from China, a country that looms large in his corporation's future as well as in the minds of many American executives.
Quinn was in a line of local industry leaders who put pen to paper and sealed deals with Chinese customers during a trade delegation conference at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Clayton.
Among these, Ferguson-based Emerson sold $70 million in telecommunications and power-related equipment. And locally based soybean trade groups, representing companies such as Bunge, Cargill and ADM, closed deals worth nearly $5 billion.
"Solutia obviously is very pleased to participate in this event and have a small role in demonstrating the vitality of the St. Louis region, as a source of economic development and as a trading partner with China," Quinn said. The company, based in Town and Country, makes specialty chemicals and performance-enhancing window films.
As the U.S. economy lags, rapid growth and an expanding middle class make China an irresistible market for domestic companies.
Solutia, with annual sales of nearly $4 billion, said that 58 percent of its total revenue growth between 2006 and 2011 will come from China. That translates to total Chinese sales of $439 million in 2011, up from $166 million in 2006. These sales stem from lines of business that are becoming increasingly profitable as Solutia raises prices and improves logistics and manufacturing efficiency, Quinn said.
Solutia exports nylon resins and polymers to China from a plant in Pensacola, Fla., which played host to nearly 30 members of the trade delegation on Sunday. Solutia's products fill the holds of cargo ships returning to China after bringing loads of low-cost manufactured consumer goods to American shores.
The Asia-Pacific region is key in Solutia's strategy of transforming its under performing domestic nylon carpet-fiber business into a global supplier of resins and polymers for plastics.
Gone is the view of China as simply a place to outsource jobs and lower the cost of manufacturing. The booming nation is a market in its own right — in Solutia's case, for goods manufactured in the United States.
"We look at China not as a place to outsource production and find cheap labor, but as a vibrant market that needs and desires the quality products that Solutia produces around the world," Quinn said.
But that's not to say the company lacks investment in China — that was a key point in Solutia executives' closed-door remarks to that country's trade officials, the CEO said.
In China, Solutia produces tinted window films and, through a joint venture, makes heat-transfer fluid. Solutia recently disclosed plans to build a rubber-chemical plant. And its automotive and architectural window films are sold through more than 5,000 retail locations.
Zhou Lin, general manager for Liaoning Yinzhu Chem-Tex Group Co., said his company buys a type of nylon pellet produced at Solutia's plant in Pensacola and spins it into fibers. His company chose Solutia for the high quality of its products, but will deepen the relationship by seeking its advice on how to make technical advances.
Kingfa Science & Technology Co. also buys the nylon pellets for melting into plastic materials. It is mainland China's largest domestic engineered plastics compounding company, and is growing at a rapid clip — which will mean more business for Solutia, said Li Nan-jing, Kingfa's vice general manager.
The products of these companies — along with Hangzhou Youngchang Nylon Co., which also signed a contract with Solutia on Monday — are found in everything from industrial products to non-stick spatulas, and from electrical-outlet covers to under-the-hood car parts.
Solutia's drive to do business in China doesn't mean it is neglecting the American market, Quinn said. North America remains the company's biggest market in many product lines. However, China's economy is growing fast, as is demand.
"China is still a work in progress, and, like many of the developing economies around the world, there is certain room for improvement" in its openness to American goods, said Quinn. "But we have found the Chinese marketplace to be a very receptive market."
10 tips to better China sourcing
Best practices in low-cost country sourcing
By William Atkinson -- Purchasing
Everyone in the supply chain seems to have a "China story" these days. Either they found dramatic savings and saved their company a boatload of cash, or they got burned by a fly-by-night supplier and vow never to source overseas again. But, as in most things, when it comes to sourcing in China, success is as much dependent on the preparation as the execution.
One bit of good news is that, if you have experience with any type of sourcing overseas in general, it should give you a leg up when sourcing in China specifically, according to James Ullum, managing partner with Louisville, Ky.-based Source International, a global manufacturing outsourcing company. "I was at a conference recently on sourcing in Latin America, and it was striking to me just how much similarity there was to sourcing in China," he says. "I think, in general, the tips for buying offshore are almost universal."
1. Set a clear China strategy
Gordon Smouther, senior industry advisor with the Center for Supply Chain Management at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J. says most companies are sourcing in China and similar countries for two reasons. "One is the long-term goal of establishing a market presence in the country in order to serve the economy," he states. "The other is a more short-term goal to take advantage of some of the low-cost capabilities and labor in the area."
2. Consider going direct
In the past, a lot of companies that were sourcing in China were going through brokers, because they didn't know the players in China, and they didn't have the ability to manage quality, according to Bob Sullivan, a director with Southfield, Mich.-based AlixPartners, a consulting and financial advisory firm. "One of the big pushes these days is to go direct," he states. One reason is that some brokers were charging a 10–12% fee, which dramatically reduced the savings potential of sourcing overseas. "We worked with one client to help them go direct and were able to take almost 30% out of the cost structure," he states.
A second reason for going direct is control. "When you're dealing with highly engineered products, you don't know what the broker looks at in the factories," he notes. "You need to have your own eyes on the process."
3. Improve supplier evaluation
The most critical step is to select the right partner, according to Source International's Ullum, who adds that buyers "need to check references, verify that the suppliers have adequate capital, quality systems, and capacity, and that they buy from reliable sources." Then find out what the priorities are for the supplier's factory. For example, some are focused more on quality, some on price, and some on fast production.
4. Build relationships
Ullum points out that building and maintaining a strong relationship with the supplier may be more important in China than anywhere else because business is based more on relationships there than it is in some other countries, especially the U.S.
Jan Palmen, new-product development commodity manager for Ingersoll-Rand Security & Safety in Colorado Springs, Colo., agrees. "While it is not unique to sourcing in China, you first have to establish relationships," Palmen says. "For example, as a commodity manager, I can call almost any supplier in the U.S., introduce myself, and then ask if they would be willing to put together a quotation. This tends to be a straight business transaction."
In China, he says, it is necessary to establish a relationship first, and this is usually done through an intermediary, such as a U.S. representative of the Chinese company.
5. Convey clear expectations
According to Palmen, buyers need to be very clear about what they want from Chinese suppliers due to things like language barriers and metric conversions. "It is particularly important to have robust and thorough documentation," he emphasizes.
Ullum agrees. "Be sure to clearly define your expectations and specifications," he states. Some companies in China, he says, don't understand the requirements of the U.S. market, such as the importance of things like cosmetic appearance. "A lot of U.S. companies aren't used to having to do this, because they have either made things in their own factories or have purchased them from other U.S. suppliers that understand the market better," he says.
In addition, it is important to put requirements in writing. The more you assume, the more problems you will have. Conversely, the more reference points you can provide, the more likely the factory will deliver what you expect. Source International does this in three ways: a written bill of materials and quality specs, physical samples, and mechanical drawings.
"You also need to create and explain performance requirements," continues Ullum. "This includes information on what the product is supposed to do and what the testing protocol is." In sum, consider: What will your customer do with the product once they receive it? And does this product meet those requirements?
And an equally important step: Get the supplier's agreement. "I have never seen anything more powerful than—as simple as it may seem—having a reliable person in the factory actually sign the specifications," points out Ullum. This may require a bilingual document, because there may be some misinterpretations in an English document.
6. Address intellectual property issues
It is important to ensure protection of intellectual property when sourcing in China, especially in terms of design and tooling. While legal documentation and contracts can help, AlixParters' Sullivan believes it is actually more important to have commercial leverage.
"Getting a contract enforced in China, even with good legal representation, is a challenge," he cautions. Commercial leverage means having other business there, such that if the company compromises your intellectual property, they risk losing a lot of other business.
7. Create technology teams
When moving technologically driven business into China, it is very important to have teams focused on the process on both sides of the ocean, according to Sullivan. This requires a great deal of coordination. "You need your technical guys in the U.S. working with the technical guys at the factory," he says. "They often don't speak the same language. However, my experience with engineers is that, once you get them working together, even if they don't speak the same language, they figure out how to work together on their own after a while."
8. "Trust, but verify"
You may be surprised to know the words of Ronald Reagan apply to global sourcing, but they do. "You want a good partner and a trusting relationship, but you need to check on things," Ullum explains. A complete quality monitoring program, either conducted by a third party or your own company's personnel, is essential to ensuring that the product shipped meets all of the specifications and performance criteria that are agreed to. "Even one bad shipment can do serious damage to the procurement department's credibility and wipe out projected savings quickly," he cautions.
Sullivan agrees. "You need a local presence, where you can get to the factories on a regular basis," he states. Relationships matter, but it's more than just that. It gets back to control. You need to qualify the actual pieces of equipment and tools that your products are running on. "If you don't have your own eyes on these, then you really don't know what's happening," he notes. "A Chinese company can promise that your products will run on certain equipment, but you may find out that things have changed once you actually go there and look."
9. Be open to R&D projects
According to Sam Datta, regional director, sourcing and procurement practice lead, southeast region, for Chicago-based Grant Thornton, a lot of companies want to involve suppliers more closely in R&D, but have been nervous about doing so with Chinese suppliers.
"It is possible to do this in China, but you have to be careful and work very closely with those suppliers," he says. The biggest challenge is finding qualified suppliers to handle the needs of U.S.-based firms. "You need to look at their processes, technologies, innovation, and other capabilities," he suggests.
Once you select suppliers, you have to treat them as though they are next door to you, and you have to have your own people over there to make sure they are doing what you need. Working closely also helps to resolve the potential problems related to intellectual property (patented information) and concerns that they will do reverse engineering, according to Datta.
10. There's more to global sourcing than China
Finally, don't just automatically assume that China is the best place to source everything. The global supply and business landscape is constantly changing and it is important to keep up with these changes as you are making current and future sourcing decisions.
Certainly, China is an excellent place to look first. "Even though there are other countries getting involved, China still has the overwhelming majority of low-cost country sourcing business," says Sullivan.
Smouther suspects China could be getting to a tipping point, where labor costs are increasing, so the low-cost labor advantage is beginning to erode a bit. "Other countries, such as Vietnam, are gaining popularity for low-cost labor," he notes.
Sullivan adds that the Chinese government is also revising the tax structure, reducing value-added tax rebates on a commodity-by-commodity basis. The strategy is designed to try to push very low value-added business out of China and focus on the higher value-added business. Sullivan also echoes one of Smouther's comments. "There are a lot of other rising stars, particularly Vietnam, where labor rates are about half of what they are in coastal China," he states.
In addition to Asian markets, Sullivan adds that now "we are finding that Mexico's star is rising again, and some business that went to China is now coming back to Mexico." In addition, new business that would have once automatically gone to China is now giving Mexico a hard look, not only because it is becoming more competitive, but because of logistics costs and the inventory impact.
Outsourcing makes customers nervous. Here's how you can help reassure them.
Outsourcing makes customers nervous. Here's how you can help reassure them.
(FORUTNE Small Business) -- Dear FSB: My two partners and I own and operate our own factories in China. With the anti-China trend these days, how do we find companies that are looking to go overseas but do not have a trusted partner? We hold ourselves to U.S. and European standards, but we're still having to search for businesses to whom we can provide our contract manufacturing services.
- Carlos Valdes, World Manufacturing Group, Philadelphia, Pa.
Dear Carlos: When putting a Western face on an Eastern service, don't discount good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation.
This can be done at tradeshows, during one-on-one sales calls, or with networking among industry trade groups. Being completely transparent about your business reassures potential clients, so show photographs and encourage visits to your plant even if a client relationship hasn't been established yet. Be as detailed as you can with information about your years in service, references, number of employees, biographies of the management team, and products currently being rolled out of your plant.
Is sourcing in China worth it?
Most importantly, always be ready to discuss a worst-case scenario and a back-up plan, advises David Alexander, president of BaySource www.baysourceglobal.com , a Tampa, Fla., firm that assists U.S. companies in developing China outsourcing strategies.
Companies don't budget for failure, and anything you can do to reassure them that you have contingencies covered will help reduce indecision and anxiety. Be honest and realistic about cost projections, production rates and potential issues that may arise. Even if there are negatives, offset them by listing all the world-class quality standards that your plant has met (such as ISO or UL) and offering quality and service guarantees. For example, you could promise that no portion of the manufacturing will be subcontracted, and that all client phone calls will be returned within 24 hours.
"It is paramount to recognize and be able to articulate that the product being provided is actually a service," Alexander says. "A trusted set of hands mitigates the inherent risk associated with entrusting a project to an unfamiliar source in China."
Would you trust a plant in China? How do you convince customers your overseas operations are high-quality? Join our discussion.
Take your business global
With a little innovation, who needs outsourcing?
MRO Buying gets strategic
MRO buyers look ahead, and see more outsourcing, long-term planning, global buying and supplier alliances.
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 3/13/2008
There's no longer any question—the MRO buy is strategic.
Purchasing got an overwhelming response from readers to a recent survey on their role in the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) buy. Of the purchasing professionals who responded to the poll, 88% say the buy is more strategic today than it was five years ago, and they provide evidence—success stories—to back up the statement.
Results of the survey show MRO purchasers have slashed the supply base and formed closer relationships with a smaller number of key suppliers. They've embraced technology for the procure-to-pay process; buyers at plant sites are placing orders directly with suppliers with which the company has national or regional contracts, often using online catalogs. For their part, MRO suppliers provide technical assistance to the plants, bringing in their suppliers (the manufacturers), when help with such activities as product substitution and demand management is needed.
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So, what's next? Where is the MRO buy heading? What is happening today at companies in just about every industry across the nation provides some indication of what's to come for purchasing pros with responsibility for MRO, respondents say.
Other MRO purchasers say they expect to be sourcing for other divisions within their companies, and searching for suppliers with capability to provide goods and services to locations outside North America. Some seek supplier help with low-cost country sourcing efforts. Most of the survey respondents now are looking at MRO over the long term—something relatively new for many purchasers.
The sourcing operation at BNSF Railway Co. started to look at its MRO buy with an eye towards the strategic about two years ago. Since then, sourcing has worked to standardize processes and data and taken steps to rationalize the supply base, forming relationships with fewer suppliers or integrators that can do more than simply provide products to the company.
Aligning goals of both purchasing and supply organizations is key, says Doug Keady, director of strategic sourcing and contract governance for BNSF in Ft. Worth, Texas. "I challenge suppliers every time we talk," he says. In those discussions, Keady works to ensure suppliers understand the company's business and are willing to offer up their expertise to bring new ideas to the table.
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) in Glenview, Ill., started to look at MRO purchasing more strategically three to four years ago when management tapped Gary Anton to be vice president of corporate strategic sourcing. Until that time, each of the more than 700 business units at the decentralized company purchased MRO on its own. Anton's job is to rationalize the supplier base and leverage some of that spending.
He and his team set up national agreements with 15 industrial distributors; each of the suppliers provides the company with specific categories of products such as electrical, power transmission, fasteners, and general industrial supplies. "We believe we have the right supplier partners going forward," says Mike Kamradt, director of corporate strategic sourcing at ITW, who assumed his role late last year. He and Jeff Garing, MRO manager, are working to take these agreements to the next level. They're asking for guaranteed savings which they expect suppliers to deliver through such non-price aspects of total cost as inventory reduction, product substitution and demand management.
ITW has come a long way in a few short years. While the company doesn't mandate use of the preferred suppliers, Anton and his team are selling the benefits of working with fewer suppliers to the business units and are having some success. One of the company's preferred suppliers is reporting a five-fold increase in sales. They're also looking for suppliers with capability to provide goods and services in Europe. "We're not there yet, but we think eventually we will have synergies with our brethren across the pond to work on some things together," says Kamradt.
Private Label Use to Grow
Many distributors are facing that crucial question at this point in their business evolution, weighing the decision of what to do with the "date that brought them to the dance." Early on in most models, distributors leveraged the brands they carried to solidify their position within their target markets. The brands represented the "Seal of Approval" that the DSRs carried in their bag. What do you do however, when there is no longer a national brand requirement on a line where little tangible value is in the brand's product lines or where a product has become "commodified?" Some national branded companies make the decision easy, exiting the space for a respective line and the margin erosion in a category deems it unprofitable to support a line. However, when the Distributor is held hostage to a certain brand and the brand no longer remains cost competitive, the distributor needs to make a choice. The key is does the distributor have the clout and relationships with their book of business to pull off stocking a private label line of goods to compete with a branded line.
In Modern Distribution Management, Adam Fein discusses the "Pros" of embarking on a private label program. For the branded guys, they had better take note for the Distributors' leverage is growing as brand support continues to dwindle in non traditional retail channels. BaySource Global www.baysourceglobal.com is working with distributors in various industries such as boating and marine, building products, and agricultural to help them in their strategic sourcing initiatives in China, sourcing items that executives have identified as being lost leaders. Better defined, these are items where there is no brand requirement, yet the actual products are commodities that a distributor must carry for the every day functionality to their customer base.
Questions to ask are:
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Do we have economies of scale or volumes to justify sourcing direct from China?
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Do we have someone on board to "champion" the management of offshore sourcing?
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Are we jeapordizing our business relationship with the branded incumbant in bypassing them to source direct and will this affect my costs on other items?
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Have we determined realistic target costs for the items that we will take offshore? If we obtain these costs have we factored in other crucial benchmarks such as carrying cost of capital for additional days on hand of inventory, physical plant requirements (storage)?
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Are items we intend to source directly protected by patents or other measures?
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Do we have the necessary information to have the product(s) manufactured offshore such as material specifications, quality requirements and standards, ratings, drawings, samples--note this is where resources have to be relegated to championing the project.
Strategy will strengthen but also strain relationships
In his book, Facing the Forces of Change, Adam J Fein, Ph.D discusses the evolution ofPrivate label products—products branded by a wholesaler-distributor—and how they represent a break from the more traditional wholesale distribution approach of reselling manufacturers’ branded products. Facing the Forces of Change®: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain, discusses private label strategies by wholesaler-distributors will expand substantially over the next five years.
Fein asserts that Wholesaler-distributors will need to build new capabilities in manufacturing and design in order to create products with unique, premium benefits. They will also have to select the right opportunities for private labels and manage the new supply chain risks associated with global sourcing.
Today, according to Dr. Fein, "an average, 43 percent of wholesaler-distributors currently sell their own private label products, although there are substantial differences between the six major product types in our study. For example, almost one-half of building materials wholesaler-distributors currently offer private label products, compared to only 23 percent of contractor supplies wholesaler-distributors." Fein goes on to say "the lower costs and ready availability of overseas sourcing opportunities in Asia and South America accelerate the ability of wholesaler-distributors to get their own value-priced private label products manufactured. About 57 percent of wholesaler-distributors with private labels currently source their private label product from an overseas plant. By 2012, 81 percent of these wholesaler-distributors expect to be sourcing overseas.
According to Fein, Private label products offer three major benefits to wholesaler-distributors:
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Buy-side margin. Private label products can be priced lower than comparable national brand products, especially when sourced directly from an overseas manufacturer. Since private label products are less expensive to purchase, a distributor can earn a higher margin even when the products are priced at a discount to national brand products. This option simultaneously grows margins for the distributor and aligns the distributor more closely with its customer’s objectives.
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Sell-side profitability. A wholesaler-distributor’s private label products offer the opportunity for increased profitability by capturing the branded margin that would otherwise flow to an upstream manufacturer. The distributor also gains the ability to control the entire profit stream from production to sale, allowing for more flexible sales compensation models and higher commissions to drive sales. For example, a distributor can reduce the advertising overhead of a national brand manufacturer, especially on certain products for which customers see no value differentiation.
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Differentiated product assortment. A private label brand name can be exclusive to a wholesaler-distributor and provide a point of differentiation. For example, some wholesaler-distributors find that they can fill gaps in the marketplace by offering the good (value) alternative in a good/better/best hierarchy. Availability can be another point of differentiation. A private label product can be sourced from multiple manufacturing companies and this gives a distributor the opportunity for more consistent product availability than when sourcing from uniquely branded manufacturers.
More can be found in his Facing the Forces of Change®: Lead the Way in the Supply Chain, which is available online from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors at (http://www.mdm.com/stories/fein3701.html)
*Pembroke Consulting is not in any way affiliated with BaySource Global or its China office Eastlink Global Ltd.
Positive Outcomes to Outsourcing in China
The common stereotype associated with outsourcing to China is that it means lost jobs. However, several companies are finding that it makes sense to evaluate asset reallocation in terms of plants, property, equipment and labor. The following was published in the Portland Business Journal and illustrates how one company actually used strategic sourcing to lower cost and increase market share. The result: more factory jobs for one town.
Tualatin firm finds that outsourcing leads to growthThe Portland Business Journal - Sean MeyersSpecial to the Business JournalFinally, a story about outsourcing to China that even a labor official might love. In the late 1990s, Sure Power Inc., a longtime Tualatin designer and manufacturer of vehicle electronics, was feeling heat from customers and pressure from the market to simultaneously reduce product price and dramatically increase quality.
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Like many other U.S. manufacturers caught in a similar bind, Sure Power turned to China. That's nothing new, but the results of the effort might surprise some opponents of outsourcing. "I can't attribute a single layoff to outsourcing to China," says Steve Scheidler, Sure Power president. "In fact, the result has been just the opposite." Local employment has increased 53 percent to about 160 and taxes paid to the state of Oregon have increased by 204 percent, not counting additional income taxes paid by the new employees. Sales are up 188 percent. Why? Outsourcing portions of manufacturing have freed up more of the company's 115,000 square feet for research and development, he says. That has made the Tualatin location more competitive by making new products easier to build. Outsourcing has improved cash flow and allowed Sure Power to better manage resources. "The purpose in going to China was not to shutter our factory. Our customers were compelling us to get aggressive on price and design," Scheidler adds. "It's allowed us to compete and gain business we may not otherwise have received [and] gives our customers a perceived best-cost opportunity even if that savings is not real or is insignificant." Going global may be the most important decision in the 47-year history of the company. "When you step back and take a look at the globe, doing business in another country today is not that much more complicated than doing business in an adjacent county," he says. "Really, what's the sense in building an expensive new factory when there's so much factory capacity already available around the world? I think we need to quit being afraid of outsourcing. The U.S. is the No. 1 economy in the world for a reason. We might take a hit, but we bounce back." Sure Power produces about 1 million parts annually, mostly for use on heavy truck, military, bus, marine and other nonpassenger vehicles. His father, Ralph, started the company by inventing a "battery isolator" that prevents the direct current electrical systems in boats and recreational vehicles from discharging when not in use. The product is still widely used today. Next stop? Outsourcing projects to Eastern Europe, but it's still in the early development stages, Scheidler says. "I think it would be a good way to break into the market and get them to buy our products." Scheidler got the advice he needed to establish a foothold in China from suppliers that made referrals and from other manufacturers "who had already been there, done that." He says he doesn't know of any other manufacturers who have increased local employment while outsourcing to China.
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What assistance would Scheidler like to see from government agencies for companies that want to outsource? "I'm not the kind of guy who looks to the government for any help," he says. "I'm not trying to be negative, but my feeling is, 'Just stay out of the way.'" So far, the government has been doing a pretty good job of that, says David Alexander, president of BaySource, a Tampa Bay, Fla., consulting firm that specializes in manufacturing in China. "The only assistance that I've seen provided to U.S. manufacturers that want to set up projects overseas, at any level of government, is by providing general information on trade." Many small or midsized manufacturers turn to a consultant to speed the process and to reduce setup costs, he says. A company that sends a fact-finding mission to China will spend an absolute minimum of $5,000 per person, with $8,000 to $10,000 being a more realistic figure, he says. Alexander has daily contact with two very large Chinese manufacturing companies that often have the part an American manufacturer needs already sitting on the shelf. If they don't have it stocked, they can often design and cast a new part and crank up production within a week, he says. That's an incredible turnaround time compared with a typical American manufacturing environment, says Alexander, who previously ran a U.S. factory that produced a famous brand of hair and beauty products. Outsourcing is helping U.S. manufacturers improve efficiency, quality and profits, and stories like Sure Power's are not as rare as people think, Alexander says. "We're not looking to shut down factories. We're in business to help companies stay in business." portland@bizjournals.com | 503-274-8733
China Outsourcing Advice
Linking East and West, BaySource andEastlink Global Ltd represents a “safe pair of hands” for companies looking to do business in Asia today. Focused on innovative new products and manufacturing components, Eastlink Global is committed to building long-term partnerships with industry-leading companies who share our values of integrity, transparency and uncompromising customer service.In Asia today “Everything is possible… yet nothing is easy” however, our on-the-ground team is dedicated to providing the day-to-day execution needed to ensure your company’s success. Our extensive manufacturing networks, design engineering, program management capabilities and robust logistics infrastructure provide the “end-to-end” solution needed to win in today’s fast-paced environment. Partnering with BaySource and Eastlink Global allows you to instantly unlock the opportunities and benefits of working in Asia, optimizing cost savings and mitigating execution risk. Allow us to help navigate your next outsourcing initiative here in Asia. www.baysourceglobal.com
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