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Pictures
Presentation Tom Van der Heyden: Gestión de compras en China
Presentation Juan Ramón Jiménez: Cómo ganar competitividad a través del sourcing en Asia
Presentation Albert Collado: Cadena de producción "Fabricación y distribución en China"
The ESADE Alumni Operations Club recently hosted a lecture/discussion that focused on how to set up a supply chain in China in order to obtain a range of products and raw materials.
China is the world's factory. This is the premise behind all commercial relationships today. It is therefore inevitable that we view China as a place to organise supply chains in order to improve the competitiveness of our activities.
The Operations Club organised a lecture/discussion on this topic featuring Tom Van der Heyden, Managing Partner of S3 Sourcing, Juan Ramón Jiménez, General Manager of Labbox Labware, and Albert Collado, Partner and Director of the Department of Business Internationalisation at the law firm Garrigues.
The first speaker, Mr. Van der Heyden, offered an overview of how to conduct operations in China. He began by explaining why we should consider China an economic power: "It has single-handedly increased the world's labour force, it has a very open economy, and it influences worldwide inflation - even our mortgages".
Mr. Van der Heyden then took a closer look at five purchase management channels in China: "Travelling directly to China to find factories, managing the operation through traders, using the support of the various Spanish institutions located in China, using Internet portals and dealing with sourcing companies".
Once the channel has been selected, the process of buying raw materials, finished products or components in China consists of several operational stages. Mr. Van der Heyden cited six specific steps: the search for suppliers, negotiation, document management, quality control, logistics management and repetition of the process.
The next speaker, Mr. Jiménez, explained the experience of his company, Labbox Labware, which decided to use a sourcing company like S3. "We work with a Chinese factory that supplies some of the low-cost laboratory products we offer", he said.
He explained that, for his company, the best way to begin operations in the Far East was to use a sourcing company that contacted a factory in China: "It is important to go with a Western person who is familiar with the idiosyncrasies of China - that way, you can join the two mentalities".
Mr. Jiménez advised against using traders because they guarantee very little control over the production process, have little technical knowledge and do not use quality control. He recommended using traders only in cases where a company wishes to buy something in very small quantities.
The last speaker was Mr. Collado, who discussed several peculiarities of the Chinese legal system that may affect companies wishing to do business there: "Traditionally, China has worked on the basis of customs, or the orders of Mao or the Communist Party. Since 1978, its legal system has been more similar to those in the West". He added that "under China's decentralised legal framework, commercial authorisations are issued by the municipality where the company aims to do business".
Mr. Collado highlighted the issue of copyright protection, which is a sensitive topic in China: "China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, which presumably meant that Beijing would adopt international legislation on copyright protection. In practice, however, copies are still being made".
In order to avoid problems in other areas, Mr. Collado insisted that "any company should use a written contract to seal any agreement it reaches with the Chinese".
Toward the end of his remarks, Mr. Collado gave some tips on negotiating and overcoming cultural barriers in China: "Clarity is very important there, but you must avoid becoming hypnotised by protocol". He added: "We have to be the ones to set the pace. Letters of intent are very important, as are documents expressing the intentions of both parties".
Programme
Today's session will focus on how to set up a supply chain with maximum guarantees in China. We will ask the following series of key questions:
Where are the clusters of suppliers that I need?
How should I begin and carry out the process of selecting manufacturers?
Can a reliable quality control system be set up?
Who is interested in setting up shop in China?
What payment conditions can I get from my supplier?
Has copyright protection really improved in China?
What important legal and fiscal factors should I take into account?
Programme
Introduction:
Jorge Blasco
ESADE Alumni Operations Club
Speaker:
Tom Van der Heyden
Managing Partner of S3 Sourcing
Presentation of the case study "Becoming More Competitive through Sourcing in Asia"
Juan Ramón Jiménez
General Manager of Labbox Labware
Albert Collado
Lawer and member director of the Department of Business Internationalisation at Garrigues, Abogados y Asesores Tributarios.
Date, time and venue:
Wednesday, 13th June 2007
7.30 pm
ESADE - ESADEFORUM
Av. Pedralbes, 60-62
Barcelona
For more information:
ESADE Alumni
Tel: 902 420 020
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