China Plant Tours:Why You Have to See for Yourself
2009-03-11 08:38阅读：
All international purchasing
managers try to minimize
import risk. As a China sourcing expert, in order to achieve this
goal we will always recommend you to undertake plant visits to
China before you place an order, for the following
reasons:
- It makes sense to meet the
people who you will be working with before you place an order. You
will get to know their personality and will start building a
relationship with them. As we know, good relationships (or
guanxi in Chinese) play a crucial role in business in China
- hence the value of a face-to-face meeting can never be
underestimated.
- You can inspect
manufacturing areas to get an idea of raw material quality,
workers’ skills, prod
uction capabilities and the internal QC process of the
manufacturer. There is nothing better than to see it with your own
eyes.
- You can find out to what
extent your manufacturers subcontract their production to other
plants by checking their work areas and warehouses, or by asking
them during meetings.
- You can experience the
working environment and meet the workers to be sure that your
suppliers are not using child labour and are providing protection
masks etc.
- By making the trip to
China, you can give your suppliers a sure signal that you are
really serious about quality issues, and more so if you emphasize
quality during your meeting. When they produce and deliver
products, they will put you in a ‘Picky clients’ list and will
therefore be more careful with your products.
Some extra benefits you can
gain from visiting your China plant:
- You may find out that you
can actually source many other products in China besides those in
your current plan. I had a client before who saw good packaging
material during his plant tour in a steel tube plant and finally
ordered some packaging materials as well.
- You may see your
competitors’ products in a production line during your plant tour.
This happens a lot in the top equipment manufacturing plants of
China as they get orders from all major international
players.
