Producing in China

3 Key-Aspects to consider when producing in China:

Oversea productions are tricky, especially if you cannot easily contact and visit the factory when necessary. The same principle applies when you are producing in China. Apart from quality control, supplier management and global shipping,  there are 3 aspects to consider when producing in China:

1. Intercultural Communication

This may seem like a very broad subject and to some less or more applicable to this topic, yet it should never be disregarded when dealing with foreign or in this case Chinese suppliers/factories. Doing business in China is still different from doing business elsewhere, though of course in the last 20 years Chinese companies have gained extensive experience dealing with foreigners and other business cultures/practices.

Yet it is always helpful to have a general understanding of the values, both cultural and religious, when working with local Chinese suppliers. It can even save you a major headache, most likely when a minor issue is miscommunicated and is being understood as the worst case scenario, it happens more than you might expect. Having a local team of Chinese and foreign experts will elevate your productions, ensure that there are no communication breakdowns and most importantly ensure that good supplier relations are developed and maintained. With OMiBJ you can not only except all of these points to be covered, but you can also do business in China without a single concern.

2. Time Difference

This is an obvious point and again it plays a major role when producing goods in China. Imagine you suddenly need a specific change to be done to your production but the goods are already being made. You’ve only now realized that this needs to be amended and your team is already off the clock, what can you do? We deal with this scenario on a daily basis and have come to appreciate the urgency of every consignment, consequently are ready to respond and act upon any emergency, regardless of time differences. This allows the changes to be made on time and make producing in China a success.

3. Currency Exchange Rate

China uses the RenMinBi or RMB, though most suppliers will issue quotes in USD, or Euros when being asked for. This initially seems simple and then again can become a minor to major hurdle when dealing with Chinese suppliers. You as a client and the supplier take a risk when dealing with a quote that was issued months ago, let’s say in USD, and now the RMB to USD rate has changed significantly to the benefit of the USD, meaning the supplier would be loosing more money than when the original quote was issued.

You as the client have already locked in on this quote and made your budget planning according to it and can’t allow any shifts with this quote. Having a competent local team on your side, like OMiBJ, will allow you to safely use the quotes and assure that you are not being taking advantage of when exchange rates change. Of course, if the changes are extreme, other actions have to be taken, though this happens very rarely.