With the Chinese women (and we use that term loosely) winning the gold medal in team gymnastics recently, more attention is now focused on the 16-years-old age minimum to compete in the Olympics event.

Three members on the Chinese team look to be at least a few years from puberty, and back in America, Olympics commentators would not let the issue rest throughout the performance.

The New York Times reported that the American gymnasts are on average 30 pounds heavier, and 3 ½ inches taller. One Chinese competitor, on the other hand, appears to be losing baby teeth.

The Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen retorted to the doubters: “If they think they can tell someone’s age just by looking at them, well, if you look at the foreign athletes, they have so much more muscles than the Chinese. They are so strong. Do you then say that they are doping?”

We admire the unique Chinese nature of this distracting argument. It’s the typical kind of reversal that can leave a Western logistician exasperated and ultimately, retreating.

The same bizarre-offense-is-the-best-defense strategy can be expected from your Chinese competitors in business, especially regarding the ever-increasing cost of practically everything.

China manufacturers and producers have considerable excuses to raise prices now – including inflation and rising labor costs – but probably have a lot more poor excuses.

Here’s how to avoid passing on necessary – and likely unnecessary – price increases to your customers, according to SourceJuice, a China-sourcing blog:

• Confirm price increases with global prices. Don’t just assume that price increases passed onto you are legitimate. Is the price of steel, or any other material you need actually still rising significantly, or are producers just seeing what they can get away with?




• Adjust your “packaging size, colors, and materials.” In other words, increase cost efficiency through more effective materials, as well as through shipping-friendly packaging shapes, such as the new, more boxy milk jugs now found at Wal-Mart, which is saving about 20 cents on each gallon jug now.
• China is big, transport costs are rising, and too many companies have component factories too far spread out. Consider cutting “legacy factories” that don’t fit in well proximity-wise with your supply chain or your final customer.
• Try to deal with factories directly. Cutting out as many middlemen as possible can help, especially when your local competitors have no problem communicating and negotiating directly with their sources.

While we may never know the whole truth from Chinese partners/competitors, we can draw on their creative logic and adaptability in times of adversity.

    Channel: Local Wisdom     |