China Recruiting Blog

Sustainable Sourcing in Emerging Markets like China

Christopher Game at Procurement Leaders has up a post that is worth deciphering.   He uses vague terminology to avoid being judgmental in these emerging markets, but he is very clear on what he sees. Check it out here.  I paste a few points below. Parenthetical points are mine.

Ask for references from customers of similar product type and follow these up

Create short and medium term business cases on a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) basis

Integrate your BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India China) partners into your own organisations and continue to grow this

Measure value not just price. Changing the focus a little will move the sustainability horizon further out

Ensure that contracts include sufficient back doors and penalties and that they are understood.

If at all possible implant an expat or look to your emerging market (third party)  partner to do so to help overcome the cultural and communication barriers.

Lastly see whether you can use the partner to help you access local markets, this may help keep the arrangement viable even longer.

Really well said and I will add nothing here, but recommend the post