Managing Change in China Manufacturing

Opportunities abound in China. For our clients, it holds the opportunity to have their products manufactured at the level of quality they need and at price that allows them to be competitive in the marketplace when, for one reason or another, those opportunities are not available from domestic sources.

For average Chinese people, the coming of Capitalism to their economy holds the opportunity for personal advancement on a level that was unknown to their parents.

While it’s all good, this means Chinese companies experience employee turnover and management turnover at higher rates than in the West. It’s also not unusual for companies to suddenly change their entire focus.

This is where a sourcing company like Avela Corporation becomes crucial to your success in China. We are our clients’ feet on the ground in China, providing in-country vigilance and change management to respond and adapt to a continually changing Chinese manufacturing landscape.

Changes in a supply chain can have far reaching effects, and Avela’s resources can detect those changes early. By speaking Chinese to Chinese with management and workers, Avela’s Shanghai staff can learn of company plans that often aren’t expressed to foreigners in English. It may signal a change in manufacturing focus or the prospect of a large order that might move other factory customers to the back burner. In either case, Avela can be proactive in identifying back-ups and “plan B’s” so that our clients’ production is not disrupted. (Of course, surprises can also happen, but when they do we are on the spot to react quickly.)

Likewise, when the one English-speaking Chinese employee at a factory moves on to greener pastures, our clients aren’t left without a means of communicating with the makers of their products—we are there. All of our Shanghai staff are fluent in English and Chinese, including different dialects of Chinese. Our Houston office provides the domestic communications link for our clients.

There has also been talk recently of a possible trade war with China. We feel that the trade war talk is a bit overblown, but this may be because we have been dealing with changing government regulations and tariffs as a matter of day to day business for over 17 years. We will have our clients’ back no matter what happens.

Avela has been managing change in China for our clients since 2002. Change has been the one constant we have been dealing over the years. We are ready to source your manufacturing in China and ready to manage change in China for you when it happens.