There are many similarities between China and India in today's global-economic climate. Both have over one billion citizens, both have experienced resilient growth in output, and both have greatly expanded their roles in international trade. The relatively inexpensive yet well educated workforces of these two countries have made them key prospects for the sourcing of manufactured goods. Yet differences remain in their supplier and logistical capabilities which must be taken into account by the sourcing professional.

Both India and China are capable of world class manufacturing processes. A study performed by the London School of Economics on the supply chains of the two countries’ automotive industries found that two-thirds of their domestic suppliers were able to provide inputs with defect rates of less than 100 parts per million – the typical threshold for suppliers in the US, Europe, and Japan. It was observed that both Chinese and Indian auto manufacturers domestically outsourced component production at similarly high rates, suggesting an adequate availability of competent local suppliers. Whereas the study found higher productivity levels in India, in terms of capital intensity, delivery frequency and stock-turn ratios, China had the edge. In a more recent, broader assessment across multiple industries, Deloitte found that the average number of days an item sits in inventory favored China at 24.2 compared to India’s 32.5.

Beyond the factory floor, connecting products to end users poses different challenges in China and in India. Within India there is a heavy reliance on roads. Their network is the second largest in the world, behind the US, at over three million kilometres. However, only around half of these roads are paved, and their width is generally too narrow to allow the passage of anything beyond smaller, two-axel trucks. Road transit is further slowed by a fragmented Indian trucking industry and by state border checkpoints. China, in contrast, has a far less extensive network of roads. Out of its million-plus kilometre road network, only around 300,000 kilometres are paved. But what China lacks in actual length, it makes up for by having newer, more passable roads. It has five times the number of multiple lane highways than India.

China also has more transport options available to its supply chains in the form of rail, air, and waterways. Over 78,000 kilometres of terrain are connected by rail in China compared with 63,000 in India. Goods can be flown in and out of China by way of 500 airports whereas there are only 334 locations to take to the sky in India. Thanks to geographical endowments, China also has more navigable waterways. Besides some of the world’s most active ports, commerce in China moves on 110,000 kilometres of inland aqueous passageways. This is more advantageous than India’s 16,000 kilometres of waterways, particularly in the movement of bulk commodities.

These transportation differences are partially reflected in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Rankings. China is rated the highest of all BRIIC (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia and China) countries at 27^th in the world. Its comparatively higher scores in customs clearance, infrastructure adequacy, logistics, timeliness and tracking ability place it above India, ranked 47^th globally. Some of the largest discrepancies between the two countries are shown in survey data collected by the World Bank. Responders reported much higher frequencies of compulsory warehousing/transloading and involuntary payment solicitation in India, while in China greater expenses were incurred in the form of agent fees.

The infrastructure and logistical differences may explain why India is a more common site for the outsourcing of services, particularly IT services, which do not require a physical good to be brought to market. However, India should not be entirely discredited as a sourcing destination for manufactured goods. Both it and China have allocated over 10% of their GDPs toward infrastructure development which will enhance their future logistical abilities in bringing their products to the world’s consumers. The greatest similarity between China and India: neither can be ignored by the sourcing professional.

International LPI Ranking (5 Pt. Scale)– World Bank

Country	Rank	LPI	Cstms	Infra	IntSh	Lgstc	Trckg	Time
China	27	3.49	3.16	3.54	3.31	3.49	3.55	3.91
India	47	3.12	2.70	2.91	3.13	3.16	3.14	3.61
Brazil	41	3.20	2.37	3.10	2.91	3.30	3.42	4.14
Indonesia	75	2.76	2.43	2.54	2.82	2.47	2.77	3.46
Russia	94	2.61	2.15	2.38	2.72	2.51	2.60	3.23

Abbreviations: "Rank" is World Rank; "LPI" is cummulative Logistics Performance Index; "Cstms" for customs procedures; "Infra" for infrastructure; "IntSh" for international shipping; "Lgstc" for logistics; "Trckg" for tracking capabilities; "Time" for timeliness


Country Logistics Scorecard – World Bank

	China	India	Brazil	Indon.	Russia
Clearance time with physical inspection (days)	3.38	3.45	5.47	5.12	4.62
Clearance time, no physical inspection (days)	1.70	1.92	1.67	2.14	2.57
Percent of imports physically inspected	8.59	13.63	10.54	11.08	44.20
Percent of imports inspected multiple times	2.46	6.20	2.04	2.56	10.05
Export lead time from shipper to port (median)	2.77	2.34	2.80	2.12	3.98
Import lead time from port to cosignee (median)	2.56	5.31	3.88	5.35	2.88
Number of export agencies	4.06	3.43	3.47	2.50	5.83
Number of import agencies	4.20	3.71	4.21	3.67	5.17
40 ft container export charge (USD)	418.90	660.30	1,614.05	378.93	1,310.37
40 ft container import charge (USD)	376.37	1,266.94	1,570.42	1,023.84	1,144.71

I recently attended the ‘Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Forum 2009’, in Tianjin on 21-22 November, a forum was organised by the China Federation of Logistic and Purchasing (CFLP) and the Institute of Supply Management. The conference drew in around 200 people, including purchasing managers from MNCs, representatives of companies both state and privately owned, logistics company managers, government officials, as well as scholars in the field of supply chain management.

Besides a discussion on the macro economy, the two main topics from the forum were:

• Supply chain management in the environment of economic recession; and

• Supply chain management contributions to company value

Since the value enhancing role of supply chain management is a common topic discussed at a majority of procurement forums, I was more interested in the first topic. While exchanging ideas about supply management under economic recession with other purchasing managers, I received many useful tips—including those from the speakers. One speaker was Mr. Dai Dingyi, Vice Chairman of CFLP, who introduced the status and trends of purchasing and supply management in China. He indicated that supply management in the state-owned companies remains weak and that government purchasing is marred with problems.

Mr. Johnson Xiao, Global Sourcing Director of TRW Automotive Inc, was another speaker. Mr. Xiao shared his personal experiences in service sourcing. Attendees also learned a lot from Mr. Zhang Jiamin, Director of Li & Fung Group, who gave an insightful speech on how China’s manufacturers have survived the global financial crisis and advised ways for companies to adjust their sourcing strategies.

These speeches were very insightful about the current state of supply chain management in China and about its future outlook. Although most procurement managers remained stressed by the cost reduction target now, we were encouraged and inspired by this get-together; as long as a business can survive the crisis and remain innovative, there is a bright future ahead.

Putin’s visit to China in October has brought numerous promising projects for bilateral cooperation between China and Russia. More and more Chinese companies are becoming involved in deals with Russian companies, both in exports and imports.

However, when doing business with Russian clients it is important to understand their way of thinking, especially when you are looking to sell your products on the Russian market.

From my personal experience in sourcing for Russian clients from Chinese producers, the following issues—standard with any sourcing project—must be managed: price, quality, supplier reliability, delivery time, payment terms, availability, product certification, and transportation time, etc. What are the most critical issues specific to Russian companies? The top three would have to be payment terms, product certification, and language barriers.

Language

Effective Communication is a crucial aspect of any business deal. The existence of a language barrier is a particularly formidable challenge faced by Chinese companies aiming to enter the CIS market. Effective communication will allow certainty in the decision-making process; misunderstanding, however slight, may lead to unexpected troubles or worse—failure. The simplest way to avoid these unnecessary pitfalls is to have an effective conduit between your company and the client. A few of the best ways to do this are:

1. To establish a local representative office
2. To find a solid partner in Russia
3. To hire a long-term translator in your domestic office
4. To hire a short-term translator during your client’s visit to your factories or during your trip to Russia

The listings above are ordered according to the level of importance of the prospective deal. The first option is most acceptable for a Russian client, while the third and forth options are the easiest options to use when visiting a Chinese company. Any aggressive, long term, business expansion into Russia would require a representative office in Russia or even a joint venture with a local Russian company.

To be continued