Sourcing from China
Published: June 2013In this issue of China Briefing Magazine, we outline the various sourcing models available for foreign investors - representative offices, service companies and trading companies - and discuss how to decide which structure best suits the sourcing needs of your business. Perhaps the most important factors to consider when choosing a sourcing structure are your staffing requirements, your need for operational flexibility, and which option offers the greatest cost efficiencies. In this issue, we compare how each of these factors match up with the available sourcing platforms in order to help foreign businesses find the best option for their specific sourcing needs.
In this issue:
- Comparison: Sourcing Model Options
- Choosing the Right Sourcing Model
While the United States and Europe continue to lead in the production of top-end manufacturing and smart technologies, China is slowly but surely climbing the technology ladder, and is actively trying to raise the human capital and managerial skills needed to lead such growth. Meanwhile, China continues to outpace competitors in the mass production of those basic, low value-added products necessary in the daily lives of people around the world. It has also managed to develop a fast and efficient national network of roads, railways, ports and airports coupled with a first-tier integrated logistics system. On top of these structural accomplishments, China has created a skilled workforce capable of producing anything an engineer can design, and a comprehensive supply chain that sources energy and raw materials from around the globe.
Therefore, while many foreign enterprises begin to look elsewhere in emerging Asia for their sourcing needs in an effort to reduce costs, further integrate supply chains, or hedge their China investments, there remains a good chance that the most competitive prices, and greatest values, can still be found in China. That’s why China today accounts for roughly 33 percent of the goods produced worldwide, and that’s also why businesses involved in global trade - whether sourcing industrial items, consumer goods, component parts or garments - cannot afford to overlook China.
In this issue of China Briefing Magazine, we outline the various sourcing models available for foreign investors - representative offices, service companies and trading companies - and discuss how to decide which structure best suits the sourcing needs of your business. Perhaps the most important factors to consider when choosing a sourcing structure are your staffing requirements, your need for operational flexibility, and which option offers the greatest cost efficiencies. In this issue, we compare how each of these factors match up with the available sourcing platforms in order to help foreign businesses find the best option for their specific sourcing needs.