Managing Editor & Publisher Russel Beron russel@chainamagazine.com Contributing Writers Chris Deans, Pilar Deiter, Chris Horton, Michael Mackey, Melanie McGanney, John Sun, Sam Sun, Cameron Wilson Art Director Colin Dizengoff colind@imprintasia.com Graphic Designer How Xu Pho tographers Grant-Oh! Buchwald Jackson Lowen FROM THE EDITOR The writing on the wall is in bright red in both English and Chinese characters: “China’s manufacturing for export boom is over.” This was the gist of a much cited major consulting firm’s study on the state of manufacturing competitiveness in China and is evident in the scramble of many companies with manufacturing operations in China to find a fix. Inflation, evident on a small scale in local food and utility prices and on a bigger scale in dramatic increases in the price of commodities and services has hit the logistics sector hard. This is putting increased pressure on already squeezed manufacturers and supply chains which have added incentive to tighten efficiency and lower costs. Headlines of businessmen not being able to participate in April’s Canton Fair, either due to tightened visa restrictions for foreigners or more stringent security checks for Chinese, have set the tone for business activity in China lately. Gone are the days of rolling out the red carpet for foreign enterprises with money to spend in China if their goals are primarily export oriented. With the Olympics less than 90 days away, and relentless external political pressure, Beijing’s eyes are fixed with an inward look. While an inward focus on domestic growth and moving China up the value from low cost producer to provider of value added services is positive for China as whole, it has made doing business here difficult and created more than a few kinks in China’s outgoing supply chain. Does “Made in China” still make sense, one case study in this issue asks? The answer really depends on what business you are in and how efficient your operation is. If your business relied on low cost labour and government tax rebates for profit, then probably you are already on the boat to Vietnam or some other potentially lower cost producer. In that case the government pressure is a good thing; where will the search for low cost production end? Chaina magazine editorial advisory committee Dittmar Nerger Head of Global Sourcing Bayer Healthcare Dong-Hong Zhu Head of WW Procurement (China), Materials Manager, Agilent Technologies Shanghai Guy Tran Logistics Manager, Auchan China Hypermarkets Jean-Luc Laboucheix Supply Chain Director Asia Pacific, Goodyear Max Henry Founder and Executive Director, Global Supply Chain Council Michiel Hijma Senior Manager, Bertelsmann Directgroup China Nis-Peter Iwersen Vice President, Danfoss China Robert Jiang General Manager, Dajin Logistics Tony Li Logistics Manager, Amway China CHaINA Sponsorship For information on sponsorship opportunities with CHaINA Magazine, please contact: Russel Beron russel@chainamagazine.com ADVERTISING SALES Kaman Cheng, Business Development Manager kaman@chainamagazine.com +86 21 5102 1617/18 DISTRIBUTION We distribute CHaINA free by direct mail to subscribers in China, Hong Kong and Singapore who are involved in all aspects of supply chain management, manufacturing and logistics. Our target subscribers are logistics, warehousing and transportation directors and managers; sourcing, procurement and purchasing directors and managers; and manufacturing executives at foreign and domestic Chinese companies. For subscription inquiries, please contact: subs@chainamagazine.com. Contact us to receive a free digital or print edition of the magazine. CHaINA Magazine is distributed through selected locations in Shanghai, including hotels, restaurants, business centers, airport lounges and other key locations. Comments and Feedback We welcome feedback and comments about our content or any issues relating to supply chain management or trade in China. Please email any comments to the Editor at: russel@chainamagazine.com Russel Beron Editor and Publisher CHaINA Magazine Chaina magazine’s sponsors: CHaINA Magazine (ISSN 1992-9668) is published jointly by Painted Horse Media Limited (Hong Kong) and the China Supply Chain Council Limited (Hong Kong). There is no charge for qualified readers to receive subscriptions. Send subscription requests or address changes to subs@chainamagazine.com. The contents of the magazine may not be reprinted in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. CHaINA is a registered trademark of the China Supply Chain Council. www.chainaonline.com MAY/JUNE 2008 3 previous page next page