Archive for the 'electronics' Category

IBM has done a sort of report on how its procurements operation is going in China. Some highlights with important phrases highlighted in bold type:

The supply base for goods is very robust in China. As most procurement professionals know China has become the manufacturing center of world, with a growing trend towards innovation and technology specialization versus its prior focus on purely labor intensive manufacturing.

In the electronics supply chain sector quality and reliability is on track to equaling world-class status from utilizing advanced equipment in large scale manufacturing.

The supply base for services (technical skills, complementary workforce, computer programming, etc.) is still relatively small/medium scale with regional focus, as compared to the high-volume focus of the goods sector. Services supplier locations are typically found in the larger cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, etc.

The trend is for these suppliers to become more global in focus by increasing their management skills and capabilities as compared to a few years ago. However, strong support for these suppliers and/or even equity investment is needed in order to leverage their advantages and grow them into global suppliers.

An example of the problems that are arising would be the rising costs of labor in the coastal cities driven by the continued expansion of the manufacturing sector. We are seeing the beginnings of the manufacturing sector looking to spread further inland to the center and west of China to better balance development across this large country.

So extra attention is needed to ensure logistics flow smoothly during peak times of the year when multiple sectors (electronic, apparel, toys, etc) are all vying to move product outbound at the same time.

The are many well known challenges associated with doing business in China. Some of the ones receiving a lot of attention recently center on supply chain responsibility, supply chain security, environmental controls, disaster readiness (Asian Flu, Pandemic, etc), and business ethics. Clearly, these are issues which need attention and must be acknowledged by any company seeking to conduct business in China.

Without a doubt, China is one of the most vibrant economies in the world and with that comes the reality that extra attention is needed to aspects of procurement which may be taken for granted in other more mature markets.

Source: Purchasing.com

In 2008 people should start collecting the RMB3 tickets needed to travel on Beijing’s subway. First they will be scrap, then they will be emphera and then they will be rememberances of a time past.

Replacing them totally, in time for the Olympic Games, will be IC cards. One swipe of the card and you are through. This is all part of the plan to modernize the metro system which may get more passengers off the roads and thus ease the city’s worsening traffic gridlock.

Subway journeys will be charged by distance probably starting at RMB3 which puts the subway ahead of the game in potential income as soon as it starts.

IC cards were introduced in April this year and have had a fair acceptance but, shortly before the Olympic Games, it will be all over. All 1.3 million passengers who use Beijing’s metro system every day will be using cards. That 1.3 million figure has peaked as high as two million and beyone those figures paper tickets are practically an impossibility.

Beijing currently has two subway lines and two light rail tracks, totaling 114 kilometers. Three more subway lines are under construction and will be completed by 2008 Olympic Games. By 2020 the subway system will have extended to 561 kilometers making it the world’s most extensive underground.
Source: China.org

Sun New Media has bought an 80% stake in Beijing Trans Global Logistics Ltd, a State-owned logistics company that also trades in electronic components.
Source: PR Newswire

Expanding the earlier story. Shanghai wants to take over from Tokyo as the center for CPS (Cargo Portal Services) bookings. This is am an important electronic booking and shipment management service for the air cargo industry.

At the moment Tokyo is slightly ahead of the game. Shanghai is close to breaking through the 1,000 confirmed new bookings a week.

Lat year Tokyo moved to beyond 1,000 bookings a week threshold and so far this year has kept ahead of that.

This growth and competion shows the the global appeal of CPS. Interesting the service doesn’t currently use the flag carriers of either countries but that does not stop its very rapid expansion. those countries. It also illustrates the pattern of the rapid adoption of CPS, which is greatest in Asia, followed by North America.

Jim Friedel, president of Northwest Airlines Cargo, speaking on behalf of all the CPS carriers, said, ‘All across Asia, we have been impressed with how our customers have quickly and thoroughly embraced e-booking.’

Christopher Shawdon, Unisys vice president Logistics Solutions, said, ‘CPS continues to grow very rapidly with the number of confirmed bookings up more than 35 per cent in the last four months.’

Shanghai, the most important economic hub on the mainland, wants, among many other things, to be the air transport hub for the Asia and Pacific as well as a key link in the world’s aviation network.

The aim is to get there by 2015 in a plan that has three phases. From 2005 to 2007, the two international airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, will be able to handle about 50 million passengers and 3.1 million tons of cargo each year.
In the 2007 to 2010 period the two airports will expand until they can handle 84 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo a year.

And by the end of 2015, Shanghai will handle 110 million passengers and 7 million tons of cargo a year.

Working alongside that will be the Unisys-operated CPS, a leading electronic booking and shipment management service for the air cargo industry. This offers a 30-day advance booking on all CPS member carriers.
Source: China Daily

The Chinese Electronics Wholesaler Chinavasion has announced the official launch of its online wholesale shop for consumer electronics, Chinavasion. The idea is to take the hassle out of importing electronics goods (a wide range covering many manufacturers) from China in a one-stop operation. The Chinavasion website provides information for web wholesale buyers to compare products and order samples. The Chinavasion online shop has products from over thirty different Chinese manufacturers. Rose Li, speaking for Chinavasion, said, ‘We’re seeing a massive surge of demand for Chinese-produced electronics.’

The logistics are built-in. Small or medium quantity orders are delivered in trackable packets with express couriers (FedEx, DHL) door-to-door.
Source: SB Wire