COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Dealing with suppliers in India and China, MES is often asked how it overcomes communication gaps and development challenges (lead times, PPAP quality submissions, etc.). After developing with over 40 suppliers over last 10 years, following are the key issues. While these may seem very logical, in the world dealing with suppliers which are 15,000 miles away, all issues are exacerbated:
1. Finding Qualified Suppliers:
It's very easy to find suppliers who say "they do export work". It's also easy to find suppliers who have "capacity". It's almost given that all suppliers have "ISO / TS Certification". But what's unique in both Indian and Chinese Culture is the deference to the customers. Customers have to train and develop relationships with suppliers to "extract" the correct information – this is not because suppliers are trying to be deceiving (although that has also been known to happen) but simply because they like to please the customers with "yes" answers.
MES is careful in finding suppliers, visiting them for initial visits, quality audits. It shares its vision of what suppliers can do for current business opportunities as well as future opportunities. It engages with them for a longer term with the view of growing their business as well as its own.
2. Feet on the Ground:
Although this would seem intuitive, MES has made many mistakes and has heard of many other companies making the same. MES finds suppliers that are hundreds of miles away from its key people and then suffers during development time, production time, quality audits and so forth. Almost exclusively, MES is now focused on finding suppliers where its key engineers and sourcing managers are.
While this excludes large clusters of qualified companies, MES thinks it's a safer and more manageable proposition. It continues to interview engineers in different parts of India / China to continue to grow its presence in key manufacturing and industrial zones, but if it don't have somebody within 100 – 150 miles (2-3 hours of travel), it shies away from those suppliers. As MES grows and add more resources, it will continue to bridge the gap.
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(Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130620/PH35335-b)
Name of Media Contact: Carol Kwong
Title of Media Contact: Marketing Manager
Company Name: Marketing and Engineering Solutions, Inc (MES)
Contact Phone Number: 740-201-8112
Contact E-mail: Email
Website URL: www.mesinc.net