Southern Perspective Shenzhen

You remember when your high school teacher gave this advice to help form a thesis for your paper at the end of the year? It does not make for mind breaking commentary on subjects but it does help you form a complete idea and get your point across.

I think this  method is great when working with suppliers over here in China. One thing you want to avoid in China is ambiguity. As I said in my first post, China is not a place you want to “figure things out”. If you are relying on the company to give you solutions, you will not get what you want.  To get to my theory above, let’s start with the first part of our new Mantra:

Tell them what you’re going to say

Always know more. Be prepared with your material before you start and know your specifications. Now that you have a clear path, email your supplier with your intent. You are not giving them specifications now, you are weeding out suppliers.

Say it

At this point, you should have a collection of possible suppliers that you are ready to work with and have responded to your request. You and your possible suppliers should be on the same page.  Now is the time to get into the details of the specifications.

Then say just what you said

This part is usually in the beginning to middle of your interaction. This is a kind of a reminder of your requirements. I have received samples of different materials than the specification I gave them. Some of the explanations I get are:

This is only the sample , so we thought this was easier

Or

This material was easier to get

Or

This was cheaper to do

Or

We will do right next time in production.

Clarify your specifications and sometimes there is a need for a change. If a change is necessary,  ……… tell them what you’re going to say, say it, then say just what you said. REPEAT

There are always variables to these situations. But the biggest piece of advice I can give is, be clear in your goals, be consistent and be knowledgeable. The next step is production and that opens up a whole new can of worms.

Any other methods that work well for you?