Janette
How to have effective communication with Chinese suppliers?
Despite the highly globalized world we live in, we still often hear stories - some funny, others not - about how imports businesses have been affected by cultural differences with Chinese suppliers. It's a simple fact that different countries have different cultures. And culture effect everything from communication styles, idioms and jargon, relationship maintenance, and plenty of other areas important to conducting business.
Chinese suppliers have learned how to adapt to the "American Style," but many American businesses involved with China have yet to learn the Chinese style of conducting business. When both parties adapt to one another's culture, business will always go smoother and relationships will last longer.
The big question is "How?" How do we get Americans, who are used to doing things one way, to recognize the Chinese culture that informs how Chinese people conduct business? There are many articles in the web about the culture and communication of Chinese people. The China Culture Corner and the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator are just two examples that provide thorough insights about how the Chinese culture works. While you can google those articles, we will offer you a summary of the key points that should be kept in mind when with Chinese persons in business matters, specifically for the benefit of shipment quotes and coordination.
Important cultural key points:
Respect hierarchies
Hierarchies are important in China, so jumping the ladder will never be appreciated by your Chinese suppliers. Find ways to work with your current contacts, and if you really have a problem that needs escalation, find a way to ask your contact to help you speak to a higher rank person.
Directness
Be clear about what you want, what you like, and what you don't like. Chinese communications makes use of several layers of consideration and analysis, and this may delay an action if you don't provide a clear message about what is needed from the other party. Therefore being direct, but also respectful, will help speed up the action. Avoid starting with a phrase like "So it seems like we are ready for import." This type of message says that nothing is certain - either you are ready or not, and you have to communicate that.
Appreciate the good work
American businesspeople like to know how they are doing, and the same is true for their Chinese counterparts. For them, it is important to know their work is satisfying you, and if not, they want to know as well so they can improve.
Practical key points for daily communications:
Provide full information
When you request a freight quote, you should know the exact origin and destination of your shipment. If you don't know the exact address, mention to your Chinese suppliers that you don't know, otherwise you will get an email back asking you for the address - which will delay the preparation of your rates at least for a day, or more. If you say from the beginning that you don't know a delivery address, ask them to provide an open rate for the whole city, or ask them to provide the quote without the last delivery leg, then at least you will have an estimate of the freight.
Provide clear information
Give clear instructions, clear information, and short sentences. Do not assume that your acronyms or abbreviations are known by everyone around the world. For example, if you want to talk about dangerous goods do not write "DG" only, spell out the words. If your state is Wyoming, do not just write WY in the middle of a sentence without a specified address - most people outside the US do not know state abbreviations.
Use lists
If you want to explain that you have 3 shipments coming from China to 3 different locations, don't make a whole paragraph about it. Give an introduction, and divide your information into sections. Use numbers and bullet points. In summary, make it easy to read.
Follow your Chinese suppliers' time zone
This will save you days, energy, and money. Work in the evening for one or two hours during a key period when you need urgent responses from your Chinese suppliers and you will benefit from much faster communication. This is because you will be able to read the messages from China when they reply during their morning time - 6pm or 7pm US time - and you will be able to email or call immediately. If you reply during the next US morning, they will probably be out of the office already. Work a bit late and you'll make the communications a lot more effective.
Julian
Beverage logistics - how transportation affects the quality of your drink
From the vineyard to your hands, there is quite a journey associated with your glass of wine. Wine and any other spirit or beverage are handled with a specific set of beverage logistics standards in order to ensure that these products keep their original quality level through the whole supply chain.
The quality of your drink can be affected by many factors during its transportation, such as external temperature, packaging, and proximity to hazardous materials. Therefore, some freight forwarders have created logistics services specialized for the beverage industry. Drink Logistics is part of the Food and Drink Supply Chain services that top freight forwarders offer. The area of logistics offers services for both chilled and room temperature beverages. These services can include the design of innovative packaging solutions as well as a special cargo insurance for drinks.
If you are a beverage trader, it’s important that you hire a freight forwarder with the requisite knowledge and capability to carry out the beverage logistics services that you need. For example, your forwarder should be able to tell you that even though you can completely fill a 20” container with whiskey bottles, that doesn’t mean you should. You will probably need to leave a lot of space unoccupied due to certain restrictions applied to dangerous goods – because in the end, alcohol is considered a dangerous good.
If your import of wines comes into the US as LCL, the process might be even longer. This is because there are very strict regulations concerning wine box placement inside a container. The logistics process of beverages such as wine requires expert analysis and coordination.
Fines and delayed deliveries can result from improper shipping of alcohol. If a forwarder doesn’t follow the standards set for Drink Logistics, your shipment, as well as items near it, can be damaged. It is always best to talk to your forwarder about the specific needs of your product.
Beverage logistics, as with most other industries, benefits from advancements in logistics such as:
Demand planning
Software and IT
Business Intelligence and Analytics
Sales and Operations Planning
Forecasting and Demand Planning,
Warehouse management
Procurement
Inventory planning
Freight forwarding,
Traceability
3PL
Cold Chain
Food miles reduction
Route planning
Do you want to know more about wine and beverages logistics? Talk to a freight forwarder with beverage logistics experience!
