Doing procurement implementations takes us all over the globe.  One of our star team members, Leigh Weimer, writes about her recent business trip to China and shares some handy tips which might help prepare you should you visit that part of the world.

Doing business in China – tips from Nanjing

Despite hours of planning for a five -week business trip to Nanjing, there were many aspects of the trip that I wasn’t prepared for. Here are a few tips for future travellers.

Don’t be surprised when few Chinese speak English

This was one of the most surprising aspects of the trip. Perhaps it’s arrogant of English-speaking travellers to assume that all foreign people we meet would speak English. At the five-star hotel I was staying, a small contingent of staff spoke English, but only the very basics. Ordering anything from the room service menu that was not a hamburger confused the staff (even though I thought that I was pronouncing the Chinese words perfectly). Our rendition of the Chinese words we tried to pronounce weren’t understood.  The best thing to do is to download a translator app on your mobile phone and ensure you have your mobile phone with you all the time.

Take your hotel address with you when you go out

Road signs everywhere are in Mandarin.  If you get hopelessly lost, you can flag down a taxi and give the driver your hotel address.  People are very friendly, but you still need to be able to tell them where you want to go. In some cases I went prepared with Mandarin sentences written down on paper in the hope that I would be directed with hand signals.

It helps if the hotel you stay in is near the station

Taxis are extremely expensive. Conversely, trains are not only clean and efficient but surprisingly affordable.  They enable you to get all over the city at a fraction of the price of taxi fare. All the sights we wanted to visit over the weekends were accessible via train with minimal walking. The stations have multiple kiosks where you can plot your trip and pay. If you know the station you are coming from, and the station where you want to disembark, you can plot your route.  Routes are coloured and numbered, with stations clearly highlighted on the train and at each station. The route is announced in English and Mandarin at each point of the journey.  Be ready to jump on or off when the train stops. You have 30 seconds, with throngs of polite but determined passengers at each station.

Don’t expect to find your brand of medication in their pharmacies

All the Chinese pharmacies we frequented stocked Chinese traditional medicine and a range of Chinese brands printed in Mandarin. None of the pharmacy assistants spoke English.  Without my Chinese colleague, the simple task of finding the correct medicine would have been daunting and confusing. Prescriptions are needed for anything stronger than Nurofen, so I would recommend taking a backup range of medication – just in case.

Tipping isn’t required

Tipping is not expected and leaving tips can cause confusion at restaurants. The waiter will assume that you left your money by mistake!

Your bank card won’t be accepted at all banks

Not all banks will recognise your card or travel wallet. Don’t be alarmed when this happens – rather be aware that only the major banks will dispense cash at ATMs with your card, despite it having been enabled for travel.

Cash is still required at many restaurants and shops

It’s worth taking Yuan with you or having the facility to draw cash from an ATM regularly.  You will need Yuan for taxis, trains, small shops, take‑away vendors and on most of the sightseeing trips.

The plug for your laptop will not work

The plugs in China require square pins.  Either take an adaptor with you or get one as soon as you arrive.

Google is scarce

When you can’t google things, the fault is not with your laptop or phone.  You can only get Google in international hotels where it’s available as a service to its guests.

Leigh is a seasoned Supply Chain Professional. She is an MBA graduate, with a proven, 20-year track record in Supply Chain Management. She is a senior manager and sourcing specialist at Supply Chain Partner

Interview with Chimae

We sat down with our director and procurement guru Chimae Gonçalves and asked a few pertinent questions around procurement technology implementations:

Calming the storm

Q:  What is the biggest area of resistance when proposing a technology solution to a potential client?
A:  Although we aim to communicate our offering in line with the customer’s pain points as clearly as possible, there are a few universal questions that we usually find most customers asking. They want to know whether the project will be successful, whether the price justifies the solution, whether the solution will deliver on the proposed business case, whether employees will embrace the change, how long it will take before the solution is running smoothly and, how sure they can be that the solution will succeed and whether it will make them look good in the eyes if their colleagues.

What are we missing?

Q:  Which areas of the business are most overlooked by a company that S2P/SCP presents our services to?
A:   We usually find that the 2 main overlooked areas are, procurement as a whole and compliance/fraud.

With regards to procurement – traditionally procurement skills have not been strategic. Businesses think that it’s cheaper to add more bodies to do the work than to buy a system to automate their processes.

Some businesses focus on strategic procurement, yet do not have a handle on procurement 101 basics. There are some key questions one needs to ask during the procurement process, for instance: Are you paying the right price for the right product, at the right time, from the best possible supplier in terms of value in a compliant way? Very few businesses have a handle on this.  Most end users have no clarity in terms of how long their order will take, who still needs to approve the order, if they will even receive the correct product, whether they will pay a fair price, whether the supplier is a good supplier or if product has been ordered and whether supplier has been paid.

Concerning compliance & fraud – if you don’t have an automated way to ensure that your business processes comply to policies and procedures, you have no idea whether you comply or how big the fraud problem is. There is no visibility, which means that you have no idea how big the problems are, and some people prefer to be ignorant. Once you know…you have to do something about it. Ignorance is bliss.

OUCH!

Q:  Are the pain points described by a potential client usually ring-fenced, or do the issues have a domino-effect and negatively impact areas of the business that are not initially obvious to the client?
A:  The effects of an untransformed / rogue procurement process cannot be ring- fenced. Issues have a domino effect and can negatively affect many areas of business.  In my experience, these are some of the knock-on issues one may encounter due to a rogue procurement process:

The end user does not receive what they expect

Sometimes, in relation to critical parts, there are manufacturing delays and business failure due to productivity issues

Non-compliance and opportunity for fraud can lead to reputational risk

Procurement is at the heart of any successful business. Managing your spend wisely will either make or break your company.

The more things change, the more they …change

Q:  How big a part does change management play during the implementation of procurement technology?
A:  Most of the emphasis on a successful procurement implementation is on stakeholder engagement. I have never been on a project where there has been enough stakeholder engagement.  Most organisations battle with communication and buy-in. Most people resist new things (all for very different reasons, some very legitimate reasons).  The key to a successful procurement transformation project is a strategy that is well defined and communicated in a collaborative way. Modern organisations are moving away from hierarchies to networks. Managing change is not linear. It is dynamic, and many decisions impact many different end users. Success does not always mean that all stakeholders will we satisfied with the decisions, but success does involve more than one person’s opinion.

We love a challenge

Q:  What is the biggest challenge we face once a project has been given the go-ahead, before implementation can start?
A:  Managing expectations and client involvement. Often the business does not understand that we cannot necessarily do the implementation “to” them. We need to do it “with” them. This means that they need to be involved in the process. They need to commit their own time and resources. Strong leadership is vital, and commitment to engage the correct stakeholders is critical to the success of the project.

My business partner and I are very passionate about procurement… It’s such an exciting area to be in because you can touch a whole ecosystem of suppliers, buyers and users.

Listen to the full interview with co-founder and director of Supply Chain Partner, Chimae Goncalves.