05 mai 2009
Continental opens new China R&D center
High-quality ArticlesContinental AG has expanded its presence in China with a new Technology Center in Jiading, which will develop electronic and hydraulic brake systems, motor management systems and electronic controls for the Chinese automotive market.
Two of Continental business units—Chassis and Safety, and Powertrain—have invested an undisclosed amount in Jiading, near Shanghai. The company plans to design anti-locking brake systems (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) systems.
When the facilities reach their final expansion stage, about 200 engineers and technicians will be working in the center, which includes design offices, test labs for brakes, undercarriage, drive systems as well as workshops.
By 2013, Continental aims to achieve 25 percent of its sales in the region. China recently surpassed the United States as the world's second largest car manufacturer after Japan which holds the pole position.
Source: Global Supply Chain Council
17 octobre 2007
FAW-Guangzhou Automobile-Toyota JV targets logistics efficiency
Logistics management company starts operations in China
Toyota has announced that Tong Fang Global Logistics Co., Ltd. (TFGL), a logistics management joint venture it established with China FAW Group Corporation (FAW) and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. (Guangzhou Automobile) in July, has begun operations in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone. This is the first joint venture among FAW, Guangzhou Automobile and TMC. Equity shareholding in TFGL is broken down as follows: TMC: 40.0%, FAW: 35.0%, Guangzhou Automobile: 25.0%
With around 40 employees at start-up, TFGL aims to increase efficiency and reduce costs by consolidating logistics operations, which, until now, were handled by each Toyota affiliate in China contracting individually with logistics companies.
TFGL will also combine the logistics know-how cultivated separately thus far by FAW, Guangzhou Automobile and TMC and will undertake planning, computer-network-based logistics management and logistics consulting to help improve the quality of logistics at local distribution companies. Ctivities will centre on completed vehicles (vehicles manufactured in China and imported vehicles), production parts and replacement parts.
Ford starts production at new China factory
Ford Motor Co. said its newest joint-venture factory in China began operations Monday and will produce small cars under the Ford and Mazda brands for the fast-growing Chinese market.
The US$510 million (€360 million) factory in the eastern city of Nanjing will have an initial production capacity of 160,000 vehicles per year, Ford said. It said that would increase Ford's annual production capacity in China to 410,000 vehicles.
China is the world's second-biggest and fastest-growing vehicle market. Global automakers have invested billions of dollars in hopes of capturing a share of the surging growth.
"This new state-of-the-art facility will significantly increase our capacity in China, and allow us to continue our rapid growth in the market," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
The unusually flexible new factory can produce eight models on different chassis, the company said. Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, says its sales in China rose 29 percent in the first eight months of this year to 114,702 vehicles.
Ford manufactures cars in Nanjing with its Japanese affiliate, Mazda Motor Corp. and their Chinese partner, Changan Automotive Group.
Ford also sells imported models from its Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln and Volvo brands.
25 mai 2007
Logistics sector gets Suzhou expo
Global logistics integration and cooperation, technology exchange and upgrades to China’s logistics chain are some of the topics that will be discussed at the 2007 China International Logistics Technology and Services Expo towards the end of this month from May 23 to 25 in Suzhou. (The illustration IS of Suzhou, and although quaint and charming does not accurately portray the dynamic character of the city. But charm has its place.)
The expo is organized by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and the Suzhou city government.
Jiangsu is an important manufacturing base in China and the
provincial government has made strides to develop a modern logistics
industry to facilitate economic development.
It is claimed the province yielded the second-highest value of
import and export in China, amounting to $284 billion in 2006, 26.4%
higher than that in 2005.
China’s logistics market is thriving thanks to rapid economic
development and the rise of multinational companies in China. To
reflect this the expo will host a series of events, including a two-day
forum on China International Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Development, which will allow for information exchange between Chinese
officials and foreign and domestic logistics companies.
Source: China Daily
Shanghai Port second in container handling
Shanghai Port is now the second largest container port in the world.
Or, more accurately, it is the second in the number of standard
containers handled. It reached 5.885 million standard containers in the
first quarter of this year which is a rise of 28% year on year.
How long before it moves into first place?It is the first time that
the quarterly statistics have hurled it to to world second place so
the answer is ‘not long’.
Singapore currently leads the charge with Shanghai second. But seven
of the world’s top 20 container ports are in China, and their growth
rates are outstripping the rest.
Container traffic in Shanghai and seven other major Chinese ports
grew an average 53% a year between 2003 and 2005, according to figures
provided by Busan Port in South Korea.
In recent years China has poured billions of dollars into new port
facilities at Shanghai, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Ningbo, Tianjin, Guangzhou
and elsewhere. New deepwater ports and more and bigger berths have
freed China from relying on foreign ports to ship its own goods.
The list of the world’s major ports, of course, changes all the
time. It is not that many years ago that Hamburg was at the top of the
list. How long before Shanghai gets top place? Shanghai has doubled
throughput in four years so a reasonable bet is that next year it will
move to first place and a certainity is that it will do it the year
after. Where is the serious competition? All within China.
Source: People’s Daily Onine and International Herald Tribune.
13 mai 2007
Bullet trains are holiday hit
The recent May Day holidays proved, at least at one level, the
feasibility of the new bullet trains which travel at up to 200
kilometers per hour.
Chinadaily.com.cn recently conducted a survey and found that about
half of the respondents said they would like to try the trains during
the week-long holiday
Tickets for the trains have been selling fast across the country.
There are 256 bullet trains that traverse the country daily,
including 26 that set off from Beijing, but there are almost no seats
to be had.
Yu Xuejin, an official with Beijing Railway Station, was quoted by
CCTV as saying: ‘Tickets for bullet trains during the holidays were all
sold out.’
Railway departments have been handling an average of 4.26 million
passengers daily during the holiday period, exceeding that of the
Spring Festival. If all the bullet trains were totally sold out over
the holidays then it is probable they will be a major success all year
round.
Source: China Daily
IBM’s procurement operations in China
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
01 mai 2007
Sutong bridge to set world record
The Sutong Changjiang Highway Bridge in east China’s Jiangsu
Province over the Yangtze River is a cable-stayed bridge and will have
a world record 1,088 meters main span when completed in 2008. It will
be a critical link of a major transportation artery.
After the bridge is built, crossing the Yangtze River between the
cities of Suzhou and Nantong will no longer be an hour-long ferry ride.
Instead it will be five minutes on the world’s longest cable-stayed
bridge.
The foundations were not easy. Before the piles were drilled to the
depth of 395 ft, the steel casings were driven by the largest vibro
hammers available. Driving was through seven different layers of ground
consisting mainly medium dense to very dense fine sands. Each casing
weighted 135 tons with dimensions of 9.25 ft in diameter, 230 ft in
length, and wall thickness of 1″.
China Harbour Engineering, the major contractor for the Sutong
Bridge, finished driving of more than 200 casings in 6 months, in
itself some sort of world’s record. Let us hope they are officially
commended for this amazing effort.
Source: People’s Daily Online
Logistics will grow 15% in 2007
According to statistics from the National Development and Reform
Commission, National Bureau of Statistics and China Logistics Alliance
Network, the Chinese logistics industry rose 12.5% last year,
accounting for 17.1% of the total increase in the service industry.
In 2007, the total increase in logistics has continued to develop at a
faster rate than the service industry and gross domestic product (GDP).
The ratio of complete logistics’ cost to the national GDP decreased to 18.3 per cent from 18.5% in 2005. These statistics support the view that the logistic industry has a steady growth in China which will, inevitably, mean higher profits.
Source: China Daily
25 avril 2007
Danone in China
Danone, France's national "jewel", is running into a spot of bother in China. Its biggest local joint venture, contributing 5-6 per cent of group operating profits, is being sapped by a rival operation run by its mainland partner. According to Danone, Wahaha is making and selling yoghurt to erstwhile clients of the venture without putting a penny in the joint cash-till.
The sorry tale will sound remarkably familiar to old China hands. Less than a decade ago, joint ventures regularly ended in tears, with Chinese partners viewing the vehicle as little more than a means to get their hands on hard cash and clever technology. No one was exempt: in the 1990s, even cheap and cheerful retailers lost out when their stores were used to sell cheaper jeans and anything else the JV partner fancied putting in the shop window.
Danone's travails do not signal a return to these days. For one thing, JVs themselves are a tad anachronistic. Prior to China's elevation to the World Trade Organisation, they were virtually the only game in town. Today, multinationals have more options at their disposal, including mergers and acquisitions. Last year, foreign acquisitions in China totalled $31bn, according to Dealogic, up from $1bn or so in the late 1990s. Investors are more comfortable going it alone in China: English is more widely spoken and logistics have improved vastly.
None of this is much solace to Danone. It faces a long and messy legal battle that will pit it against its partner – suggesting an unhappy outcome either way. Wahaha is run by a feisty entrepreneur who calls all the shots; ejecting him would in effect mean ejecting the whole company. As a yoghurt maker, Danone should have realised that the recipe for success is all about getting the culture right.
Source: CSCC