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Klaus-Dieter Hanke - ArticlesI was born on September 7, 1942 in Hirschberg/Silesia Germany.
I am an untypical German, one who is not very fond of beer or soccer. I hate pig's knuckles, but do like Asian food a lot. It is because that I moved here 20 years ago. That is of course not completely true. The real reason was that I also like Asian people, and having met a very special woman in Thailand, was the main reason for my move. After a successful apprenticeship in one of the major Radio and TV retail shops, Radio Graf in Cologne, I volunteered to join the German Air Force for two years. Having survived my Air Force years with little stress, many successful, sometimes less successful , years awaited me in the German retail business sector. I moved up the career ladder and ended up working as chief buyer for the electric and electronics goods division for ten years at one of the top three German hypermarket chain stores, Schaper Group, in Hannover. During that time, I frequently had to travel to the Far East to purchase large quantities of consumer electronics products and computer accessories for our group of companies. I was then offered a position as product manager for Crown Japan at their Hong Kong office, being responsible for sales to their international customers in Europe. When Crown Japan ceased production of their consumer electronics products in China, I joined Gemex Trading Limited the Far East buying office of German Metro Group in the capacity of product manager for consumer electronics goods. For my international readers, I should mention that Metro Group is the second largest retail group in Europe with a large number of hypermarkets and super markets in various European countries. I was traveling at least 2 months per year throughout Asia looking for new buying opportunities and enjoyed living the Asian way. After a failed attempt to move back to Germany, my wife and I returned to Hong Kong to open the Far East representative office of Clatronic International GmbH, the leading importer in Europe for small electrical home appliances and consumer electronics products. Using my extensive knowledge about Chinese and other Asian production areas I transformed the office from a single person company to a truely international trading company and sourcing office for our German principals. I was in charge of that office as Managing Director for more than ten year and founded my own company WebMediaBiz after my recent retirement in Thailand. How to Make Chinese Factory Visits More Successful - Part Six - First Impressions of the FactoryOften visiting customers are ushered quickly into the factory’s showroom giving them not enough time to register vital details. Time is money for both parties but you want to make sure that you have chosen the right partner and you must control your schedule to reserve sufficient time during your factory visits. How to Make Chinese Factory Visits More Successful - Part Five - Multiple Factory Visits Save MoneyMost importers prefer to visit as many suppliers/factories as possible during their China business trips. Unfortunately the available time for such visits is limited considering that you have to add the extensive traveling time on top. It is advisable to make proper planning and combine visits to factories which are in the same location. Otherwise you could end up spending most of your precious time sitting in factory cars instead of having more useful discussions about new projects. How to Make Chinese Factory Visits More Successful - Part Four - How Often Must You Visit a Factory?The timing and frequency of your factory visits is defined by the main reasons you are visiting the factory. It could be that you want to combine your visit with visits at Chinese Trade Fairs. Another reason could be to visit new factories for the first time for a detailed evaluation. If you are experiencing major problems with quality and/or delivery you must take immediate action in order to avoid financial losses. How to Make Chinese Factory Visits More Successful - Part Three - Inspecting the Manufacturing AreasAfter the first impressions of the factory you must take a tour of the different factory areas and verify whether the factory is indeed practicing an effective Quality Management System. Let’s start where materials first enter the factory. This provides a clear indication if the factory takes quality control seriously. How to Make Chinese Factory Visits More Successful - Part Two - Making Your Trip PreparationsFactory visits are not a holiday trip. They differ from Trade Fair visits where you have time until the exhibition opens the gates. The factory starts early and you should take full advantage of it. If you have your own driver you can leave the hotel at any time. Otherwise you will wait until the factory driver arrives with his car to pick you up, assuming that you made prior arrangements with the factory. How to Attend Chinese Trade Fairs More Effectively - Part Three - Legal Issues at Trade FairsJust recently during the Berlin IFA Fair, legal representatives of MP3 license holders swarmed that fair on the first day and confiscated many products from various suppliers’ booths that were found w/o proper license. Several booths were also closed by the police because they could not provide proper documents that they had paid the license fee as requested by law. Some were allowed to reopen their booths after they presented the evidence to the police. How to Attend Chinese Trade Fairs More Effectively - Part Two - Talk to the Right PeopleSometimes products are displayed at a supplier’s booth but nobody is there to sell them. If you ask around someone will probably tell you that the products belong a friend and they are just doing him a favor by displaying them. In many cases, they cannot give you any additional information and you are wasting your time. If it was an exciting new product, you can bet nobody would allow another company to display the products for them. How to Import Products From China More Successfully - Part Three - Monitor Production ProgressEvery factory is on a tight production schedule and they depend on the punctual delivery of their components, raw materials and their packing materials. If any of them is delayed, it automatically delays production and can mean late shipment. It is therefore essential to check continuously with your factory for the production progress to maintain control over your schedule. How to Import Products From China More Successfully - Part Two - Visiting Suppliers in ChinaIdentifying suitable suppliers in China is not easy because there are tens of thousands of them and you cannot visit everyone. First of all, you must filter down to the suppliers which may have the products which you want to import. The communication nowadays is much easier than 10 years ago. Today, most factories employ marketing or sales managers who can communicate reasonable well in business English. How to Make Business Negotiations in China More Successful - Part One - be Absolutely PreparedThorough trip preparations will make your business trip to China more successful and will help reduce your travel expenses. Therefore, you are best advised to prepare yourself in order to make a favorable showing when negotiating with your suppliers. Poor preparations can leave a negative impression about how your company conducts business and will not achieve the desired goals.
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