The three-day “Second China Automotive Industry and Polyurethane Application Summit Forum” was successfully concluded on July 14. Mr. Manuel Yamada, Purchasing and Supply Chain Manager of GM Asia Pacific, was invited to attend the meeting and gave a special report entitled “How to Become a Qualified OEM Supplier”.
Communication with conference affairs group
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After the meeting, the reporter of Tiantian Chemical Network conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Yamada:
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ChemicalNet: What is Mr. Yamada’s opinion on this meeting?
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Yamada: That’s a good format. During this period, I communicated with sales, procurement or technical personnel of some auto parts factories and raw material suppliers, and learned a lot of information from them. It is this meeting that provides a good platform for everyone to communicate.
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ChemicalNet: So what do you think about the development prospects of China’s auto industry?
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Yamada: China’s auto industry is developing rapidly, but there are still some limitations. One thing is very worthy of recognition, that is, China’s automobile and related companies act very quickly and relatively proactively. Therefore, China’s auto industry will surely reach the world’s leading position in the future. However, due to limitations in language, technical foundation, and domestic and foreign customs clearance procedures, China’s auto industry is currently facing many difficulties. For example, Chinese auto component suppliers offer very low quotations to OEMs, and they have obvious advantages globally. Their offer also made GM’s purchasing staff quite excited. But when we went deep into the factories of these suppliers to understand the situation, we found that this is not the case. It turned out that these suppliers ignored the cost budget of some technical links when quoting, and they probably knew nothing about these technical links, so they quoted such a low price. Another problem is the language barrier. In the teleconferences on technical issues we hold with Chinese suppliers, we will explain our technical and quality regulations to suppliers, but our regulations are often misinterpreted by suppliers. And the suppliers were afraid or unwilling to ask GM for help, and the resulting products were terrible. Issues concerning import and export procedures are also prominent. We have found a number of high-quality suppliers in China, but they have no experience in import and export, and do not understand the specific operation procedures of foreign customs clearance. It also creates a lot of problems for our supply chain. Our current solution is to send specialized personnel to each supplier’s factory to teach them how to handle import and export procedures. So far it seems to be working very well, and the vendor is very welcoming of this approach.
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Tiantian Chemical Network: Domestic and foreign enterprises lack a platform for business cooperation, and Tiantian Chemical Network hopes to establish such a communication platform to build a bridge for business activities at home and abroad.
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Yamada: That’s a great idea. As I mentioned earlier, the Chinese auto market is developing very well, which has also attracted many foreign companies to do business in China. They don’t know anything about the situation in China, and at first they think that any problem can be solved by relying on their own economic advantages. However, when they came to China, they found that this was not the case. They did not know how to buy land, build factories, how to apply for government approval, etc. In the end, they returned without success and were in a very embarrassing situation. If there is a professional organization familiar with the domestic situation to provide them with advice and consultation, and assist them in handling these procedures, I believe they can develop smoothly in China. At the same time, domestic enterprises also want to know foreign information. Many Chinese companies have asked me about the specific situation of this industry in the world, and they urgently need such a medium.
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ChemicalNet: So at present, for the kind of enterprises you mentioned, the best way should be to establish joint ventures with domestic enterprises.
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Yamada: Yes. If your website can build such a platform, it will be very beneficial to the chemical industry. So I suggest that your website expand your information platform after the polyurethane business matures, such as developing into the automobile, electronics and other industries. I believe that the prospects of this industry will be very good.
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Tiantian Chemical Network: Our current main business is still concentrated in the field of polyurethane, and we also provide information on organic, rubber and plastic, and equipment. In the future, we may also consider other fields of business. However, currently constrained by factors such as staffing, we still hope to refine and strengthen our business in the chemical industry. We hope that every market consultant on Tiantian Chemical Network can provide customers with accurate and reliable market consulting services. To do this, we need to provide consultants with a lot of opportunities for on-site practice and knowledge accumulation. Qualified consultants.
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Yamada: Yes. The information industry is a very sensitive industry, you must provide realOnly with accurate and accurate industry information can we maintain our industry reputation. Some of our suppliers have also hired consulting companies, and if we finally find out that their information is wrong or inaccurate, the suppliers will abandon these consulting agencies. So one of your advantages is that you are a local company in China, and you have a good understanding of China’s market conditions and operating methods.
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Tiantian Chemical Network: Do you have any suggestions for Tiantian Chemical Network?
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Yamada: I hope your website can provide some introductions and consulting services of new technologies in the industry and the operation process of domestic and foreign enterprises. I said before that many domestic suppliers cannot fully understand the technical regulations of OEMs. If a professional organization can introduce foreign technologies to these suppliers, then their product quality will be guaranteed. Similarly, if there are professional institutions that can provide operation process introduction and professional consultation for foreign companies that want to set up factories in China, it will be of great help to these companies.
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ChemicalNet: Thank you! I hope that Mr. Yamada will participate in more of our activities in the future.
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Yamada: I thought you had a great meeting. I am indeed busy with work, but when you have such activities in the future, I will try my best to spare time to participate. If you need my advice and help in your work, you can contact me at any time. In addition, please post a group photo of the meeting to me as a souvenir after the meeting, thank you!
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ChemicalNet: Thank you! Have a nice trip!
Yamada: Thank you!