Sixty-two percent of Chinese suppliers are increasing spending
on quality control, according to a recent survey of more than 200
manufacturers by Global Sources, a global business-to-business
(B2B) media company.
Chinese suppliers are responding to foreign buyers' increased
concerns about quality following recent news of China-made product
recalls in the United States, Global Sources said.
The survey also indicated that even with recent news coverage of
product recalls, 66 percent of respondents expect their exports to
increase over the next 12 months.
Regarding spending plans for the year, 10 percent of respondents
said they are increasing quality control spending by more than 20
percent, while 26 percent said spending will increase by 10 to 20
percent, and 26 percent will increase it by up to 10 percent.
The one-week survey, beginning September 10, covered suppliers
in 11 provinces, with 53 percent of respondents coming from
Guangdong Province, where the recalled products were
manufactured.
Suppliers surveyed for the report come mainly from consumer
product manufacturing industries, including electronics (27
percent), home products (12 percent), telecommunications products
(11 percent) and hardware and do-it-yourself products (8
percent).
The majority of spending on quality control is directed toward
implementing total quality management procedures in factories, with
more than 70 percent of suppliers saying it's the best way to
improve overall quality.
"We fully understand that the safety of the products we sell is
vital and we work closely with all our suppliers in China and
elsewhere to ensure they meet the appropriate regulatory approval
standards," said Jeric Ma, vice-president and general manager of
Circuit City in China. Circuit City is one of the United States'
leading providers of consumer electronics.
"This is to the mutual benefit of the consumers, the suppliers
and, naturally, to our company and our brand."
Merle A Hinrichs, chairman and CEO of Global Sources, said: "It
is certainly a way to be more competitive at a price point. But,
ultimately, the manufacturer and certainly the importer is going to
pay the price and it's going to impact the brand - the value of
that brand.
"There were defects in 1960s and 1970s when Japan was the
primary low-cost manufacturing base for US and European products.
When that base shifted to South Korea similar problems occurred.
The changes that occurred with South Korean were remarkable and I'm
seeing the same situation occur again in China," Hinrichs
added.
"Chinese suppliers, as this survey shows, are investing heavily
to help their buyers meet these requirements."
(China Daily September 26, 2007)
