Made in China
Everyone is talking about China’s economy. Their economic growth has been constantly more than 8% per year. There is no sign that their economic growth will be slowing down. We see “Made in China” products everywhere. Our clothes, our electronic devices, our furniture, our office equipments, our kids’ toys, ….
When I ask my friends about “Made in China” products, most of them say the price is very cheap although the quality is questionable. My mother bought a washing machine from China and she was disappointed with the quality. My friend bought a motorcycle from China and he complaints a lot because of many small problems. Another friend of mine bought a DVD player from China and he was upset too. What’s wrong with China’s QA (Quality Assurance)? Are they producing only cheap products with low quality?
In fact, many products from China are made with good quality too. Usually they are products from ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) and CM (Contract Manufacturer). What are ODM and CM? Basically they are companies that manufacture products under the brand of other companies, in many cases for American or European companies. For example, mobile phone companies, like Nokia and Motorola, manufacture their handsets in China to cut production costs. They really control QA of their products very carefully. They want to cut production costs but of course, they don’t want to destroy their own brand by producing “yet another Made in China products”.
What I am more curious now is, will we see world-class brand from China? Will we see the “next” Sony and Samsung in the electronic industry? Will we see the “next” Toyota and Hyundai in the automotive industry? My personal opinion says, may be but not soon. Still a long way to go…. At least, they have the power to do that. Let’s wait and see….