American companies taking their business to China has been a much discussed topic in recent weeks. Product recalls and unsafe production practices have caused a public backlash that may express itself throughout the next few months, but considering the fact that none of the big players are vowing to pull their production facilities out of that region, what is it that they know which you might not yet have caught onto?
The facts are simple but compelling: moving business operations to China and profiting from the country's explosive growth and lack of governmental red tape and regulations is such a surefire guarantee of profit that not even public opinion and high profile recalls will dissuade the industry's heavy hitters from continuing on with their business practice. As a small business owner, you too can profit from this kind of expansion simply because of the low wages and lack of regulatory oversight that make China a powerhouse for United States business interests.
While it may appear odd to have items manufactured in China by American companies, consider that the majority of these goods are not imported to the United States. Instead, they are being sold to the Chinese consumer and thereby tap into a market that heretofore was all but closed to a business performing the same operations in America and hoping to export the goods to China. This actually benefits the small entrepreneur more than it does the big Fortune 500 Company in that the entrepreneur is able to move quickly in a rapidly changing corporate landscape in China while the large company will require approval from a number of departments and shareholders.
Of course, there is more to growing your business with the help of outsourcing and offshoring to China than simply setting up shop and hanging a sign in a shop window. For example, while governmental red tape and hurdles to be overcome are much reduced when compared to the United States, local taxing agencies are not so quickly vanquished. As a matter of fact, those who believe the American tax system to be Byzantine have not experienced the Chinese system such as it applies for the foreign business entity. Meticulous adherence to the tax codes is vital for the survival of your business, and a failure to understand the rules and regulations will most likely lead to your losing a lot more money than you think possible. Get the help and counsel of qualified professionals to ensure you are not hemorrhaging tax money where it is not needed.
Be wise when selection the location for your business in China. Law enforcement and interpretations of laws and regulations vary from city to city, and you will do well to only move your operations to an area that will favor your business. This may be accomplished with the help of a Chinese partner who is aware of the local laws and their enforcement.
Last but not least, remember that cutting costs often means cutting corners, and while the larger companies are able to mostly recover from the hits experienced because of the recent rash of export alerts and recalls, the small business most likely will not be able to do so.
Have you ever thought about ways to improve the efficiency of you small business' fleet? If you have then you should really give GPS fleet tracking a consideration. According to a March 2008 study made by the Aberdeen group small fleets were able to quickly and successfuly employ fleet management solutions that involved GPS technology.
In the report the researches divided fleet sizes into categories based on the size ranges of the fleets. Small fleets had 1 to 10 vehicles, a medium small fleet had 11 to 50, a medium fleet had anywhere from 51 to 250, a medium large had 251 to 1000, and a large fleet was considered on that had in excess of 1000 vehicles.
In addition to the different fleet size the report also tried to measure the different reasons that companies desired to employ GPS fleet tracking. The top reason mentioned by small fleets was a desire to create positive customer interactions. This response was listed by a commanding majority of the studies respondents (73%).
The different business see customer satisfaction as a key factor for their business. They wanted to generate repeat customers as well as create word-of-mouth marketing through the experience that they give their customers, whether it be an ahead of schedule delivery or an on-time service representative.
But this was by no means the only reason business wanted to find a fleet managmenet solution. These other reasons include a desire to improve response times for service or delivery calls (57%), mitigate the rising costs of fuel and other fleet maintenance related expenses (46%), increase overall productivty of workers (41%), and to improve the longevity of vehicles by reducing overall wear-and-tear on the fleet (16%).
The Aberdeen report had many interesting findings, but the one particularly interesting to small fleets (1-10 vehicles) was that fleets of this size have a better success rate with implementing GPS technology and seeing rapid benefits than large fleets (1000+ vehicles). The report states that small fleets were able to realize and increase of 25% in the amount of work orders that can be completed. The math is simple - more work orders = more revenue generated by your fleet. Who doesn't want their fleet to make more money?
Most fleets saw these types of results two years after implementation. To give a point of reference, large fleets only saw an increase in efficiency of 8%.
Small fleets also saw a significant increase in the abilities of technicians to arrive to their destinations on time. They saw this increase by 46% over a two year period. You can imagine how this might have impacted the satisfaction of the customers serviced.
When it boils down to it though, only you can really decide what will be best for you company's fleet. However, it is very likely that some form of GPS technology, whether it be simple navigation devices or the more complex fleet tracking systems, will benefit your company in a significant way. The benefits of more revenue, increased customer satifaction, and better fleet maintance could translat into a better bottom line for you business.
Both Mark Stewart & Joe Mueller are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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