By Leanne Li

Now that we have established that plant tours are an absolute necessity, we can move on to how these tours should be undertaken. The following are a few basic tips to consider before you leave for China:

Make sure that the plant’s senior managers are confirmed for attending you meeting
Sometimes your contact person may say that he/she is from the plant, yet they could actually only be from a trading company with a working relationship with the plant. The problem you may encounter under such conditions is that you might be unable to meet with the senior managers of the Chinese plant. The trading company will probably just contact the salesman of the plant whom they are dealing with.

Re-confirm the schedule for your visit before travelling
Due to cultural differences, Chinese businessmen prefer short-term meeting arrangements, which is in large part different from Western norms. If you set up your visit schedule one month before your departure, make sure you confirm it again one week in advance and then double confirm one day in advance.

Plan your logistics realistically
If it’s your first time to China, you will need to ask a Chinese person or someone who’s lived in China for a while to help plan your schedule. China is a large country geographically and is not fully developed. There are simply no flights between some cities, only busy highways. The only way to reach your destination is to drive there. In some Chinese provinces it takes 2.5 hours to drive 300 kilometres, but in other provinces it could take 4 hours or even more. You need to plan carefully in order to be both realistic and efficient.

Bring small gifts to the meetings
You should prepare some small gifts which are typical and unique from your country, not necessarily expensive but something special. You can hand these out before you say goodbye to your suppliers in China, thanking them for their time and hospitality.

Leanne Li, The China Sourcing Blog

In Part 2, Leanne Li will raise several points that you should be aware of during your actual China plant visit.