中国制造业低成本优势消失之后……

中国制造业的低成本优势似乎正迅速消逝中。然而，在电子产业中，有些领域从未真的认为能从中国取得低成本的好处。电子产品供应链的主要厂商们就是其中之一。 从劳动力的角度来看，中国的工资明显低于许多其它国家。任何重度依靠体力劳动的制造商在此都明显占有优势。然而，如同EMS顾问Charlie Barnhart和其它分析师的报告，劳动力其实仅占电子制造业中一小部份的费用。总落地成本(landed cost)才是衡量供应链成本的更有效方法。 然而，电子产品制造商十分强调中国和西方之间的明显价格落差。供应链中的企业追随其客户在海外建立据点。如组件制造商在中国建立工厂，以维持低价格。在远东地区的采购市场也已经习于为每个组件单元付出较少的成本。但这对于渠道而言其实是一个很大的问题。 特别是经销商，主要透过大量销售组件的基础而获利。在许多情况下，经销商的利润取决于其销售组件的每单位价格。例如同样在25%的组件利润下，销售一款5美元的组件当然比1美元组件所得到的利润更高。但全球制造商通常在较低价格的地区寻找并采购组件，因而削弱了其合作伙伴的利润。 然而，由于近来中国的工资增加以及人民币升值，在中国的OEM和EMS公司正面对成本攀升的问题。“中国每年工资成长9%～35%，再加上物流成本上涨，传统上低成本国家的供应链成本也变得更高”，市调公司Gartner指出。 按照西方的标准来看，中国的供应链效率仍有进一步提升的空间。在美国，OEM从十年前开始强化其供应商基础，为相同的组件寻找多家供应来源，以保持组件价格的竞争力，但OEM还得为多家供应来源投资于供应商管理。每一家供应商都需分别经由电子数据交换(EDI)传送的简单的供需资料，因而与多家供应商交易其实也意味着多次成本。 在中国，供应商、经销商与客户之间的关系是高度分散的。但提供广泛的组件产品组合的安富利(Avnet)和艾睿电子(Arrow)在此区则是例外。在中国的中小型经销商合作伙伴经销一系列品牌，就如同在美国与欧洲的制造商代表模式一样。因此，OEM必须与多家伙伴厂商共同合作，才能满足材料清单(BOM)的需求。 本文授权编译自EBN Online，版权所有，谢绝转载 本文下一页：中国人做事看面子不看合约，西方人很头疼

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• 中国经济和电子产业当前面临的10大挑战x6vesmc

{pagination} 这些经验让西方公司学会管理较少的供应商就能减少开销并提高效率。然而，要在中国建立营运业务也常让西方国家感到犹豫不决，特别是因为在中国的业务关系主要建立在传统关系，而非合约等基本原则。 一位名叫Luca的部落客在其China Sourcing Blog部落格上写道：“与中国供应商的合约管理通常较少依赖于合约的履行，更重要的是经营彼此的关系，所以，国际采购团队传统上所用的许多标准合约条款通常不适用或无法用于中国，甚至可能为供应商造成不必要的负担，最后导致合约的总成本增加。” 对于在中国的许多西方公司而言，至今在中国所省下的成本仍能弥补在工资和运输方面的费用。然而，这种优势正迅速消失中。近来，许多在中国建立营运据点的西方企业已经开始注意到成本的 问题了。UPS与IDG的《供应链变化》(Change in the (Supply) Chain)年度报告中指出，“就区域来看，亚洲高科技公司的首要任务是降低供应链总成本。由于短至中期无法显著推动供需成长，许多公司更致力于积极进行 成本与资本控制，以尽量维持基本开销。” 然而，令人振奋的是，在过去两年来，亚洲高科技公司已经尽可能地关注客户与消费者的需求，致力于提高服务水准了。显然地，这些企业似乎体认到除了持续关注成本优势以外，还必须提升服务竞争力度。而这也为电子经销商带来了一个巨大的机会。 本文授权编译自EBN Online，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：Is China's Low-Wage Edge Waning?，by Barbara Jorgensen, EBN Community Editor

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• 开启服务线路板及电子组装行业新纪元
• 使用机器人取代工人，中国制造还剩什么优势呢？
• 中国经济和电子产业当前面临的10大挑战x6vesmc

{pagination} Is China's Low-Wage Edge Waning? Barbara Jorgensen China's cost advantages in manufacturing and exports seem to be rapidly waning, according to numerous reports. There's a segment of the electronics market, however, that never really believed China was a bargain to begin with. Key players in the electronics supply chain are among them. From a strict labor standpoint, China's wages are clearly lower than many other nations'. Any manufacturer heavily dependent on physical labor has a clear advantage. However, as EMS consultant Charlie Barnhart and other analysts report, labor is a small portion of the expenses in electronics manufacturing. Total landed cost is a better measure for supply-chain savings. Nevertheless, electronics manufacturers perceive a significant price difference between China and the West. Supply chain companies have followed their customers offshore. Component makers have established factories in China and have kept prices low. The procurement market in the Far East has become accustomed to paying less per component unit. This continues to be a big problem for the channel. Distributors, in particular, make their money on volume component sales. In many cases, a distributor's profit is tied to the per-unit price of the parts they sell. A 25 percent margin on a $5 component is higher than the same margin on a $1 part. (As US companies heard during the recent presidential campaign, "Do the math.") Global manufacturers typically source components in low-price regions, eroding their partners' margins. As China's wages and currency appreciate, however, OEMs and EMS companies in China are now faced with rising costs. "Annual wage increases between 9% and 35% in China, combined with rising logistics expenses, are leading to higher core supply chain costs in a traditionally low-cost country," research firm Gartner notes in its annual ranking of the "Supply Chain Top 25." By Western standards, there is room for efficiency in the China supply chain. In the US, OEMs began decades ago to consolidate their supplier base. Engaging multiple suppliers for the same components keeps prices competitive, but supplier management also requires investment by the OEM. Simple transmissions of supply and demand data via EDI are unique to each supplier, so multiple engagements mean multiple costs. In China, supplier, distributor, and customer relationships are highly fragmented. Broadline distributors, such as Avnet and Arrow, that carry multiple lines of components are the exception in the region. Small and midsized distributor partners in China carry a select group of brands, similar to the manufacturers' rep model in the US and EU. As a result, OEMs have to engage with numerous partners to fulfill a bill of materials (BOM.) Experience has taught Western companies that managing fewer suppliers cuts down on expense and increases efficiency. However, Western companies are hesitant to impose their practices in China. Business relationships there are based more on tradition than on the bottom line. In a series of articles published on the Website The China Sourcing Blog one author identified only as "Luca" writes: Contract management with Chinese suppliers generally relies less on contract enforcement and more on relationship management, so many of the standard contractual clauses traditionally used by international procurement teams are either not applicable or not enforceable in China, and thus create unnecessary burdens on suppliers and ultimately increase the total costs of the contract. For many Western companies, the cost savings in China have so far offset wage and transportation expenses. However, that advantage is quickly eroding. Companies in the Far East -- both companies headquartered in the West and those indigenous to China -- are concerned about costs. In their annual "Change in the (Supply) Chain" survey, UPS and IDG report: Our survey results show that at a regional level, the top priority for Asian high-tech companies has been to reduce total supply chain costs. Given the inability, at least in the short term to medium term, to materially affect demand and sales growth, many companies have focused on successfully preserving their bottom lines with aggressive cost containment and capital preservation efforts. However, it is encouraging that, in the context of the past two years, Asian high-tech companies have done what they can to keep an eye on the customer/consumer with efforts to improve service levels. It seems clear that these businesses recognize that while competing on cost is not going away anytime soon, they also must be service competitive. This realization is a big opportunity for electronics distributors. In upcoming blogs, I will look at how the channel has scaled its product and service offerings to align with customer requirements in the Far East.