THEPROBLEM/問題

  Recently China's manufacturing industry suffered a new setback on top of tales of toxic toys, tainted pet food and chemical-drenched pyjamas when Mattel announced a third recall of toys.
  最近，中國制造業(yè)遭遇了新的挫折——在銷售有毒玩具、受污染寵物食品和化學(xué)物質(zhì)超標(biāo)的睡衣等事件后，美泰(Mattel)宣布第三次召回玩具。

  Some of the blame must lie with sloppy management by companies in the west, which cut corners and are at the top of a long supply chain in which each supplier squeezes and is squeezed by its neighbours. As the Christmas season approaches, what practical steps can companies in the west and China really take to police suppliers? If prices have to rise to pay for assured standards, how will fierce competitors manage this?
  西方公司松垮的管理層必須為此承擔(dān)部分責(zé)任，它們力求降低成本，位于長長的供應(yīng)鏈的頂端，而供應(yīng)鏈中的每個供應(yīng)商都在與相鄰的供應(yīng)商相互擠壓。隨著圣誕旺季的臨近，西方公司和中國究竟能采取哪些切實措施，真正管理好供應(yīng)商呢？如果要確保標(biāo)準(zhǔn)就必須提高價格，那么激烈的競爭者將如何應(yīng)對呢？

  THE ADVICE/建議

  THE CONSULTANT/咨詢顧問
  詹姆斯•艾倫(James Allen)

  The lesson for multinational corporations is "beware - you tend to get the supplier arrangement you bargained for", whether suppliers are based in Dongguan City, Delhi or Düsseldorf. Multinationals need to seek out arrangements where suppliers are rewarded not only for driving down costs but also for driving up product quality and innovation.
  對跨國公司來說，教訓(xùn)是“當(dāng)心——你得到的供應(yīng)商安排往往是自己討價還價的結(jié)果”，無論供應(yīng)商是設(shè)在中國東莞、印度德里還是德國杜塞爾多夫�？鐕�公司需要尋求的安排是：供應(yīng)商獲得報償不僅是因為它們拉低了成本，還因為它們促進了產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量和創(chuàng)新。

  Recent research by Bain has shown that companies that best addressed the issue of accountability in the value chain had two things in common: the CEO took responsibility personally because he or she saw it as a matter of corporate values and made sure that all employees felt empowered to resolve problems as they arose.
  貝恩咨詢(Bain & Company)最近的研究顯示，在價值鏈中能很好地解決責(zé)任問題的公司有兩個共同點：一是首席執(zhí)行官親自承擔(dān)責(zé)任，因為他或她將此視為公司價值觀問題；二是確保在出現(xiàn)問題時，所有的員工都感到自己有權(quán)去解決問題。

  The questions every CEO should ask are: a) do I have balanced measures for employees on the front lines or are they biased towards cost management (and what have I done lately to reward the whistleblower who speaks up for quality?); and b) am I getting the one-dimensional suppliers I deserve because I pound them down on costs rather than create a true partnership? In the long term, the best relationships will be built upon mutually beneficial expectations, not inspections.
  每位首席執(zhí)行官都應(yīng)該問自己：1）我是否為一線員工制定了均衡的衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，還是他們偏愛成本管理？（我最近做了哪些事來獎賞舉報質(zhì)量問題的人？）；2）我是否得到了自己“應(yīng)得的”單向供應(yīng)商，因為我在成本上拼命壓榨它們，而不是與它們建立一種真正的伙伴關(guān)系？長期而言，建立最佳關(guān)系的基礎(chǔ)是互利預(yù)期，而不是檢查。

  The writer is a partner at Bain & Company
  作者是貝恩咨詢合伙人

  THE PR/公關(guān)
  羅伯特•戴倫施耐德(Robert Dilenschneider)

  Manufacturers in China may be creating an issue that will scar that nation for decades. Their customers around the world need to act forcibly to address it. First, western companies need to be completely candid about the magnitude of the problem, hiding nothing, then spelling out the uncompromising steps they are taking with Chinese suppliers to eliminate it completely. It should be made clear that continued unsafe manufacturing will have severe consequences for Chinese companies.
  中國制造商制造的問題，也許會給這個國家留下幾十年都難以消除的瘡疤。它們在世界各地的消費者需要采取強有力的行動才能解決這個問題。首先，西方公司需要對問題的嚴重程度持完全坦率的態(tài)度，絕不隱瞞，然后清楚說明它們對中國供應(yīng)商采取的毫不妥協(xié)的措施，以徹底消除問題。應(yīng)該搞清楚：持續(xù)的不安全制造將對中國公司造成嚴重后果。

  US companies need to send in inspectors to gauge manufacturing performance. If necessary, the cost of this process will have to be built into the price. Chinese manufacturers must also aggressively police their workplaces. However difficult it may be for the authorities or western manufacturers to monitor products and processes, there is no alternative. Any further recalls will sully their reputations, perhaps irreparably.
  美國公司需要派檢查員去評估制造業(yè)務(wù)的表現(xiàn)。如有必要，這個過程的成本將納入價格之中。中國制造商還必須積極管好自己的工作場所。對于監(jiān)管當(dāng)局或西方制造商而言，無論監(jiān)控產(chǎn)品和過程有多么困難，它們都別無選擇。再有任何召回事件都會玷污它們的聲譽，而且可能無法挽回。

  The writer is chairman and founder of The Dilenschneider Group
  作者是戴倫施耐德集團(Dilenschneider Group)董事長和創(chuàng)始人

  THE ACADEMIC/學(xué)者
  馬丁•克里斯托弗(Martin Christopher)#p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

  Sourcing from low-cost locations can bring obvious benefits but also exposes a business to hidden risks.
  從低成本地區(qū)采購能夠帶來明顯的好處，但也會讓業(yè)務(wù)面臨隱藏的風(fēng)險。

  Managers should carry out a full audit of the supply chain (however long) to identify vulnerable links - then address those weaknesses. The supply chain, though outsourced, is still your responsibility and should be treated as part of your organisation and production process.管理人員應(yīng)全面審核  供應(yīng)鏈（無論它有多長），以找出其中的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)，然后解決這些弱點。盡管已經(jīng)外包出去，但供應(yīng)鏈仍然是你的責(zé)任，應(yīng)當(dāng)作為自己組織和生產(chǎn)過程的一部分來對待。

  When Nissan arrived in the UK it installed permanent supplier development teams at its suppliers to ensure all aspects of the supply chain met its own high standards. In the context of global sourcing, direct involvement with the supplier may well be preferable to dealing at arms length through an agent. Working with suppliers on quality assurance programmes - which is costly in terms of management time - can also help reduce the risk of disrupted supplies.
  當(dāng)日產(chǎn)(Nissan)進入英國時，它在供應(yīng)商處建立了永久的供應(yīng)商發(fā)展團隊，以確保供應(yīng)鏈的方方面面都能符合自己的高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。就全球采購來看，通過中介打交道，也許還不如直接與供應(yīng)商合作。在質(zhì)量保證計劃方面與供應(yīng)商合作會耗費大量管理時間，但可能有助于降低供應(yīng)中斷的風(fēng)險。

  To minimise risks, managers need to bring a much more detailed eye to bear on the supply chain. When the process is left to chance, companies may pay a high price. 
  要想將風(fēng)險最小化，管理人員需要更為仔細地審視供應(yīng)鏈。如果存在僥幸心理，企業(yè)可能要付出高昂的代價。

  The writer is a professor of marketing and logistics at Cranfield School of Management
  作者是克蘭菲爾德管理學(xué)院(Cranfield School of Management)營銷及物流教授

  THE EXECUTIVE/高管
  帕梅拉•勒普克(Pamela Lopker)

  The tough reality of global business is that manufacturers must continually improve quality throughout the supply chain to meet global standards or risk going out of business.
  全球商業(yè)面臨的嚴峻現(xiàn)實是，制造商必須持續(xù)提高供應(yīng)鏈各個環(huán)節(jié)的質(zhì)量，以達到全球標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，否則就面臨被淘汰的可能。

  The good news is that quality can be improved. Lean technologies give managers, workers and suppliers much greater visibility and control over the supply chain. They also help deal with risks ranging from the political to the financial, as well as natural disasters and cyber attacks.
  好消息是，質(zhì)量是可以提高的。精益技術(shù)讓管理人員、工人和供應(yīng)商能夠更好地審視和控制供應(yīng)鏈。它們還有助于應(yīng)對從政治到金融等各種風(fēng)險，以及自然災(zāi)害和網(wǎng)絡(luò)攻擊。

  Small or medium-sized producers lack the resources to deploy the same processes as their larger rivals, yet in order to sell to global retailers they must meet the same mandates and rules. The solution is the next generation of lean manufacturing, which is built on open standards, collaboration and automation.
  中小型生產(chǎn)商缺乏資源，無力部署與規(guī)模更大的對手相同的過程，但為了在全球銷售產(chǎn)品，它們必須符合同樣的要求和規(guī)定。解決方案是建立在開放標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、協(xié)同和自動化基礎(chǔ)上的下一代精益制造業(yè)。

  Added value and efficient production is becoming a core objective for China's small and medium-sized producers. The supply chain processes that yield such results need to be crisp and fluid.
  附加值和高效率生產(chǎn)正成為中國中小型生產(chǎn)商的核心目標(biāo)。要想產(chǎn)生這些績效，供應(yīng)鏈過程必須保持活力和流動性。

  The writer is president and chairman of QAD, a California-based enterprise software company
  作者是加州企業(yè)軟件公司QAD總裁兼董事長