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These three scams, or variations on them, could occur when doing business anywhere in the world. I’ve had to assist UK businesses regarding all three of them recently, with regards to communications they’ve had with China. Read on… 1.Notarisation of contracts Imagine that you're a manufacturer or supplier and you receive an unexpected enquiry from China. How exciting! You develop the enquiry over several weeks, and get to the point where you’re both ready to sign a contra

For many businesses, particularly manufacturers and producers, success overseas depends on finding and building strong partnerships with distributors. Here are our top tips, to help you do it right: 1) Take the initiative Yes, it’s true that sometimes a distributor will make the first approach. They may be responding to your website (“We’re looking for distributors”), or have seen an ad you placed through some 3rd party service. They may even walk right up to your stand

China’s official holiday schedule for 2018 – the year of the dog - was released in November. Here are some reasons SMEs should take note of

If you've ever sold large capital equipment to a customer in China, the chances are you will have found it a challenging experience. And if you talk with anyone else who has done it, it's likely that they will reel of a similar list of challenges to the ones you had to deal with. The stories often seem to follow a similar pattern. That's because your customers' normal plan of engagement is affected by their shared "worldview". Worldview means a way of seeing the world whi

[This article was written by Matthew Grandage for Chamber International and first appeared on their website on 30th June 2016. It is included on the Grandage Consulting website by agreement]. Rolled out by China's State Council in May 2015, Made In China 2025 is a ten-year action plan to upgrade and promote national manufacturing capability in the following sectors: New advanced information technology Automated machine tools & robotics Aerospace and aeronautical equipment M

On this current 25 -day visit to China I've been reminded what a crucial role meals play in doing business here, and how much they vary depending on the type of relationships involved. Here are just four examples taken from the last week – they are not supposed to be an exhaustive list, only illustrations of variety! I've written this fairly fast (just about to go out for another meal!) so please excuse … 1) Formal welcome – team building Returning again to a large city in

Successful market entry depends on getting the right information in advance, but what information do you need and how do you access this for overseas markets? When bringing a new product or service to our home (UK) market, we may not be aware of all the knowledge we are drawing on – not just from formal market research – the who, what, where and when information, but also what we inherently understand about our own culture. We ‘know’ for instance that in the UK consumers r

You should register your IP assets in China before entering the market, and begin the process now. Read Matthew's Chamber International feature on designing your IPR strategy for China here. #culture #business #relationships #management #intellectualproperty #distributor

China's trade figures for December were actually better than feared, prompting some commentators to suggest that the worst is over. It’s a confusing picture – should British exporters be worried? Read Matthew's new blog article for Chamber International here. #culture #business #relationships #management

Grandage Consulting is pleased to announce that our acclaimed keynote paper Chinese Business Relationships - Are We Strangers Or Friends? is now being used on the Website of Chamber International here. #culture #business #relationships #management #distributor

An experienced SME manager sets up a successful production facility in China, but there are still things he wishes he'd known in advance… Lots of Western businesses have set out to establish production in China (and other countries too, of course) – some successfully, others less so. Each story is unique, and we should beware of elevating specific instances to become generalizations, but they can at least help us to think. I heard a fascinating story of this type from Rob N

"Business in China can be easy" – that's what Andy Clayton, CEO of LNP China says, and he's staking everything on that assertion. Having experienced the ups and downs of working in an office in China for more than ten years, I'm keen to know more. The first time we met I was struck by his enthusiasm, so I start out by asking what it is that excites and inspires him about the work of LNP China? "That is such a great question! I have been involved in business in China, and pa

'Intellectual property' is one of those subjects on which everyone has opinions, and it's very hard to find a real expert. But James Love is a real expert. James' legal practice specialises in sorting out international IP issues – China has been an important focus for him for many years, and he visits there regularly. His senior colleague at James Love Legal in Harrogate is Lindsey Wrenn, a Registered Trade Mark Attorney; together they help British companies protect their I

Q. What challenges do you face doing business in China? A. Language and feng shui The first answer came as no surprise, but feng shui? Really? DWA Architects is a chartered architectural practice with offices in York, Warrington and London. Over 26 years it has built up an international reputation for excellence in the field of post-hospital care – from childcare to elderly care, delivering tailored accommodation for dementia sufferers, for example. Mel Fairbourn-Varley, D

Last week I was interviewed by George Baily - Digital Marketing specialist at KnowledgePower. You can read the full article here: https://www.knowledgepowerltd.com/pg/uk-china-business-interview-with-matthew-grandage/ #SME #business #export #marketing

Q. How do they support young reps in China, with no rep office? A. WeChat Today I'm talking with Stephanie Day, Operations Manager for the Southampton-based company Opportunity China - "a gateway for English teachers, lecturers and au pairs to find exciting and enriching teaching positions in China". Founded by university friends in 2011, the business is now well established with 6 full-time staff (3 in the UK, 3 in China), plus a network of associates who bring specialist s

My new keynote article Chinese Business Relationships - Are We Strangers or Friends? just went on line (click title to read). It's written with British SMEs in mind, as they try to understand the nature of their relationships with Chinese partners and customers. I've given it a dedicated page on this website because it contains such fundemental know-how - do make sure you read it! It's the kind of content that I can offer at training events too. #culture #export #supplych

Building bridges to China through scientific research A few weeks ago I stumbled across the story of a small Hampshire-based high-tech materials company who won a £400k order from Zhengzhou University (where my wife and I were students back in 1999-2000). This deal got them quite a bit of attention; last year they were even "favourited" by Prime Minister David Cameron on Twitter! This was all too good to resist, so I phoned them up and asked if I could pay a visit. Plasma Q

Driving their suppliers to guarantee new levels of service quality in west Sichuan Our second SME Spotlight features a very different kind of business from the first. Extravagant Yak Travel Company (EY) are Tibet travel specialists offering “personalised tours on The Roof of the World”. They are a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in Chengdu, Sichuan, whose holding company is in Hong Kong and whose founders come from Canada and the USA. Earlier in April I had pleasure

No secret, just good business practice... and patience Our first ever SME Spotlight features a small, family-owned engineering manufacturer from my home town in West Yorkshire - Arthur Jackson & Co Ltd. Jacksons was founded more than 60 years ago, and they make high precision patterns, dies and other types of tooling in metal, resin and wood. Custom made for some of the world's biggest brands, these are used to produce items as diverse as high-speed turbos for diesel engine