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，中國制造業遭遇了新的挫折——在銷售有毒玩具、受污染寵物食品和化學物質超標的睡衣等事件后，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部分責任，它們力求降低成本，位于長長的供應鏈的頂端，而供應鏈中的每個供應商都在與相鄰的供應商相互擠壓。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，真正管理好供應商呢？如果要確保標準就必須提高價格，那么激烈的競爭者將如何應對呢？

  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，教訓是“當心——你得到的供應商安排往往是自己討價還價的結果”，無論供應商是設在中國東莞、印度德里還是德國杜塞爾多夫。跨國公司需要尋求的安排是：供應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品質量和創新。

  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任問題的公司有兩個共同點：一是首席執行官親自承擔責任，因為他或她將此視為公司價值觀問題；二是確保在出現問題時，所有的員工都感到自己有權去解決問題。

  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.
  每位首席執行官都應該問自己：1）我是否為一線員工制定了均衡的衡量標準，還是他們偏愛成本管理？（我最近做了哪些事來獎賞舉報質量問題的人？）；2）我是否得到了自己“應得的”單向供應商，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系？長期而言，建立最佳關系的基礎是互利預期，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
  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度，絕不隱瞞，然后清楚說明它們對中國供應商采取的毫不妥協的措施，以徹底消除問題。應該搞清楚：持續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務的表現。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。對于監管當局或西方制造商而言，無論監控產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)董事長和創始人

  THE ACADEMIC/學者
  馬丁•克里斯托弗(Martin Christopher)#p#分頁標題#e#

  Sourcing from low-cost locations can bring obvious benefits but also exposes a business to hidden risks.
  從低成本地區采購能夠帶來明顯的好處，但也會讓業務面臨隱藏的風險。

  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.管理人員應全面審核  供應鏈（無論它有多長），以找出其中的薄弱環節，然后解決這些弱點。盡管已經外包出去，但供應鏈仍然是你的責任，應當作為自己組織和生產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.
  當日產(Nissan)進入英國時，它在供應商處建立了永久的供應商發展團隊，以確保供應鏈的方方面面都能符合自己的高標準。就全球采購來看，通過中介打交道，也許還不如直接與供應商合作。在質量保證計劃方面與供應商合作會耗費大量管理時間，但可能有助于降低供應中斷的風險。

  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. 
  要想將風險最小化，管理人員需要更為仔細地審視供應鏈。如果存在僥幸心理，企業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.
  全球商業面臨的嚴峻現實是，制造商必須持續提高供應鏈各個環節的質量，以達到全球標準，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，質量是可以提高的。精益技術讓管理人員、工人和供應商能夠更好地審視和控制供應鏈。它們還有助于應對從政治到金融等各種風險，以及自然災害和網絡攻擊。

  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.
  中小型生產商缺乏資源，無力部署與規模更大的對手相同的過程，但為了在全球銷售產品，它們必須符合同樣的要求和規定。解決方案是建立在開放標準、協同和自動化基礎上的下一代精益制造業。

  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正成為中國中小型生產商的核心目標。要想產生這些績效，供應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
  作者是加州企業軟件公司QAD總裁兼董事長