New survey shows China's warehousing and transportation industry may be more advanced than industry expectations
November 5, 2009
The Chinese warehousing and transportation industry may be more globalised and advanced than Australian industry players think, according to a new survey.
Global Supply Chain Council (GSCC) founder Max Henry says research carried out on 125 of the council’s Chinese members found that logistics efficiency in China may be higher than commonly believed.
“The average of our respondents’ reported costs, about 10% of sales, is much lower than commonly cited estimates of China logistics costs as a percentage of GDP,” Henry says.
Jean- Cyprien Onteniente, Director of China Sales for FM Logistics, says Chinese companies also find that service quality is a more important factor than price when they are evaluating logistics service providers.
“It is good to see that the ‘price-is-everything’ mentality is less common in the market, and that companies understand that service quality is a substantial contributor to overall performance and profitability,” Onteniente says.
The survey which was completed in the middle of the year received nearly half of its valid responses from supply chain or logistics directors or managers, with an additional 15 percent coming from managing directors, general managers or chief representatives.
A sizeable number of survey respondents came from the retail and automotive sectors, with a range of other sectors such as high tech, clothing and textile, and the food and beverage sector also represented.