THEPROBLEM/问题

  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，中国制造业遭遇了新的挫折——在销售有毒玩具、受污染宠物食品和化学物质超标的睡衣等事件后，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层必须为此承担部分责任，它们力求降低成本，位于长长的供应链的顶端，而供应链中的每个供应商都在与相邻的供应商相互挤压。随着圣诞旺季的临近，西方公司和中国究竟能采取哪些切实措施，真正管理好供应商呢？如果要确保标准就必须提高价格，那么激烈的竞争者将如何应对呢？

  THE ADVICE/建议

  THE CONSULTANT/咨询顾问
  詹姆斯•艾伦(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.
  对跨国公司来说，教训是“当心——你得到的供应商安排往往是自己讨价还价的结果”，无论供应商是设在中国东莞、印度德里还是德国杜塞尔多夫。跨国公司需要寻求的安排是：供应商获得报偿不仅是因为它们拉低了成本，还因为它们促进了产品质量和创新。

  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.
  贝恩咨询(Bain & Company)最近的研究显示，在价值链中能很好地解决责任问题的公司有两个共同点：一是首席执行官亲自承担责任，因为他或她将此视为公司价值观问题；二是确保在出现问题时，所有的员工都感到自己有权去解决问题。

  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.
  每位首席执行官都应该问自己：1）我是否为一线员工制定了均衡的衡量标准，还是他们偏爱成本管理？（我最近做了哪些事来奖赏举报质量问题的人？）；2）我是否得到了自己“应得的”单向供应商，因为我在成本上拼命压榨它们，而不是与它们建立一种真正的伙伴关系？长期而言，建立最佳关系的基础是互利预期，而不是检查。

  The writer is a partner at Bain & Company
  作者是贝恩咨询合伙人

  THE PR/公关
  罗伯特•戴伦施耐德(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.
  中国制造商制造的问题，也许会给这个国家留下几十年都难以消除的疮疤。它们在世界各地的消费者需要采取强有力的行动才能解决这个问题。首先，西方公司需要对问题的严重程度持完全坦率的态度，绝不隐瞒，然后清楚说明它们对中国供应商采取的毫不妥协的措施，以彻底消除问题。应该搞清楚：持续的不安全制造将对中国公司造成严重后果。

  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.
  美国公司需要派检查员去评估制造业务的表现。如有必要，这个过程的成本将纳入价格之中。中国制造商还必须积极管好自己的工作场所。对于监管当局或西方制造商而言，无论监控产品和过程有多么困难，它们都别无选择。再有任何召回事件都会玷污它们的声誉，而且可能无法挽回。

  The writer is chairman and founder of The Dilenschneider Group
  作者是戴伦施耐德集团(Dilenschneider Group)董事长和创始人

  THE ACADEMIC/学者
  马丁•克里斯托弗(Martin Christopher)#p#分页标题#e#

  Sourcing from low-cost locations can bring obvious benefits but also exposes a business to hidden risks.
  从低成本地区采购能够带来明显的好处，但也会让业务面临隐藏的风险。

  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.管理人员应全面审核  供应链（无论它有多长），以找出其中的薄弱环节，然后解决这些弱点。尽管已经外包出去，但供应链仍然是你的责任，应当作为自己组织和生产过程的一部分来对待。

  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.
  当日产(Nissan)进入英国时，它在供应商处建立了永久的供应商发展团队，以确保供应链的方方面面都能符合自己的高标准。就全球采购来看，通过中介打交道，也许还不如直接与供应商合作。在质量保证计划方面与供应商合作会耗费大量管理时间，但可能有助于降低供应中断的风险。

  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. 
  要想将风险最小化，管理人员需要更为仔细地审视供应链。如果存在侥幸心理，企业可能要付出高昂的代价。

  The writer is a professor of marketing and logistics at Cranfield School of Management
  作者是克兰菲尔德管理学院(Cranfield School of Management)营销及物流教授

  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.
  全球商业面临的严峻现实是，制造商必须持续提高供应链各个环节的质量，以达到全球标准，否则就面临被淘汰的可能。

  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，质量是可以提高的。精益技术让管理人员、工人和供应商能够更好地审视和控制供应链。它们还有助于应对从政治到金融等各种风险，以及自然灾害和网络攻击。

  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.
  中小型生产商缺乏资源，无力部署与规模更大的对手相同的过程，但为了在全球销售产品，它们必须符合同样的要求和规定。解决方案是建立在开放标准、协同和自动化基础上的下一代精益制造业。

  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.
  附加值和高效率生产正成为中国中小型生产商的核心目标。要想产生这些绩效，供应链过程必须保持活力和流动性。

  The writer is president and chairman of QAD, a California-based enterprise software company
  作者是加州企业软件公司QAD总裁兼董事长