Sourcing from India - The Europe Perspective

Johan van Hamme, Managing Director of Clear Vantage and Cu-Factor made several presentations in Mumbai and Pune on “Sourcing from India – The EU Perspective” for audiences like Chemexcil, EECP India, Generation Next Business Consulting (GNBC) and BizXchange (The Times of India).

The same topic was also discussed during the Global Economic Summit at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai in front of a huge international audience.

The objectives of the various meetings was to highlight mutual opportunities between India and Europe in terms of sourcing by paying attention on how to make the story successful from a process point-of-view. Strong emphasis was also given to the various business and cultural differences, and characteristics of the most important countries were highlighted.

The full story that was positively embraced by many Indian companies was built out of:

• The current economical situation in Europe on a country basis
• Business culture awareness and characteristics in the EU
• Requirements from EU buyers
• Recent changes due to the crisis in Europe
• Trends, pro’s and con’s per vertical and/or industry 
• Opportunities for Indian companies in terms of sourcing and/or investments

These strong guidelines developed thanks to strong sourcing and supply chain management experiences, will certainly support India in further constructing the “Business Bridge to Europe”.

Supply Chain Consulting in Europe

Despite the ongoing crisis, Europe remains one of the richest and most developed areas on this globe. In order to sustain at short to mid term, many companies are looking to pull costs out of their organization in more creative ways then just reducing their headcount.


So, Supply Chain Consulting has strong opportunities on this continent.

Companies active in this “ball game” might be quite successful but only if they are able to demonstrate positive stories in anticipation of potential projects.

Without testimonials and credibility you are nowhere!

The impact of these “smart people” should not only remain restricted to facing the “external world” (called vendors) but they need to work intensively “on the inside” too.

The mix of straight cost-reductions with process improvement capability is a very strong weapon.

Just some fundamental things to keep in mind when evaluating Supply Chain Consulting specialists:

• Thorough knowledge of cost-reduction methodologies is key
• Process capability across the board is essential
• The art of communication is more then just an enabler
• Implementation possibility going from A to B
• Consider Change management as a true science
• Show “flexibility”, one of the “golden words” of the 21st century
• The ability to use content in the right context of the customer
• More then only PowerPoint specialist but real professionals.

Now it is the time to find and select the right tree. Take your time and ask a lot of precise questions ….. The golden boys and girls do exist!