Eric Westerduin thinks of himself as a matchmaker.
“I’m trying to match the needs of the business with the capabilities of the supplier,” he explained to host Kelly Barner on a recent episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast.
Eric is the Founder and Chief Problem Solver at GO Get Made, a global sourcing and manufacturing company that specializes in helping businesses optimize their supply chains and extract the most value from their overseas partners.
He has boots-on-the-ground teams in places like China, Mexico, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia who can evaluate a supplier’s capabilities, providing the kind of insight and risk assessment data that distance and cultural differences can often obfuscate.
How to Bridge the Manufacturing Gap
Eric explained how companies can bridge the manufacturing gap between their own needs and the capabilities of their overseas suppliers, and also how to alleviate common sourcing and supply chain pain points along the way.
Start by Asking the Right Questions
The key to successful global sourcing, says Eric, is knowing the right questions to ask potential suppliers. That’s why, before matching a business with an overseas supplier, his team conducts a deep dive to understand what matters most to the client.
“We’ll talk to a business here in the U.S. and say, ‘what’s most important to you? Is it speed? Is it quality? Is it price?'” he explains. “Obviously everything is important, but it’s figuring out what’s most important or what are some requirements. Sometimes they need certain certifications or audit requirements – it’s our job to understand what you’re working towards and what you need.”
With this information in hand, Eric’s global team searches for suppliers that match the specific profile the business is looking for.
But, he says, it’s important to keep asking questions, and you have to continually dive deeper to uncover potential opportunities (and flag challenges or risks).
“It’s an ongoing process we’re always trying to optimize,” he said. “Sometimes we uncover really interesting things for the business. For example, a client might say, ‘we wanted this to be bigger, but our suppliers said it couldn’t be done.’ When our team investigates, we find out that the supplier doesn’t have the machinery to do the bigger size. They presented it as a design limitation because they didn’t want to lose the business.”
By always asking “why” and challenging assumptions made from afar, Eric’s team helps businesses overcome limitations that would otherwise be accepted as fact.
Navigating Cultural Differences
From communication or negotiation styles to ethical norms or ideas of what success looks like, the impact of cultural differences on international supplier relations is an ongoing challenge for many businesses.
“There’s such a big cultural difference that I think doesn’t get enough attention or respect,” said Eric. “We have a certain level of expectation in terms of communication, transparency, ethics, reliability, and what being a good business partner looks like. That differs across the world.”
Assuming that your business is operating under the same cultural assumptions and expectations as your supplier can lead to costly misunderstandings that can negatively impact the business. The distance between business and supplier isn’t just cultural – the physical separation, by both time zone and geography – can exacerbate miscommunications and create a lack of visibility.
“I’ve seen suppliers that are so happy to report, ‘we saved you two cents by doing this!’ But, they might not understand what that component does in the bigger picture. You’ve saved two more cents on that gasket, but it might not make an airtight seal on another part, and you’ve actually cost the business hundreds of dollars.”
Eric added that he hears from far too many companies only after something has gone wrong with an overseas supplier. Taking action to address cultural differences, clarify expectations on both sides, and create pathways for transparency, accountability, and visibility are far more successful when they’re established at the beginning of a supplier relationship, rather than a triage effort.
Cutting Costs with an Objective Third Party
Having an objective third-party that sits between a company and an overseas supplier could seem like an added cost, but considering the risk involved in sourcing and working with new international suppliers, having a trusted intermediary with global expertise and local presence can contribute significantly to savings and risk management.
“If you’re working directly with a supplier, it could be a great relationship, but if push comes to shove, they’re looking out for their own business. And when they’re on the other side of the world and give you explanations or excuses about why something is delayed, for example, you feel like you have no option but to believe them.”
This can create a real issue with trust and can put the supplier relationship at long-term risk. The biggest value Eric’s team brings, he says, is their experience with different product categories, industries, and geographies. “I’ve seen all the ways this goes really, really well,” he said. “And, I’ve seen all the ways this goes really, really wrong.”
When a company has an objective third party with local ties to the supplier, a deep understanding of the cultural and geographical nuances of the relationship, and clarity on exactly what the business needs and expects, then they have greater assurance that their supply chain is strong, sustainable, cost effective, and efficient.
“There’s probably no need for me to exist with US suppliers; I can’t see a really good reason,” said Eric. “But, once you move that supplier to the other side of the world, and maybe there’s some cultural differences, there’s a time gap, and there’s a lack of visibility… suddenly we start to play a very, very important role.”
For more of this conversation, listen to Eric's full episode on bridging the manufacturing gap here:
