Management consulting

Know

In an environment where China is considered to be an increasingly important market for many companies, there is still a lack of understanding of how China's markets actually work and how to do business in China. Beyond the 1.3 billion customer fairy tale, it is often a challenge to find even basic reliable data. Available information may also be misleading, as it often provides little insight into the factors that actually drive market dynamics, consumer trends or tastes.

We help you to KNOW your markets

• Market assessment and sizing
• Industry research
• Customer and consumer research (product & pricing preferences, buying factors, distribution channels, media preferences)
• Competitor analysis

Think

In China, the market environment changes frequently and quickly: consumers develop new tastes; new competitors emerge; regulations are abandoned, amended or established; distribution channels may be fundamentally reorganized.  Companies therefore need China market strategies that minimize risk and maximize your responsiveness to change.

We help you to THINK through the right strategy

• Market (entry) strategy
• Business case development and business planning
• Product/pricing/marketing/distribution strategy and planning
• Partnering strategies
• Commercial feasibility studies

Act

Navigating the Chinese market requires sophisticated planning and management skills.  Suitable local talent is still hard to find, expatriates are expensive and lack local knowledge, and even simple administrative tasks are usually time and resource intensive.  In the early stages of market entry, long-term leases, hiring full-time staff and taking on the full range of administrative functions can be costly, sap valuable management focus and reduce an organization’s agility and responsiveness to change. 

We ACT together with you to implement solutions

• Business incubation and early-stage operations
• Temporary management solutions
• Interfacing and relationship management (Government, associations, customers)
• Business services
• Local staff recruitment and assessment
• Company registration, product licensing
• Payroll and Accounting services

Grow

A key goal of our clients is often successful and sustainable growth in China.  Growth through acquisition is a popular strategy.  However, this approach can be highly challenging.  Partnerships and joint ventures also frequently involve issues of transparency, conflicts in business cultures, unfamiliar accounting practices, complex customer and stakeholder relationships and the ever-present influence of government authorities.  Here, we bring deep local knowledge, extensive government and industry relationships and importantly, the proven ability to communicate across cultures to help you manage the risks of acquisitions, investments and partnerships.

We help you to GROW your business

• Partner and acquisition target identification
• Partner and acquisition target due-diligence
• Negotiation and transaction structuring and support
• Transaction execution and management
• Government, industry and stakeholder engagement
• (Post-merger) integration management

PERFORM

Efficiency and effectiveness are concepts that are sometimes interpreted differently in China.  Greater weight may be placed on relationships and consensual decision-making.  More people tend to be involved in processes and decisions.  Law, regulations and policies may be ambiguous or conflicting.  Traditional “Western” management approaches may not be the most appropriate for Chinese employees.  Chinese customers may not react as predicted to Western approaches to product offerings and branding.  Traditional institutions and structures may be more resistant to change than in the West.

We help you to PERFORM

• Organizational development, business process re-engineering (Overhead processes and operational processes)
• Performance improvement programs
• Sales force effectiveness programs, Sales incentive concepts
• KPI systems / compensation systems
• Change management