Considerations before moving manufacturing from China

It’s undeniable that China is still crucial for the global value chain, and the country has significant advantages that makes it competitive for manufacturing. Let’s review some important items to consider before relocating manufacturing from China to Southeast Asia.

Manufacturing capabilities

It’s easier to say what products cannot be manufactured in China than the other way around. Anything from clothing, machinery, electronics, telecommunication equipment, vehicles, and chemicals are produced here. Not only can you find products that require labor-intensive manufacturing at low costs, but also advanced manufacturing.

Manufacturing is also concentrated to different regions such as Guangdong province being particularly strong in electronics manufacturing, just to give an example.

Experience with foreign companies

Chinese suppliers are flexible and generally more experienced in working with foreign customers. They are nimble, fast, and understand Western standards well. The availability of skilled labor in China still also outweighs other Southeast Asian countries. It’s easy to come across suppliers who happily provide both OEM and ODM products, according to customers’ specifications.

The business ecosystem and mature supply chain

The supply chain in China has developed for decades. Foreign companies rely much on Chinese suppliers that are located. Therefore, moving out of China means moving the entire manufacturing and network from the country, which takes a great deal of effort, time, and money. Moreover, manufacturers around the world still depend a lot on Chinese raw materials and semi-final products. For example, clothing producers from Vietnam and Bangladesh must import most of their fabrics and threads from China; European manufacturers of cars must import wiring from China. This ecosystem makes China dominant in global manufacturing.

Relocation costs

With the strong concentration of manufacturing in China, relocations to other countries requires much capital and resources. Simply speaking, if you have your factory set up in China and want to shift to Vietnam, much capital is needed to set up a new factory, recruit workers, train the workers, send specialists to Vietnam for quality controls and inspections. You also have to add the work needed to deal with local authorities to get approvals and relevant certificates prior to operations.

China’s consumer market

Some enterprises hesitate to move from China due to its large consumer base. With a population of 1.4 billion, China remains the biggest consumer market for many products. If a company already has manufacturing in China, it is also easier getting access to the domestic market and to distribute products locally.

Otherwise, you would need to export the products to China, which comes with tariffs, customs clearances, additional shipping costs, and more.

Increasingly more companies have understood the importance of diversifying their supply chains from China, a trend that was accelerated during the pandemic.

The increasing labor costs is a major concern, which are around three times higher in China compared to Vietnam, and five times higher than Indonesia on average. Between 2009 and 2014, the Chinese minimum wage almost doubled, resulting in slimmer margins for foreign companies.

Another reason is the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic that sent shockwaves to global manufacturers, urging businesses to rethink their procurement strategies. Some companies have decided to move their production to other countries completely, while many adopt so-called “China plus one” strategies. This means that production is kept in China, while parts of the production is allocated to other countries.

The increasing import duties due to the ongoing trade war has also aggravated the struggles of businesses that are manufacturing in China. As China faces these and many other problems, Southeast Asia simultaneously rise fast and gain attention as an alternative market to China