MANUFACTURERS LIKE US

摘要

At least someone is getting the message. With quality a given, pundits have been proclaiming for several years now that "innova-tion" is the flag manufacturers must follow in their fight with low-cost global competitors. When IW asked Chinese manufacturers to identify the focus of their market strategy, lo and behold, "innovation" was the No. 2 response. It was preceded by "high quality" and followed by "service and support." What many outsiders would regard as Chinese manufacturers' No. 1 competitive strength, "low cost," came in fourth on their priority list. When we asked U.S. manufacturers the same question, innovation straggled in a distant seventh. Xenophobic cultural stereotypes aside, no country or its people has a monopoly on innovation, or quality, or responsiveness, or any of the other factors that bring in new orders, boost a company's market share and drive revenue growth. Sure, as trade barriers fall, some manufacturers are capitalizing on labor cost advantages. But the struggle for market dominance around the globe hinges on many issues other than who offers the lowest price at the shipping dock.