Driving B2B with Mark Morley

Improving Part Identification to Reduce the Trade in Counterfeit Parts

 

A couple of weeks ago I discussed the counterfeit parts trade, a global problem where the centre of operation for producing these parts tends to be in the Far East. So what can be done to reduce the number of counterfeit parts that are being traded around the world?  Let's split this discussion into two parts, this blog entry will focus on being able to identify counterfeit parts more easily and my next blog entry will talk in more detail about how B2B platforms such as GXS Trading Grid can be employed to improve the visibility of shipped parts around the world?

 

Will Chinese Manufacturers Become 'Greener' After the Olympics?

During the build up to the Olympics there were a lot of articles in the press about how supply chains around the world would be impacted by the games taking place in China. My colleague Bryan Larkin wrote a couple of excellent blogs on this very subject, one of which can be found here. Bryan raised an interesting point about the steel manufacturers being asked to close down their plants for a few months in order to try and reduce the amount of pollution over Beijing.  The image below shows a lonely visitor exploring the inactive Shougang Steel plant which was shutdown two months before the games started.  So, given that China is one of the fastest growing automotive manufacturing regions in the world, how has the Olympics affected car manufacturing in the region, especially for those OEMs with plants and suppliers located around Beijing?