Screens: IPS vs Non IPS

LCD Screens

Which LCD Panel Should You Choose?

The number of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels available is vast but they can be separated into several different categories, based either on technology, construction method, or even individual brand.

The best way to narrow your search is to consider your application. What is your final product and how do you want it to perform?

Common applications can be for entertainment purposes, like watching videos and playing games, or doing technical creative work like picture editing where color accuracy is paramount.

After determining the application for your display you can start to identify which features need to take priority over others. Then you will be able to narrow your search and select the panel best suited for your use.

IPS vs. TN

The two most commonly used LCD panels today are variations on the TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD panel.

These are the IPS LCD (In-Plane Switching) and Non IPS LCD panel or TN (Twisted Nematic) LCD.

TN is the most common type of LCD display at the moment as it offers the best value for money.

You get the highest performance at the lost cost. TN displays have evolved to the point where they have an incredibly fast response time, meaning they are great for entertainment purposes.

Regarding viewing angle, the TN display suffers particularly in the vertical direction; when watching a movie you must be sitting directly in front of the display to get the best picture.

Most TN displays can represent only 70% of NTSC, Adobe RGB and sRGB color gamuts, in some cases as little as 10 to 30% with the poorest quality displays.

When it comes to choosing a display for a creative application it is important to consider only a high-quality TN display as the color gamut will be higher.

IPS (In-Plane Switching) panels are actually broken down into a variety of different types: IPS, S-IPS, AS-IPS, IPS-Pro, and H-IPS.

All of these use different variants of technology that manufacturers have developed and use within their own products.

As a whole, IPS panels are designed to improve upon the flaws of the TN technology, specifically focusing on viewing angle, contrast, and blacks.

The viewing angle in specific IPS screens has improved to the point where crystal-clear viewing is possible at 178 of the 180 degrees available to a user.

Contrast and blacks have also considerably improved. IPS panels do not lighten or show tailing light when touched, which can happen on TN panels; this is important for touch-screen devices such as smartphones and tablets.

However, as with all new technology, it is not perfect. The response times of IPS panels still falls behind those of TN technology. The cost of an IPS panel is also higher than that of a TN panel.

Bottom-line recommendation:

TN displays are more suited to consumer entertainment applications because of their high response time and lower cost.  

IPS displays are generally far better for professional creative applications where color accuracy is important and the higher cost can be justified.

Key Features of an LCD Panel

LCD Panel

Viewing Angle

The viewing angle is the widest possible angle a user can see accurately reproduced colors on display from edge to edge. Having a small viewing angle will show color shifts whenever you are not viewing that particular area straight on. Working with secure documents lends itself to using a monitor with a small viewing angle; however, a small viewing angle will make technical creative work difficult since even the slightest adjustment in angle can affect the color on screen. 

Response Time

This feature affects how heavily “ghosted” a screen is; you essentially see a lagging “ghost” behind objects that move across the screen. This phenomenon occurs because of a low response time. When an object moves across the screen the trailing pixels behind the object don’t change color quick enough, thus creating a ghost or shadow object trailing behind. Having a high response time for an entertainment application is paramount, since a “ghosting” movie can be unwatchable.

Contrast and Black Levels

Since an LCD is not self-illuminating it requires a back or edge light to illuminate the pixels. As a consequence, it is easier to reveal bright colors and whites with a back light but this severely affects black colors. The term “black levels” refers to how dark a pixel can actually become on-screen, which relates to how well the liquid crystals in the LCD can absorb the light from the back or edge light. If you want to show true blacks, you must block out all light coming in. For general computing, a low black level is acceptable but for watching movies it can ruin your experience when true blacks appear to be more of a dark gray than black.

Wide Color Gamut

This feature describes how well colors can accurately be displayed in any given situation. The wider the color gamut, the better the display can reproduce extended colors found in the Adobe RGB and NTSC color gamuts. For technical creative work, having a wide color gamut is necessary for producing accurate work for print.

Casing: Smartphone vs Tablet

Casing

Case Manufacturing

One key element of a smartphone or tablet is the outer casing. The casing holds all the hardware together and its design is one of the fundamental USP’s (unique selling points) of the product. Design separates good products from great ones so spending sufficient time defining the design of the casing is important before stepping into manufacturing.

This manufacturing and development process will be different depending on the device you are designing for, be that a smartphone or a tablet. When you compare how casing molds are manufactured in these different product categories you will see some major differences. This is surprising considering how blurred the line is now between the smartphoneand thetablet. Daniel Weisbeck CMO and COO of Netbiscuits comments here about the merging of these markets.

Tablet Casing

In the tablet space the Design House (A PCBA fabricator and designer) creates PCBA designs in conjunction with the Casing Factories and other design firms who design cases. The Casing Factories will design and manufacture the cases to match the PCBA designs or will work directly with the Design House when they require entirely custom PCBA’s for a client with a specific need. These will then become privately owned molds by the client or integration company. The Casing Factories will also create various public molds based on the Design House’s PCBA designs. This allows Integration Company’s to select cases from a library of public molds to save time and money when working on new projects. The factory and the client control production.

Smartphone Casing

In the smartphone market the Design House make standard PCBA layouts for smartphones that are stable and reliable. A smartphone PCBA has a lot more complexity over a basic tablet so a Design House won’t spend the time to make variations of a smartphone PCBA unless the order volume is very high. After these PCBA layouts are fabricated they are given to the Integration Company who will then design private molds to suit.  It is not common for Casing Factories to create public molds for these smartphone PCBA designs, like with tablets.  So the integration company controls the production and ownership of the casing mold.

It is important to realize that even though the smartphone and the tablet maybe very similar products today, they have grown from two different markets. This is why we have these differences in manufacturing.  The tablet grew out of the MP3 Player market. Factories making MP3 players slowly began to produce tablets as the MP3 market died. The smartphone industry grew from the feature phone market.

The Integration Company

Integration Company

What is an Integration Company

An integration company sometimes known as a system integrator integrates the complete supply chain solution and, in the smartphone industry, has their own casing designs.

An integration company will work with a client from the beginning of a project as early as the initial R&D stages and take responsibility for putting together the details of the project for a client.  An integration company also designs their own products and then offers those products to clients ‘off the shelf’ with no further development work required. They will work with the client on all aspects of development from packaging design to individual component pricing to shipping and basic branding and marketing strategy.

An integration company will simultaneously work on development and manufacturing which can speed up time to delivery. Through a better understanding of design for manufacturing, a integration company can quickly turn concepts into scalable mass production at the best possible price. With an extra layer of quality control from the integration company, assembly factories are forced to make more effort to produce higher quality products because there is an additional level of checking before the goods can ship.

Overall an integration company bring together all the elements of the supply chain to give a client tight control of price and quality with fewer barriers compared to what they might otherwise find going it alone.

Next-Gen Low Cost Android Tablet Chipsets

Low Cost Chipsets

Allwinner vs. Rockchip

These new low-cost chipsets have allowed manufacturers to produce smartphones at record low prices and it has opened up a whole host of opportunities for other low-cost smart devices.

As component prices fall and technology improves, we are beginning to see more and smarter products at very affordable prices.

IC (integrated circuit) companies, OEM’s (original equipment manufacturers)  and retailers alike are all pushing for higher performance in their low-end product lines, and this is being made possible because of the drop in component prices.

IC companies are beginning to make a real impact by releasing new SoC’s (System on a Chip) that are very powerful yet inexpensive and have lower power consumption. 

These new low-cost chipsets have allowed manufacturers to produce smartphones at record low prices and it has opened up a whole host of opportunities for other low-cost smart devices.

Too many companies in the Android market the IC chipset or SoC is the linchpin within the supply chain. It is fundamentally the brain of any product.

Further, its performance and price dictate the type of smart device that can be created. As low cost /high-performance SoC’s are released we see a more significant shift in the market.

Manufacturers are for the first time being able to create much lower cost higher performance smart products.

Benchmark Testing

In September we saw the release of two comparable, low priced SoC’s from two of the top Chinese IC companies, Allwinner and Rockchip.

Only one month after their official release’s OEM’s launched tablet solutions powered by these chipsets.

Hatch performed key benchmark testing for samples of both chipsets, the A23 from Allwinner and RK3026 from Rockchip.

On paper the main difference when looking at a direct comparison is the CPU architecture:

  • Rockchip is using the newer more powerful ARM® Cortex™-A9 architecture and is clocking a frequency of 1GHz, whereas
  • Allwinner has the power efficient ARM® Cortex™-A7 clocking at 1.5GHz.

They have both chosen to use the same GPU, ARM Mali-400 MP2 Dual Core graphics engines, making a head-to-head performance test all the more interesting.

Allwinner has far higher on-chip integration because of MIPI DSI meaning there are more components on the SoC so developers can have fewer system components.

A higher on-chip integration allows for lower production costs and a more stable and efficient PCBA board. Rockchip, on the other hand, has potential cost-saving benefits with Pin to Pin compatible with the single core RK2926. 

It means that manufacturers will not have to change the PCBA layout to accommodate the newer chipset. 

It will be attractive for existing developers as upgrading from previous PCBA designs to the dual core will be less expensive and faster to market.

The results of the benchmarking made a clear distinction between the seemingly similar SoC’s. 

Here’s what we found:

2013091003
Rockchip-RK3026
Antutu_Benchmark2

Antutu Benchmarks

Looking at the Antutu Benchmark scores, it is clear that the A23 has outperformed the RK3026.

This is due to a number of key differences in their design. First, the Allwinner clock speed has a 50% premium on the Rockchip which instantly makes a difference in performance.

You might say that as the Rockchip has used the more powerful ARM® Cortex™-A9 architecture this performance difference will balance out, but the CPU architecture isn’t the only factor at play when gauging performance.

Allwinner has invested in optimizing the A23 SoC’s system design allowing for better performance and more efficiency. 

Also, DDR and GPU design enhancements have been made within the SOC that has positively affected the performance. 

Further, the A23 utilizes a low power output specifically with audio and video playback at 50mA due to the use of the more efficient ARM ® Cortex™-A7 architecture. We think this will certainly be attractive for developers entering into the tablet space. 

This being said what makes the RK3026 still stand out as a top SoC for developers is the 2G communication support allowing for cellular-wireless connectivity in next generation budget tablets and low-cost smartphones. But as of this month, Allwinner will release the A23 with 2.75G connectivity.

We will have to wait and see which solution comes out on top, but some industry experts believe the A23 has more specific peripheral communication interfaces.

This advantage in communication interfaces could gain A23 more industry support than the RK3026. 

Looking at the unit price they are fairly comparable but the RK3026 PCBA cost has a slight advantage of being cheaper by 2-3%.

As this is marginal, we don’t think it will affect a developers decision, but it could make a difference.

After reviewing the two SoC’s it’s clear that we are seeing two great, aggressively priced consumer level platforms. 

Choosing between the two really depends on your application. If you want a more powerful, more efficient SOC, go with the A23.  

However, if you are looking for a smoother transition when upgrading from the single core RK2926, then the dual core RK3026 is the right SOC for you.

Next-Gen Low Cost Chipsets

Shenzhen Featured Image

Allwinner vs Rockchip

As component prices fall and technology improves, we are beginning to see more and more smart products at very affordable prices. IC (integrated circuit) companies, OEM’s (original equipment manufacturers)  and retailers alike are all pushing for higher performance in their low end product lines and this is being made possible because of the drop in component prices. IC companies are beginning to make a real impact by releasing new SoC’s (System on a Chip) that are very powerful yet inexpensive and have lower power consumption. These new chipsets have allowed manufactures to produce smartphones at record low prices and it has opened up a whole host of opportunities for other low cost smart devices.

To many companies in the android market the IC chipset or SoC, is the linchpin within the supply chain. It is fundamentally the brain of any product. Further, its performance and price dictate the type of smart device that can be created. As low cost / high performance SoC’s are released we are seeing a greater shift in the market. Manufactures are for the first time being able to create much lower cost higher performance smart products.

Benchmark Testing

In September we saw the release of two comparable, low priced SoC’s from two of the top Chinese IC companies, Allwinner and Rockchip. Only one month after their official release’s OEM’s launched tablet solutions powered by these chipsets. Hatch performed key benchmark testing for samples of both chipsets, the A23 from Allwinner and RK3026 from Rockchip.

On paper the main difference when looking at a direct comparison is the CPU architecture. Rockchip is using the newer more powerful ARM® Cortex™-A9 architecture and is clocking a frequency of 1GHz, whereas Allwinner has the power efficient ARM® Cortex™-A7 clocking at 1.5GHz. They have both chosen to use the same GPU, ARM Mali-400 MP2 Dual Core graphics engines, making a head-to-head performance test all the more interesting.

Allwinner has far higher on-chip integration because of MIPI DSI meaning there are more components on the SoC so developers can have less system components. A higher on-chip integration allows for lower product costs and a more stable and efficient PCBA board. Rockchip on the other hand has potential cost saving benefits with Pin to Pin compatibly with the single core RK2926. This means that manufactures will not have to change the PCBA layout to accommodate the newer chipset. This will be attractive for existing developers as upgrading from previous PCBA designs to dual core will be less expensive and faster to market.

The results of the benchmarking made a clear distinction between the seemingly similar SoC’s.  Here’s what we found!

Next-Gen Low Cost Chipsets Chip ImageRockchip-RK3026

Antutu_Benchmark2

Antutu Benchmarks

Looking at the Antutu Benchmark scores it is clear that the A23 has outperformed the RK3026. This is due to a number of key differences in their design. First the Allwinner clock speed has a 50% premium on the Rockchip which instantly makes a difference in performance. You might say that as the Rockchip has used the more powerful ARM® Cortex™-A9 architecture this performance difference will balance out, but the CPU architecture isn’t the only factor at play when gauging performance.

Allwinner has invested in optimizing the A23 SoC’s system design allowing for better performance and more efficiency. Also, DDR and GPU design enhancements have been made within the SOC that have positively affected the performance. Further, the A23 utilizes a low power output specifically with audio and video playback at 50mA due to the use of the more efficient ARM ® Cortex™-A7 architecture. We think this will certainly be attractive for developers entering into the tablet space.

This being said what makes the RK3026 still stand out as a top SoC for developers is the 2G communication support allowing for cellular-wireless connectivity in next generation budget tablets and low cost smartphones. But as of this month Allwinner will release the A23 with 2.75G connectivity. We will have to wait and see which solution comes out on top, but some industry experts believe the A23 has more specific peripheral communication interfaces. This advantage in communication interfaces could gain the A23 more industry support than the RK3026. Looking at the unit price they are fairly comparable but the RK3026 PCBA cost has a slight advantage being cheaper by 2-3%. As this is marginal we don’t think it will affect a developers decision but it could make a difference.

After reviewing the two SoC’s it’s clear that we are seeing two great, aggressively priced consumer level platforms. Choosing between the two really depends on your application. If you want a more powerful, more efficient SOC, go with the A23.  However, if you are looking for a smoother transition when upgrading from the single core RK2926, then the dual core RK3026 is the right SOC for you.

High Efficiency Flash Memory Testing

Testing

Increased demand for flash memory has allowed the cost per GB to fall and opened up the market to many smaller manufacturers and distributors. But as the availability of lower cost flash increases so does the amount of counterfeit and low quality flash. For an OEM, being extra vigilant when managing the quality of lower end flash is critical. This will happen at various stages throughout the production process but weeding out the defects at the beginning is far more efficient. You can find a select number of under-the-radar testing centers available to ensure you are providing quality flash in your product while still retaining the higher margin gained from cheaper flash.

These intimate testing centers hook up 20+ computers linked to 8-piece units custom-made for testing flash. With a capacity of 60 units they can churn out at a rate of 15,000 pieces per day for 4GB flash. With this extra QC step you are able to take out 85% of the defects in the initial stage and then later during assembly find the remaining defective 15%. This extra step in an OEM’s arsenal has allowed them to buy at lower cost but still guarantee the quality of their products.

The Rise of Flash

The development of flash memory in the mid ‘80s had a profound impact on the data storage industry. This development offered a critical step forward in storage capability which later became the catalyst for a significant revolution in mobile personal computing devices, including PDAs, mobiles phones, gaming devices and media players.  No one could have predicted how big the impact flash memory would have on the technology industry.  

NAND flash memory has emerged as the leader in this high-density silicon storage arena. Sales of NAND Flash have been growing year-on-year and are outperforming DRAM as the demand for media tablets and Smartphones continues to increase. NAND flash sales are set to increase 14% annually from 2013-2017, growing to US$53.2 billion at the end of the forecast period while the DRAM market is forecast to grow 9% annually over the same time.

Smartphone Manufacturing: The 4 Essential Steps

Smartphone Manufacturing

Step 1: Integrated Circuit

The linchpin within any cell phone or smart device supply chain is the Integrated Circuit or IC company.

IC companies develop and manufacture the processors, SoCs (System on a Chip) and chipsets which run the devices and are the brains of the machine.

IC companies are able to dictate what happens within this industry by when and what sort of chips they produce. This is where you will begin when you first look to develop a Smartphone.

A couple times a year each IC company will release new processor chips and SoCs, which are compact chipsets designed for smart devices.

An SoC is made up of a processor core, the graphics chipset, the RAM and possibly ROM as well. SoCs are designed to save space and improve performance by grouping all the critical components on a device in one small area.

With the release of a new SoC, you will see better performance and altered configurations which will drive down the cost of the previous models or offer a higher performance model with new features; this evolution drives the high-end Smartphone market.

There are only a handful of IC companies in the world who develop for Smartphones, so when considering what chipset you want there are only a small number of questions that need to be asked, mainly price vs. performance.  

Step 2: PCBA

After a new Processor chip or SoC has been released, the IC company will subsequently release PCBA reference designs so engineering companies can use them to design PCBA layouts.

The engineering company will produce a selection of PCBA layouts which are tested and proven stable to offer to their clients.

This foresightedness saves time and money and allows other key manufacturers in the next stages of the supply chain to use these standardized PCBAs to further reduce time and cost with preplanned designs.

Once you have selected an IC company and chipset you have the option to work on designing a custom PCBA or to choose a predesigned board; this will all depend on a variety of factors but the reality is there is a valid reason why most companies choose to use predesigned boards to save the time.

Step 3: Manufacturing

Integration Company

At this stage the integration company begins to get involved. This key player will be working with the client from the initial concept design up until the end of the production process managing all aspects of the sourcing, development and assembly of the phone.

It is paramount that you work with a well-managed integration company to assist with your project. Their efficient management of the supply chain allows for the lowest possible prices and the fastest production times.


Casing Design

Once a PCBA has been designed, integration companies will get involved to develop cases to fit their specific dimensions. The benefit of working with a standardized PCBA becomes apparent since integration companies can offer predesigned cases for the standardized PCBAs.

Even if the aesthetic design of your case is slightly different, the interior structure can remain the same so you can save on development cost and save time on the overall production.


Hardware Development

While the casing is being produced the integration company continue to work on the development of the remainder of the hardware.

This can become complex and timely as there are still many remaining components to be integrated into the phone with some needing further development.

These including: speaker, mic, ear piece, vibration motor, antenna,  touch panel, screen, packaging, accessories, and battery.

Supply Chain Management

All the remaining components for the phone will have separate suppliers and factories and warrant strong relationships to take advantage of the best pricing. 

The integration companies experience allows them to build long term relationships with suppliers and exploit this time and time again with ever new client. 

The integration companies are able to coordinate all these suppliers and deliver the components to the assembly factories to begin the production.

Step 4: Assembly

Once all of the individual components have reached the assembly factory it is then down to the them to start producing the phone at the most efficient rate possible.

This will all be overlooked by the client through the eyes of the integration company who manage an issue that arises with assembly.

The assembly factory break down there process into two main stages, the trial production where they test their efficiency and the compatibility of all the components and finally to mass production where they start to produce the phone in large bulk quantities ready to be shipped to its final destination.

A Complete Supply Chain Solution

Supply Chain Solution

It’s no secret that China is and will remain a hub for high-quality, affordable manufacturing into the distant future. Companies continue to flock here even though the initial boom appears to be over and production costs are slowly increasing. Companies choose China because its manufacturing infrastructure remains second to none and will take years to emulate in Western countries like the U.S. and Europe.

Even though China has a well-established infrastructure, there are still gaps in the supply chain. Language and cultural differences with China continue to cause problems for overseas companies. Foreigners in China have seen these gaps and are leveraging local resources in a Western way to provide extra support for overseas companies. These system integrator/ bridge style companies run by Westerners are providing a complete supply chain solution so overseas companies can have smoother manufacturing but still take advantage of local prices. System integrators offer much more than just a familiar face to a client; they offer complete support from development to final delivery.

There are a number of different options when it comes to having your electronics manufactured in China, all with different pros and cons. Your most independent option is to choose to work directly with all participants in the supply chain, from finding your own IC company or a solution house for your PCBA board design to approaching a molding factory to have the case designed. Then you will have to source screen, TP and battery suppliers so everything can be delivered to the assembly factory for trial and mass production before being shipped out on air or sea freight. This is an option for many companies, but it requires more time and resources. Often the relationships with the factories have not already been made and it takes time to understand the market place. This is where solution houses, ODM/OEM factories and system integrators can provide additional support for overseas companies.

A Solution House

Solution houses will generally offer only hardware and software support for your product. They will work closely with one or a couple IC companies, depending on their size, and have a selection of pre-designed boards using these IC companies’ chip sets. For many clients this is the best solution as it is faster than getting a custom board made. Since the solution houses work only with specific IC companies, you can be limited with what chip set you can use. Clients can be put off by this and will go directly to the IC company they want for support, adding extra time and hassle. The solution house can also offer a custom board design which takes far longer to manufacture but is sometimes the only option for a client with a unique product. Having a custom board designed will sometimes incur a higher cost because the client might not be aware of all the component prices and does not have the necessary experience to negotiate price. A solution house can also help develop and visualize your design ideas but rarely has English-speaking staff.  Communication difficulties are common; ideas are often lost in translation. Solution houses don’t work closely with assembly factories so designs are often revisited when they don’t meet production requirements. A solution house will offer as much support as you pay for.  If your budget or order size is big enough, they will recommend component suppliers for screens, TP, etc. and also find a case molding supplier as they have these preexisting relationships. Overall a solution house will offer clients enough support for them to get their product to an assembly factory, but a client will still have to manage assembly, quality control, and logistics afterward.

An ODM/OEM Factory

An ODM/OEM factory can offer clients full service for the production of their products. They already have relationships with suppliers so they can save you time on production as they have all the links in the supply chain ready to go. They tend to be more general and don’t have the flexibility or product development needs that a system integrator has, but can give you a small amount of development expertise if the client requires. ODM/ OEM factories will usually have English-speaking staff but are generally not run by Western management, so cultural differences still create problems throughout the production process. Overall if the project has little development required, an OEM/ODM factory can quickly turn around a project at low cost but won’t give all the support a small business might need if they are inexperienced in bringing a project to market.

A System Integrator

A system integrator is the complete supply chain solution and is able to save time by better understanding customer needs though Western management and customer service. A system integrator will work with a client from the beginning of a project as early as the initial R&D stages and take responsibility for the project so the client can have a more relaxed but also very involved experience. They will work with the client on all aspects of development from packaging design to individual component pricing to method of shipping and basic branding and marketing strategy.  A system integrator will simultaneously work on development and manufacturing which can speed up time to delivery as well as reduce overall cost. Through a better understanding of design for manufacturing, a system integrator can work with many solution houses and assembly factories to ensure designs are scalable for mass production and producible at the best possible price. With an extra layer of quality control with the system integrator, assembly factories are forced to take more effort to produce higher quality products because there is another level of control for them to pass before shipping goods. Overall a system integrator brings together all the elements of the supply chain so a client can have as much control as possible of price and quality with as few barriers as possible compared to what they might otherwise find going it alone.

Why Building Close Business Relationships in China Can Increase Your Profitability

China Sourcing

How to Connect with the “Laoban” 

When doing business in a country like China you will undoubtedly face your fair share of problems. Putting China’s history, cultural differences, and government policies aside, you still have to contend with the language barrier. But the pros of high volume and low cost quality manufacturing are unlikely to scare any prospective company away. This is where focused relationship building comes into play. If you are doing business in China or want to do business in China you need to understand how the Chinese conduct themselves in business relationships.

Business relationships differ on many levels but the standard Western viewpoint is a win/win proposition where a contract between two parties is designed for their mutual benefit and eventual long-term growth and profitability. This approach may be ideal for the Western world, but when venturing into China, business relationships change and can become far more complex and personal.

When you first establish a relationship within China it is important to come across with conviction. If you are sourcing a factory through Alibaba.com or another similar website you will likely be contacting a salesperson. He or she receives numerous emails from people with false claims with the intension of getting pricing quotes to leverage against existing factories or with other non-productive intensions. This means factories will likely dismiss non-genuine and also low-volume inquiries. The key is to come across with genuine interest. State what you want, state the quantity, and state your market. If possible, visit the factory at a trade fair or on its premises since meeting face-to-face will only help build rapport and prove your commitment.

After establishing this initial relationship, it is important to avoid believing the standard Western stigma of China as a producer of “cheap crap” with low wages and horrible human rights conditions. Harboring this impression is only going to be detrimental to your relationships. Doing business in China is not a get in/get out sort of relationship. Chinese factory owners dislike this attitude. Even though they will likely accept your order, it will not build good rapport. These factories can be valuable long-term partners for your company and also for your own personal growth. It’s the relationship you build with the “Laoban” owner or manager that can be the most beneficial. The rigid hierarchy within Chinese companies can lead to important decisions being made by the owner, so it is important to have this close relationship. This is why building strong personal relationships with business partners in China can, in the long run, increase your profitability.

Why Guanxi and Keeping Face are Important

Relationships are important all over the world, but when doing business in China the relationship is paramount. “Guanxi,” described most basically as the personal connection between two people, is the foundation of all business deals within China. Building guanxi takes time. It has the premise that if you can build trust with someone, he or she will do business with you. Alongside building these new relationships you need to maintain the old ones. Similar to having a close friend, it is not uncommon to offer meaningful gifts to your business contact’s friends and family, go for dinners and attend social events, and also offer mentoring and advice when there is no money involved. These thoughtful gestures will strengthen the guangxi relationship you have and open doors that would otherwise be closed to you.

It is important within a business relationship to see it as a partnership and to see every party as equal. Being aggressive or appearing to be above someone is disrespectful. It has been known that coming on too strongly when things don’t go as planned can result in a “loss of face” for the Chinese factory and an end to the relationship. This will happen regardless of what or who caused the problem. “Face” is very important in Chinese culture. “Face,” equated to Western values, means reputation. If you imply that people have made a mistake by messing up an order or failing to act on something, they will “lose face” and their reputation will be tarnished. CEOs in China have committed suicide after losing face and shaming themselves after bad business deals. This is why working problems out as a partnership, whoever is to blame, is a way to maintain these relationships and build deeper guanxi.

Whoever is to blame when approaching problem issues with factories, it is paramount not to lose your temper. You should stay relaxed and keep blame to a minimum. The way to resolve issues like this is to forget who is liable and work out a solution. Use W. Edwards Deming’s rule, “Focus on the process, not on the people.” Chinese factories typically don’t accept returned goods and will help out only if you deal with the situation appropriately. Conversely it is important not to be perceived as a pushover. Respect your Chinese partners but also politely demand respect back.

Establishing and maintaining relationships in a foreign country can be challenging but can pay off by being respectful and patience. If you approach situations in China with the correct attitude you will “keep face”, build guanxi and then you can see profits in your business as it flourishes.