It's official. Cloud computing is the latest trend in the B2B software scene. With companies like SAP now buying and investing in ways to take part, the signs are definitely pointing to a world were information is accessible from anywhere.
And in turn, companies providing this service have an even wider market that spans the entire world. However, just because you now have the whole world open to you doesn't mean the whole world is open to do business.
Such is the case with China. For many years, the country has been popularly held as the manufacturing capital of the world. As the saying goes, "God made mankind but everything else is made in China." Still, all that outsourcing should have accomplished something.
And accomplish it, it did. Today China stands as one of the world's rapidly growing economies. Various studies and statistics are indicating a larger consumer market but believe it or not, this may spell bad news to those outsourcing. A boost in disposable income by the working class could only mean costs are going up and it may be high time to shift manufacturing elsewhere. Meanwhile, there are also reports of the Chinese themselves now doing the offshoring and again, the manufacturing scene grows complicated by this sudden reversal. Throw in reports that actually contest those who are declaring China's growth and you might not even be sure what to believe anymore.
Despite that, you are an SCM software supplier and you will find yourself at the heart of all this. If there's anything you should take about all this buzz regarding China, it's the fact that you need to rely a lot more than reports to know where you're headed. Basically, it's just another case of confusing a general study of a population with the data needed for B2B leads. You cannot bring in such leads the same way you would bring in a fishing net. The uncertainty of China's economy should only tell you that you should get closer to each, individual manufacturer instead of relying too much on what the news has to say.
This doesn't mean that the reports and the coverage are not worth listening too. In fact, they can tell you a lot about what to expect but just remember that what they say will not be enough. You cannot know the whole truth of the situation unless you start talking to the decision makers themselves. Only then can you determine the accuracy of the reports.
Ask about how they're dealing with things like figuring out their budget. Use lead generation methods to gather information on their process. Does the state of their economy (improved or otherwise) make them more open to acquiring your software or has it tightened their budget for now?
Going global is a big step and it's not surprising that every company would take any means to reach that step as quickly as possible. On the other hand, once you're there, you might soon lose sight of where you're headed. The grass may not be as green as you had hoped and you'll find yourself once again in need of information. Don't wait until it's too late and always be prepared. Get your business some quality leads so that you'll know where you're headed.
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