Pharmaceutical Technology Europe - September 2010 - (Page 9)

How to identify the right partner in Asia–Pacific How to find the right partner in Asia– Pacific is a very complex question and there is no uniform answer. Firstly, you need to examine your strategic intent of offshoring, the nature of the business you want to offshore and your tolerance for risk. For example, for chemical and pharmaceutical development activities, India is supposedly the preferred spot. For manufacturing of an API based on fermentation, you may prefer to go to China. After being clear about the country, you need to decide on the specific location. For example, is proximity to any governmental offices important? Labour costs can also be a deciding factor, with costs varying greatly between hubs, such as Shanghai and Mumbai, compared with tier 2 or 3 locations. “what works in North America and Western Europe may not work in Asia”. Likewise, “what works in one Asian country does not work in another”. This applies to both workrelated subjects and cross-cultural behaviour. Generally, you will find that your Asian partner has a bold ‘can do’ mentality combined with ambition and an eagerness to learn. It’s often impressive how hard-working most employees are, but on the flip side of the coin you sometimes observe the ‘no problem’ problem, such as underestimating the complexity and difficulty of certain problems or the time it takes to accomplish certain projects. In particular, with partners who haven’t been exposed to collaboration with Western companies before, you may occasionally encounter a habit that can be described as ‘work not done + good excuse = work done’. There are also a couple of very expatriates — at least for the startup phase. • Care for personal involvement: work on personal relationships, and build trust to reduce cultural and hierarchical barriers. • Clearly define rules and regulations. • Be patient! PTE Frank Floether Coping with long-distance locations A general guideline to dealing with Asian partners should be concrete things it is advisable to do: • Training: don’t just teach it, but show it — beforehand and on the job. • Adjust Indian/Chinese management structure to turnover, which is generally much higher than in the West. • Try to predefine format, structure and expected content of any report to high detail. • Seed an Asian organisation with Based on a contribution by Dr Frank Floether, an Independent Consultant. To read the full version of this article, go to www.pharmtech.com/floether www.floether.ch 1 CONTENTS 9 THE RIGHT ASIAN PARTNER 3 SLOW CLIMB BACK 10 INDIAN PERSPECTIVE 6 FINANCIAL CRISIS 14 SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIPS 7 HOW TO COMPETE 16 READ MORE… http://www.pharmtech.com/floether http://www.floether.ch

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Technology Europe - September 2010

Parmaceutical Technology Europe: September 2010
Contents
Pharmaceutical Technology Europe Poll
Slow Climb Back
The effect of teh Financial Crisis on Outsourcing
How a CMO Can Compete In An Increasingly Competitive Market
How Responsible Should the Sponsor Be For The Outsourcing Provider's Success?
How to Identify the Right Partner in Asia-Pacific
The Indian Perspective
The Challenges of Outsourcing Early Development
The Benefits of Outsourcing Highly Potent API Manufacture
Managing an Outsourced Biologics Project
Successfully Managing CMO - Client Relationships
Making a CRO Project Run Smoothly

Pharmaceutical Technology Europe - September 2010