Going to India? Don’t prepare for the wrong battle

TFI’s research showed a sharp contrast between the challenges companies expect to meet when they go to India and the issues that companies with experience in India point to as really most challenging. Prospective market entrants worried about the skill levels available in India, maintaining product quality, and dealing with an inadequate communications infrastructure. They were less worried about the cost or availability of components and other materials, or about transportation costs. In contrast, experienced companies cited the component supply base, ground transportation, and the regulatory environment as their biggest headaches. They were much less challenged by skill levels, product quality, or communications.

Posted by Matt Chanoff, December 19th, 2006

Filed to Logistics, Outsourcing
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One Response to “Going to India? Don’t prepare for the wrong battle”

  1. From: Pete Nofel
      on January 12th, 2007

    Have been involved with outsourcing to India in a previous job, I’ve found that private industry will pick up much of what is thought of as governmental infrastructure in the U.S.

    The IT contractor we used not only had their own facilities, but their own power-generation equipment since on-the-grid power was unreliable. They doubled-up communications with both landlines and satellite links, and they provided transportation services to their employees.

    Many of the employees assigned to IT and support work were overqualified by U.S. standards. All had engineering degrees, even those answering the help lines.

    The biggest drawbacks were language and culture. Although all spoke English, accents ranged from modest to incomprehensible. The more in doubt they were of an answer, the faster they spoke. The cultural drawback was an almost passive/aggressive attitude: they were reluctant to correct us or themselves, but would try to institute a fix whether it was required or not.

    The last cultural item of which to be aware is shaking hands. Most Indians are unaccustomed to the firm U.S. handshake and will offer a limp grip, something a lot of us find surprising and a bit repulsive.

    All in all, Indian management and worker are eager – sometimes too much so – to please.

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