Kimberly Kirkendall | Global Supply Chain Upheaval & Managing Vendor Relationships in China

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

● How the last 18 months changed the economy forever

● How things have changed in Kimberly’s line of work in China

● What happened to the global supply chain and its impact on the Chinese economy

● Moving forward in 2022 and beyond

● Maintaining business relationships in China

● How the business landscape in the region has changed overall

● How the B2B buying process has evolved throughout COVID

Episode Summary:

Today on The Negotiation, we talk with Kimberly Kirkendall, founder and President at International Resource Development.

We recently had Kimberly on the show in September 2020 to discuss a myriad of topics, including the art of negotiation, building relationships, and managing suppliers, as well as interpreting and navigating written procedures and policy documents. She sits down with us almost 18 months later to speak on what’s changed since that last conversation.

In a nutshell, she believes that nobody should count on any semblance of the “old normal” rearing its head until at least 2024. From drastic shifts in the supply chain to the now-dead culture of on-demand travel to continued logistical issues and labor shortages, the many challenges of the new normal are here to stay for a long time.

With regards to the many changes in the global supply chain over the past two years, Kimberly says that China has effectively been scrambling to stay ahead of an ongoing chain reaction. It has been particularly damaging for manufacturers who for a couple of decades had been relying on just-in-time inventory and lean supply chain and logistics.

Today, building and maintaining relationships in China has become even more important than it already was prior to COVID. “You have to have trust on both sides,” stresses Kimberly. “You have to trust that they have your best interests at heart, and it’s harder to do when you can’t be face-to-face.” Partners should be mindful in their communication, taking care to feed the personal side of the relationship instead of being all business.

Overall, Kimberly believes that the new normal is here to stay. Regionalization and decentralization are not going away. Geo-political tensions and the rise of hierarchical government structures will continue to develop. Concerning international trade, business, and labor, Kimberly simply says, “I don’t see us going back to where we were. I just don’t.”

Key Quotes:

“Companies that thought they could triage their supply chain problems, and that it was going to be six months of hiccups and they would go back to normal, that obviously hasn’t been the case. So, more and more companies are realizing that there is a new normal.”

“Across Democrats and Republicans and economic divisions, the one thing that unites people in the United States right now is the threat of China. We need to have the ability to have a conversation about that, where you can actually influence somebody that what they’re reading is not true and is not all bad. It’s crazy how divisive it's gotten.”

“You have to have trust on both sides. You have to trust that they have your best interests at heart—that they’re acting as a good distributor, that they’re acting as a good supplier on your behalf. And they have to trust that you’re a good customer. And it’s harder to do when you can’t be face-to-face.”

“You really need to understand your market in China and how your products are used. It’s critical. [...] For foreign brands going into China, you really have to challenge your own bias and expectations, and how you judge and value what the customer—whether it’s a business or a consumer—thinks about your business, because they may have a completely different perspective in the use of it or a different value system around what makes it work.”