Lenovo says it proves China's products are among world's best
MANILA (AFP) — The success of Lenovo's laptop computers proves China-made products can be among he world's best brands, the firm's Asia Pacific president said here Wednesday.
"People say great products don't come out of China," said David Miller at a conference of the Management Association of the Philippines.
Yet Lenovo's "Thinkpad" computers were being used all over the world in Formula 1 racing, NBA basketball and in other high-profile events, he said.
Miller credited this success to innovation and to what he called "worldsourcing."
He said worldsourcing is defined as finding the most talented and innovative people with the right language proficiency from places with strong infrastructure and the finest IT facilities.
This is different from outsourcing which just looks abroad for lower labour costs.
Miller said his company had spread its resources all over the world with centers of innovation in Beijing, Yamato, Japan and Raleigh, North Carolina.
The benefits of worldsourcing will be felt by both developed and developing countries, Miller said, saying "the jobs are there. The hardest thing to find is the skills."
Speaking at the same forum, Arthur Tan, president of Integrated Microelectronics Inc., said his Philippine company had acquired companies in China, Singapore and the United States to maintain its competitive advantage.
He said the company, which focuses on semiconductors and other electronic components, was looking to increase its facilities in China and to expand in Vietnam although he would not give any timetable.
Tan said that in 2000, potential partners would be impressed with his company's capabilities but balked when they discovered it was based in the Philippines.
"These must have been a misunderstanding. We thought you had a plant in China," Tan quoted them as saying. This prompted the company, one of the leaders in the Philippines' booming electronics industry, to look abroad.
Despite their acquisition and expansion abroad, Tan said his company had never laid anyone off or forced them to relocate.
