The COVID-19 pandemic has not only changed the way people live, but also caused a global economic downturn. After the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, various industries were hit hard. Most manufacturers are facing shutdowns and downsizing because of rising costs and reduced import and export demand. Although the global epidemic did not stabilize until 2021, the steady recovery of domestic demand and the rapid growth of foreign trade in China during this period allowed Chinese manufacturers to see new opportunities.
In addition, Chinese manufacturers are also actively seeking a breakthrough direction, constantly improving personnel management system and improving the core competitiveness of products. Through the orderly recovery of production and the upgrading of enterprises, China's economy has been able to have a significant recovery.
For example, the Wall Street Journal said that the epidemic has strengthened China's position as a global manufacturer. In recent years, China's share of the total value of global merchandise exports has increased from 13 percent in 2019 to 15 percent by the end of 2021. China has been steadily gaining market share in more complex, higher-value manufactured goods such as capital goods, cars, engines and heavy machinery.
So, how are Chinese manufacturers coping with the difficult situation under the impact of the epidemic? Next, I'll tell you how Cheertone did it.
1. Pay more attention to HSE management
HSE refers to health, safety and environment. Formulate corresponding measures from these three aspects. In order to help enterprises to resume production, ensure stable production efficiency.
In terms of health, we will provide regular free health examination service for employees to ensure their health. When employees enter the production workshop, we will require them to wear work clothes and masks to ensure that the production line is clean and tidy.
In terms of safety and environment management, we will regularly update fire protection facilities and check whether production equipment is in normal operation. The reason why we pay attention to the update of fire protection facilities is that it is a very important assessment item in GSV factory certification. We will also strive to get the factory certification of GSV in 2023. In addition, we also regularly train our employees on fire drills. Avoid potential safety risks and ensure the personal safety of employees.
2. Optimize personnel allocation and upgrade equipment
Most manufacturers have faced difficulties in returning to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resulting in reduced capacity and production stagnation. As a result, most manufacturers have chosen to reduce the number of employees and turn to machines instead of human production. Production by machine can not only ensure production efficiency, but also reduce personnel costs.
What makes us different from most other manufacturers is that Cheertone take a more holistic approach.
First, we upgraded the production equipment, such as automatic screw setting machines and automatic packaging equipment. Because machine production will indeed be more precise and efficient than human production. This not only effectively reduces the failure rate and defect rate of products, but also reduces the cost of labor.
Secondly, in terms of staffing, we have optimized the pool of personnel. On the one hand, it is to improve the overall quality of employees and eliminate some employees with low efficiency. On the other hand, when dealing with large orders, we employ temporary workers to ensure production capacity. Flexible adjustment of our staffing, so customers do not need to worry about the delivery of orders.
3. Promote digital transformation of enterprises and improve online office efficiency
Most companies are pushing for a digital transformation, where production and order fulfillment schedules are visualized on the Web. Improve transparency in production and operations, allowing customers to view and track progress. Such as online VR exhibition hall, Alibaba online live show etc. So that customers can directly see the product picture and enterprise environment through the network.
In addition, the digital transformation of enterprises can also improve the efficiency of employees. For example, we score the business team on a weekly basis. Encourage employees to respond to customer requests from different platforms in the fastest time. Through the operation of the incentive mechanism, the rapid response rate of our business team increased from 60% to 98%. Efficient response efficiency can help enterprises more efficiently respond to changes in market demand, but also improve customers' trust in us.
4. Pay more attention to factory certification and product certification
In the past, if an international buyer wanted to come to China to inspect a manufacturer's factory, the buyer could go directly to the site and personally inspect. But now, because of the epidemic, buyers can't really see the real strength and product quality of manufacturers, and trust in sellers has naturally declined.
In view of this situation, Chinese manufacturers are very focused on factory certification and product certification. Take our company as an example. Three months ago, Alibaba International Station entrusted Intertek Certification Company, an internationally renowned professional certification agency, to our company for factory inspection.
After two days of inspection work, our company has achieved good marks in all aspects. Finally passed the factory inspection. In addition, our company has also obtained BSCI, ICTI, ISO9001, Sedex, Disney and other factory certifications. We have also obtained CE, RoHS, EMC, EN71, ASTM, EN62115 and many other product certifications.
5. Use multiple international social media platforms for drainage and accumulate our own private traffic
The traditional way for manufacturers to gain customers is to meet with customers offline, or to trade through wholesale sales platforms such as Alibaba's International site. Because most manufacturers have chosen this way of getting customers, so the competition in the peer market has become very fierce. But under the impact of the pandemic, the number of potential new customers is significantly lower than before.
But Cheertone realized the problem and tried something new. In 2022, Cheertone created a new website which you are viewing now. Here we can not only release our latest product information, but also share our company's current and industry information with you. Let you know more about our products and our company culture.
In addition, in 2023, we will also build multiple social media platforms, such as Youtube,Twitter,TikTok and other well-known platforms. We will release our original content on these platforms to attract those who really like our brand and create an ecological culture circle belonging to Cheertone.
6. Improve the core competitiveness of products
The impact of the epidemic is more about the reduction of global consumption demand, and people's desire to consume non-necessities of life has dropped a lot. Therefore, only exporting more valuable products to customers is the most important way for manufacturers to recover after the end of the pandemic.
Cheertone is different from other ordinary manufacturers. Ordinary manufacturers simply buy back raw materials for secondary processing. Lack of innovation and product quality control is not strict enough.
However, Cheertone not only has 16 years of experience in OEM&ODM, but also has a professional operation and R&D design team to meet the diversified customized needs of customers. Each product is a fine product that takes a lot of time and effort to polish.
The pandemic has not stopped us from innovating. Between 2020 and 2022, we have launched a number of kid smartwatches, kid cameras, kid learning machines and game consoles. For example, in 2022, our new kid smart watch CT-W24, the cool colorful mood light design must be one of the most outstanding highlights in the same industry. Therefore, when we explore the needs of customers, we also need to refine the core highlights of our own brand. Only in this way can we improve the trust of our customers.
Through the above explanation, I believe you have a deeper understanding of Chinese manufacturers now. At the same time, you will have more confidence in Cheertone's ability to cope with various difficulties. Your precious trust is the driving force of Cheertone. Although the epidemic has not completely ended, we will not stop developing new products. Please look forward to more new products from us!