If you work in South China, or if you are coming for the trade shows in Guangzhou/Hong Kong, you might be interested in attending conferences. In particular I am thinking of 2 events in Shenzhen city (between Hong Kong and Guangzhou) to which I will participate.

Cross Border Summit — April 16

This is an English event, targeting SME companies buying from China and selling online. Organized by Mike Michelini, the host of the interesting Global From Asia podcast.

It will be a full-day event with a long list of speakers. Visit their website here for details.

How to Build a Professional Procurement Organization [UPDATE: this event will take place later — probably in May]

The European Chamber of Commerce is putting up this event. Details of the location and the full list of speakers will be published later. I reproduced the outline below:

Faced with increasing cost pressure, procurement professionals need to re-evaluate the way they work — in particular, how they manage suppliers, what types of buyer-supplier relationships will lead to savings, and how tho re-organized internally for maximum impact.

• How to group the products categories?
• What type of approach to follow for maximising cost reduction?
• How to evaluate suppliers over time and how to push them for better performance?
• How to evaluate the performance of the purchasing organization itself?
• What do the best-in-the-world companies do?

Visit their website here for details.

I hope to see you there!