Jimmy Hsiao

Jimmy would like to develop more local business in China, dealing either with transplant companies that have local offices there or with Chinese businesses. In the longer term, he would like to expand his horizons to all of Asia.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Globalization | Information Technology | Jimmy Hsiao | Logic Solutions | Making Substitutes

This three minute segment is also available as an iPod compatible download (16MB). In it Jimmy lays out his goal of obtaining more Chines based business and eventually expanding to all of Eastern Asia.

Jimmy's interview is part of a whole series of segments on the site where we have dealt with the topic of globalization. Victor Naidu discussed India's evolving software offshoring industry. Bill Michels provided an analytic perspective on the decision to offshore or not.

Jimmy discusses how his company developed offices in Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai. He also elaborates on the continued importance of Hong Kong.

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Filed under: Globalization | Jimmy Hsiao | Logic Solutions | Making Substitutes | Nanjing, China

In this 8 minute podcast (download iPod compatible, 43MB), Jimmy Hsiao talks about how he developed offices in three different cities in China and the importance of a fourth. Recall from our last conversation that Logic Solutions has been in China for the past 8 years. Highlights of this conversation include:

Nanjing

Logic Solutions started in Nanjing. They were looking for a location to source their development work that was not too expensive. Nanjing is a former capital of China with a well-educated population that is also off the beaten path.

Beijing

Jimmy knew of a good web development firm in Beijing that wanted to sell its business. Beijing is also the capital of China and a good location for learning of new developments.

Shanghai

One of Jimmy's major customers in the U.S. is General Motors. He was mentioning his China supply chain management activities, and GM suggested he set up in Shanghai to help them. Jimmy assessed that Shanghai was a growing, important city from another of perspectives and did so.

Hong Kong

Jimmy does not have an office in Hong Kong, but it is an important gateway from the country where he was born, Taiwan, and the main land as there are currently somewhat strained relations between the two. Jimmy also notes that many foreign businesses choose Hong Kong because of its English-speaking heritage.

Jimmy talks about how technical and cultural factors combine to complicate US-Chinese business practices.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Globalization | Jimmy Hsiao | Logic Solutions | Making Substitutes | Nanjing, China | Software | Supply Chain Management | Technology and Culture

In this 8 minute podcast (download iPod compatible, 42MB), Jimmy Hsiao and I continue our conversation by discussing some of the techno-cultural subtleties to doing business in China. Overall, Jimmy notes, U.S. companies have a lead on Chinese companies in technological integration. His business is built on translating U.S. technological integration strategies into something that will be effective in Chinese business culture. It's not just a simple matter of translating English into Chinese.

We discuss three major differences where it is easy for foreigners in China to make mistakes:

• The Chinese skipped over relying on personal computers for Internet communication. Rather, they rely on cell phone text messages and other mobile solutions. This has direct implications for doing things like creating eCatalog systems. The catalog must have a mobile interface.
• Distances from The U.S. to China are great and the data rates between them are restricted. Companies cannot rely on having Internet services from the U.S. easily available in China and vice versa.
• China has 56 distinct nationalities and a land mass that is slightly larger than the U.S. There is not just one China that you do business in but multiple Chinas.

Additional Links

• Jimmy mentions Ctrip, a Chinese travel agency. They have an Internet site, but they send all confirmations first by cell phone text message.
• As of 2004, as Jimmy notes, there were an estimated 320 million mobile phone users in China, more than the entire population of the United States.

Jimmy Hsiao, CEO of Logic Solutions, discusses how his company has evolved its business in China over the past eight years.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Globalization | Jimmy Hsiao | Logic Solutions | Making Substitutes | Nanjing, China | Supply Chain Management

In this 8 minute podcast (download ipod compatible, 42MB), Jimmy Hsiao and I begin an interview on how he and his company, Logic Solutions, have developed a growing business in China. Logic Solutions is a software development company that focuses on the web and supply chain management. The company was founded in 1995, and 8 years ago, Logic Solutions established their first China office in Nanjing. The original goal was to increase their software development capacity during the software development labor shortage of the late 1990's.

Logic Solutions' China business currently consists of three distinct activities:

• Offshoring a portion of their software development, the original purpose.
• Helping other U.S. companies set up in China.
• Helping U.S. and Chinese companies find suppliers and set up supply chains between the two countries, the most recent line of business.

We conclude with some discussion about how Chinese Supply Chains are much less automated than their U.S. counterparts, leaving them with a lot of opportunity to learn. In our next segment, we'll focus on cultural and business issues that make setting up supplier relations between the two countries more than just a technical exercise.

Additional Links

• Jimmy Mentions Reynolds and Reynolds. They are a company that provides car dealership management software.