Key points
- Location frameworks compare sites; delivery depends on specific suppliers.
- Assumptions about a supplier’s capacity, overseas delivery and interest should be verified, not taken from brochures.
- Evidence of comparable delivery is the most useful single test.
The starting point
A McKinsey operations blog article, “Supply chain resilience—in China and everywhere else”, suggests that multinationals assess manufacturing locations against five criteria: intellectual property, resource availability, cost efficiency, market adjacency and regulatory requirements. Read the original article ↗
Where location decisions meet supplier reality
A location assessment shows where production could make sense. It does not show whether a specific supplier can deliver. Many China+N plans — adding capacity outside China, or asking Chinese suppliers to build or serve projects overseas — rest on assumptions about individual suppliers that are rarely tested before commitments are made.
Delivery assumptions to verify
| Assumption | What to verify | Evidence to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Technical capability | Can the supplier meet the specification? | Comparable projects, process documentation, site evidence |
| Capacity | Is there capacity for your volumes and timeline? | Current commitments and utilization |
| Overseas delivery | Can it deliver, install and support outside China? | Completed overseas projects, local partners, service arrangements |
| Interest | Does it want this project on workable terms? | Decision-maker engagement, a commercial proposal |
| Compliance | Do export controls, certification or local-content rules apply? | Specialist advice |
From our work
For a Middle East company planning a smart power-equipment factory in Saudi Arabia, BizLinks mapped Chinese providers against technical requirements, production capacity, delivery capability and the project’s operating conditions, examined evidence of relevant factory processes and tested cooperation interest. Five providers were shortlisted following preliminary validation.
Read the case: Identifying Five Chinese Providers for a Saudi Smart Factory →
Source: McKinsey & Company, “Supply chain resilience—in China and everywhere else”, Operations Blog.