2026-05-14 路 Operations 路 Lean 路 JIT 路 China
Shenzhen 2006: A Tsingtao, bottled 36 hours earlier, brewed a few kilometres from the bar. Meanwhile, at Nokia in Beijing, four weeks of finished goods were sitting in my consignment warehouse. How a label triggered a lean overhaul - and the worried question Nokia's Finnish buyer asked at the end.
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2026-04-26 路 Geopolitics 路 Mid-Cap
China looks calm - but calm is not neutral. Geopolitics is no longer theory; it sits in the production plan. With link to China Hot Pod episode 179.
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2026-01-20 路 Geopolitics 路 Supply Chain
The lessons were learned in Zhongnanhai. Calm and decisive risk reduction is not free in the short term - but being blackmailed is much more costly.
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2025-12-26 路 China 路 Demographics 路 Operations
Demographics in China are no longer a social topic but a factor in productivity, innovation and plant planning. Three consequences for Operations plus reference to the current MERICS report.
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2024-06-12 路 EUCCC 路 Business Confidence
Notes from the Shanghai launch of the European Chamber's annual confidence survey - and why both sides are losing if the dialogue stalls. Room remains for win-win between China and Europe.
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2023-10-27 路 China 路 Personal
A personal note on the passing of Premier Li Keqiang - with photo from the meeting in the Great Hall of the People in November 2013.
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