DIETZ Consultants in China: “Sailing the seas on the blue ocean in the Middle Kingdom”
Held in June 2019 in Hamburg, the Northern German Quality Day placed a spotlight on technical exchange between professionals from the region. Hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualität e.V. (DGQ) federal association for quality in cooperation with ConSense GmbH, the German association for management system certification (DQS GmbH), the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) and QZ newspaper for quality and reliability, around 100 participants got together at the HAW premises, including keynote speaker Winfried Dietz. As the founder and CEO of DIETZ Consulting, he talked about his experiences as a freelance quality expert in China, presenting several interesting best practice examples from the FMEA environment.
China: different culture, different pace, different requirements
In China, DIETZ Consultants started out in a learning curve. Always keeping an eye on the task at hand and developing a strong brand for consultation in China, Winfried Dietz first ventured into the uncharted territory of the Middle Kingdom for DIETZ Consultants nearly 15 years ago. He quickly noticed differences in the culture, customer support, pace and requirements in working as a consultant in establishing his services in the areas of FMEA and risk management in China.
The most important thing in China is to adopt local traditions right from the start. Other success factors for the Far East included openness, establishing personal contact and networks, a desire to learn as well as technical expertise, with the key factor being qualifying and keeping employees. Those who believe they can attract good staff with a low salary are mistaken. Chinese employees discuss their salaries openly and competition is growing on the tough market. From an entrepreneurial perspective, starting out in China was like sailing the blue sea for Winfried Dietz – capturing a new, unknown market. Discoveries were awaiting, but that just made the journey even more exciting.
DIETZ establishes itself as a major player in the Far East
Lots has changed since DIETZ Consultants established its own location in China in 2015. The Chinese market has undergone rapid transformation in recent years, and DIETZ Consultants has become a recognized partner for OEMs and suppliers alike in the Middle Kingdom.
Today, projects managed by the colleagues in China come from industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices and mechanical engineering. Instead of process analyses (P-FMEA), the Chinese market relies more on design analyses (D-FMEA). China is in the process of being able to cover a growing number of product developments itself – increasingly with the tagline “Made in China”.
In concluding his keynote at the Northern German Quality Day, Winfried Dietz explained that, compared with the Chinese market, Germany is losing its edge in many quality-relevant infrastructural factors, if not already lagging behind.The success of DIETZ Consultants in China also has an effect on many international customers, increasingly benefiting from the best practice service developed in China – with great success! “In collaboration with our partners and based on our expertise, we will continue to grow on the Chinese market.”