Manufacturing And Marketing Evaporative Coolers In Canada: Challenges And Solutions

Choose a product (textile, small electronics, or other consumer durable) that you will design, develop, manufacture and sell in different foreign countries.

So, for example:

Design and development may be in Canada

Manufacturing may take place in China, or Vietnam, or Bangladesh, or Myanmar/Burma, etc. Transportation to, and selling within, may take place in the USA, Canada or a European country.

For Assignment , you are asked to research and write a essay based on your outline You should outline:

Your choice of product;

What obstacles you might encounter in each phase from design to delivery; and

What legal solutions you will employ to overcome these obstacles.

In addition to any imagined obstacles you are asked to address the following scenario:

Assume reaction to your product has been favourable. You receive an order for 10,000 units from a Canadian retailer. You are faced, however, with two problems:

The need to sell at a very competitive price
Short delivery period (critical)
What steps would you take to order and get the goods delivered to your warehouse on time in order to be delivered to your customer?

After delivery of the goods, you receive a notice of claim from the OECD that your supplier uses sweatshop/child labour in its production. What do you think your company’s liability would be? What might be your response?

Use only secondary research materials, as in popularly available desktop and online materials. Primary research materials are not required; students should not engage in primary research.

The use of evaporative coolers is quite common in the country of Canada, which today has a market that has been yet untapped for the manufacture and sale of this product. Evaporative coolers are deployed for a wide range of manufacturing activities and can prove to be immensely useful for businesses that are engaged in heavy duty engineering works. Yet if a business is to run on the sale of evaporative coolers, there must be every effort made to manufacture and market the product in a way that it comes across as appealing for a desired clientele (Christopher, 2016). This report identifies how evaporative coolers can be delivered to warehouses in Canada right on time once these have been manufactured in India on a large scale, for the purpose of distribution. The report also examines legal issues that are likely to arise pertaining to the sale of evaporative coolers due to the fact that suppliers in India make extensive use of child labor for manufacturing activities, and outlines solutions to such issues that can prove to be of immense benefit for the business owner.

The product that has been chosen for manufacture in India and which will be distributed and marketed in Canada is evaporative coolers.

Difficulties in Creating a Unique Style and Design 

One of the major obstacles that are likely to arise with respect to design and delivery lies in the fact that evaporative coolers are of a sophisticated design and pattern. It will require a considerable amount of time and investment to locate suppliers in India who are able to come up with the raw materials and the design techniques that are needed in order to create evaporative coolers that are unique in style and function and which are likely to go down well with the target audience in Canada (Dewan & Ronconi, 2018).

Delays in getting the Supplies Shipped to Warehouses for Distribution 

Another one of the obstacles that can arise with regard to design and delivery is the time taken for the goods to be shipped to the warehouse. The distance physically between India and Canada is huge. A lot of time will go in the goods reaching Canadian shores, after which the challenge will lie in getting them shipped in a safe and secure manner to the warehouses without incurring a delay, so that these may be distributed on time to the market (Christopher, 2016).

Be Transparent about the Design and Style of Evaporative Cooler 

One of the best ways to avoid legal problems with clients at a later date is to mention clearly the type of structure or design of evaporative cooler that they can expect. If clients are promised a particular style and another style is delivered to them, it will mean a violation of contract. Instead, it is better to be transparent at the outset about what design it is that the clients can expect.

Be Clear about Delivery Time 

Legal Issues

Clients should also be informed about the exact time by which they can expect the supplies to be shipped to them. The time promised to the client should be one that is confirmed keeping in mind the delays that are likely to arise in the shipping process. This is another way by which legal disputes can be avoided (Doron et al. 2017).

Transparency with Customs Authorities 

Every effort should be made to be as transparent as possible with customs authorities. They need to know what it is that is coming in India for distribution in the USA and by doing so, any legal dispute with state authorities can be avoided (Ehrenberg, 2016).

Host Forum Regulation and Restrictions on Foreign Investment

Since the country of Canada does not impose restrictions on foreign investment but rather since foreign investment constitutes a major source of revenue for the government of Canada, the business in evaporative coolers is not likely to incur any glitches when shipping the supplies into Canada for distribution and sale. All host forum regulations in particular will be adhered to at the time of bringing the goods into Canada for marketing, but given that restrictions are usually imposed on food, plants and drugs, the business in evaporative coolers is not likely to witness any disturbance because of host forum regulations or restrictions on foreign investment.

Exporting and Importing Requirements

The exporting and importing restrictions as imposed by the government of Canada are those that are nil when it comes to products like evaporative coolers. This is not a banned product by the Canadian government and will not encounter obstacles with regard to entry into Canadian soil once it has been manufactured in India in sufficient quantity.

Tax Compliance and Tax Treaties

When it comes to tax requirements, all tax that is imposed on foreign businesses or businesses that entail production on foreign soil, are those that will be duly met by the business owners. Taxes will be filed as soon as the distribution process takes off and sales are incurred.

Protection of Intellectual Property

The protection of intellectual property is an important condition out of all the rules and regulations for trade and investment as established by the Canadian government. However, the business of evaporative coolers does not require the protection of intellectual property or patent in any form, so there are no obstacles or restrictions that are likely to be faced in this respect.

Handling of Emergency Orders

Emergency orders if placed for the business of evaporative coolers will be those that are handled on a priority based. The goods that are required urgently are those that will be shipped in advance to customers in lieu of an advance payment that is made by them, with the rest of the payment being received after the goods have been delivered to their door step. Every care will also be taken on the part of the business administrators to package the evaporative coolers as securely as possible so that these are delivered to the distributors or customers without incurring any sort of damage along the way. The business owners will take full responsibility for damage if any, and will ensure that the coolers that are required urgently by customers are those that are delivered to them right on time.

Solutions

Selling Evaporative Coolers on a Competitive Basis

The evaporative coolers will be sold on an emergency basis by keeping the rates of the products to a minimum. The evaporative coolers will be sold at competitive rate upon being introduced in the Canadian market in order for these to appeal to buyers of every budget. Once the sales are deemed to be good and the rate of profit is high, the price of the evaporative coolers will be increased by a slight margin, but not before that. The business owners will take recourse to the use of social media platforms in order to make the sale of evaporative coolers known to a target audience. Since social media platforms are those that have a wide outreach, the business of evaporative coolers is certain to locate a sufficient number of buyers on such platforms. Examples of the social media platforms that will be used in order to get the coolers sold at a competitive price are Facebook and Twitter.

Internal Processes will be simplified 

The very first step that shall be taken to ensure that the evaporative coolers are those that reach the warehouses in Canada on time, from where these will be distributed for sale in the market is to simplify all internal processes. The internal process of getting the goods manufactured, ready for sale in fully packaged form will be kept simple and efficient so that a lot of time does not have to be wasted in getting these transported to the warehouse. The operations pertaining to the development of evaporative coolers will be restricted to a minimum, in which case both expenditure and time can be saved at the same given time (Swink et al., 2017).

Customers shall be Duly Informed of Delivery Dates 

Customers will be informed as to when it is that they can expect the orders. Distributors will be informed as to the due date of delivery and every attempt will be made to provide a delivery date that is as realistic as possible in order to prevent distributors from becoming disappointed by delays. If delays do occur in the delivery process, then the distributors shall be informed about this at the earliest possible instance so they can expect the arrival of goods at a consequent date (Monczka et al., 2015).

Shipping Labels will be printed prior to Delivery 

The shipping labels that are printed for the delivery process will be kept entirely unique in nature so that these are easy to identify. There are plenty of goods that get lost in the shipping process because of the fact that these are not labeled well enough. Attempts will therefore be made to put labels on all of the packaged evaporative coolers that are being shipped to the warehouse for distribution. While this may seem like a time consuming and tedious process, it will ensure delivery of goods to the warehouse sans any confusion (Swink et al., 2017).

Shipping and Delivery Process

The packaging process shall be streamlined in every possible way so that no time is lost is the shipping of products to the warehouses in Canada. Boxes usually come in a number of different sizes and shapes and the same holds true for shipping supplies or packaging supplies as well. Efforts shall be made to use minimal number of boxes for the packaging of all the evaporative coolers. While this will not only make the shipping process easier, it is a cost effective measure too and can save a lot of money that would otherwise have had to be spent on the shipping process (Christopher, 2016).

In order to make sure that the shipping process to Canadian warehouses for the evaporative coolers is something that takes place in a smooth and hassle free manner, the nuances of shipping to a country like Canada in the first place, is something that will be well studied. There are plenty of rules and regulations in Canada that need to be adhered to with respect to the shipment of goods, such as the time at which the delivery is being carried out and there are rulers pertaining to goods being restricted from entry if these have been manufactured in certain countries. Fortunately, since goods that are shipped from India are readily accepted into country, there should be obstacle arising regarding the shipping of evaporative coolers to warehouses in Canada.

Efforts will be made to identify companies or businesses in Canada that can facilitate the delivery of goods to the warehouses once these have landed on Canadian shores. The internal delivery and distribution needs to be kept quick and efficient so that the goods make their way to the market on time and the sale of the product is something that starts taking place immediately.

Heavy Vehicles will be used for Delivery of Goods 

In order to make sure that a lot of time is not lost in the delivery of goods to the warehouse, care will be taken to invest in heavy vehicles that can carry out the delivery process within a quick time frame. This will especially be the case if the delivery process is not being outsourced to some other business for an extra expense. Several heavy vehicles will be lined up and booked on the basis of the number of evaporative coolers that are being distributed to the warehouses in Canada, so that the goods make their way to these warehouses quickly without any time being lost in the bargain (Meixell & Luoma, 2015).

Conclusion

In the event that it comes to the notice of the business owners that the suppliers in India make use of child labor services, then the following actions will be undertaken –

Suppliers who use Child Labor will be Avoided 

Every attempt will be made to hire or recruit only suppliers who avoid engaging in the use of child labor services for manufacturing work. While certain types of child labor are permissible under Indian law, it is a complete violation under Canadian rule, given that Canada is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and has ratified it as well. Suppliers who do make extensive use of child labor will not be approached for a contract therefore, for the manufacture of evaporative coolers for distribution and sale in Canada (Kotiswaran, 2017).

If suppliers who are already on a contract with the business owners happen to engage in child labor services at a later date and without informing the business owners, then this will lead to an immediate cancellation of the contract. The business in evaporative coolers will in no way be carried out with suppliers who support the use of sweat shops or child labor (Ehrenberg, 2016).

Extensive research will be undertaken on the part of the business owners to locate suppliers in India who are not likely to use child labor for their work, so that the negative consequences that can arise as a result of such activity, may be easily avoided (Dewan & Ronconi, 2018).

Conclusion 

Thus, there are quite a few ways by which obstacles pertaining to the design and delivery of evaporative coolers in Canada can be overcome, legal or otherwise. The same may be said for obstacles that are imposed s a result of suppliers engaging in the use of child labor in India to get the evaporative coolers manufactured on time for the business. The business, like other Canadian businesses and enterprises is one that fully respects the law of the land and does not intend on engaging in any activity that will violate the law of the land. This being said, every effort will be made to get the evaporative coolers manufactured at a low cost in India but without using child labor to do so, while putting the necessary measures or mechanisms in place in order to ensure that the obstacles that can arise in the design and delivery process are those that are suitably overcome.

References 

Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.

Dewan, S., & Ronconi, L. (2018). US Free Trade Agreements and Enforcement of Labor Law in Latin America. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 57(1), 35-56.

Doron, I., Lowenstein, A., & Biggs, S. (2017). Law and intergenerational relationships: Comparing labor case law in the United States, Canada, and Israel. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(3), 277-295

Ehrenberg, R. G., & Smith, R. S. (2016). Modern labor economics: Theory and public policy. Routledge.

Kotiswaran, P. (Ed.). (2017). Revisiting the law and governance of trafficking, forced labor and modern slavery. Cambridge University Press.

Meixell, M. J., & Luoma, P. (2015). Stakeholder pressure in sustainable supply chain management: a systematic review. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 45(1/2), 69-89

Monczka, R. M., Handfield, R. B., Giunipero, L. C., & Patterson, J. L. (2015). Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.

Swink, M., Melnyk, S. A., Hartley, J. L., & Cooper, M. B. (2017). Managing operations across the supply chain. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education