Event Details
Info for New Members - About HR Roundtables
The roundtable series is aiming for Top Executives, HR managers or officers from VDMA members in China to inform them about current lead topics that effect their HR Operation.
In cooperation with selected industrial and business experts the target is to provide VDMA Members who are having concerns and need strategic guidance for their operations in China. During the event you will have this unique opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas with your peers from HR perspective, and learn from the experts and from each other.
Presentation 1
During the last two years the ongoing pandemic and the resulting travel restriction have challenged many German and European mechanical engineering companies who are doing a large sum of their business in China.
China is Germany's second biggest export market for the capital goods industry. In 2020 the export volume was roughly 16 billion euros and in 2021 this number grew by an estimated 13%.
Many machines and products must be installed and commissioned in China. Before Covid19 companies were able to send out their experts to China without any problems. Today however, it is difficult to receive the invitation letters from the Chinese government authorities in order to apply for the visa and travel documents. Additionally, travelers to China have to undergo a three week period of quarantines. Many companies did not set up their teams in China to operate completely independent from their headquarters. There are different reasons why this has not been established. One argument was to safe cost. Sending people to China was often more cost effective than hiring and training the people locally. Furthermore, companies were concerned of about knowledge transfer. Many companies are reorganizing their teams in order to adapt to the new situation they are in. In this year's HR Roundtable we would like to address this topic and discuss how to solve current problems under those harsh travel conditions. Learn from other VDMA members how they have dealing with the situation over the last two years. Erwin Geissler (GM United Grinding) is going to present and talk about his experience with United Grinding and how was able to build up his team that he would require in order to keep the projects in China running.
Presentation 2: The new German Supply Chain Law
Outline
Germany's new Supply Chain Law (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz) will enter into effect on January 1, 2023. In its first year, it will directly apply to about 600 German companies and their dominated subsidiaries in other countries. The law aims at reducing risks relating to especially employment related human rights and to the environment. In a first step, you need to understand:
ยท Which German and Chinese companies will be directly affected by the new law?
ยท Which kinds of risks shall be avoided or reduced?
ยท When can a Chinese subsidiary company fall under the affected German company's so-called "own area of operations"? What kind of measures are actively required in such case?
ยท When is a Chinese company viewed as a direct supplier and which actions are required?
ยท Which kind of measures are recommendable especially to small and medium-sized enterprises when dealing with a customer either as direct supplier or as indirect supplier?
