Cultural Competence in Procurement: Doing Business with Indian Suppliers

Navigating the cultural landscape while doing business with Indian suppliers is crucial for companies engaged in international trade. India’s rich and diverse culture significantly influences its business practices, negotiation styles, and etiquettes. Understanding these nuances is key to building successful relationships and trust with Indian suppliers.

One of the most impactful way of building good relations is to attend events like trade shows and doing sourcing trips, which suddenly makes an unresponsive supplier cooperative. Such trips can offer significant advantages in establishing supplier relationships. GetAhead went on multiple trade shows and sourcing trips that involved factory visits, and all suppliers were gracious and professional. This was evident from introduction to coordination of travels and factory tours, with cars and train tickets arranged accordingly to our schedules. Attending trade shows and conferences in India is an excellent way to connect with potential suppliers, it gives you a chance to meet them face-to-face, build relationships, and see their products first-hand. It is also an opportunity to learn about the latest industry trends and innovations.

The business culture in India is heavily relationship-oriented, emphasizing personal rapport and trust as prerequisites to any formal business engagement. Indians place great value on relationships: take the time to develop contacts and relationships. Small talk about family is typical and can aid in building trust. This can be seen in one of GetAhead’s business trip, we visited cooling technology and metals parts suppliers in India. Throughout the factory tours, GetAhead was introduced to the family culture of the business and warmly welcomed with local food specialities. Personalizing the relationship with your suppliers also helps build a good relationship – visit their offices, hear their perspective before proceeding with internal strategy meetings, invite them to meals.

Negotiations with Indian suppliers often require patience and an understanding that decisions may evolve through prolonged discussions. Indian negotiators are known for their adaptability and may employ various tactics based on the situation. Respect for hierarchy is evident in business meetings, where seniority dictates greeting order and the exchange of business cards is done with respect. Small talk is often part of initial interactions, and formal titles are generally preferred, with women often addressed as Madam and men as Sir. Emphasizing long-term value and mutual benefits often yields more fruitful outcomes than focusing solely on price. One thing to note, is to negotiate favourable payment terms before placing orders, but once the order is placed, stick to the agreed-upon rules. If you can’t make a payment, communicate with your suppliers and explain why and when you will pay. Don’t play games with suppliers’ finances, as this can damage your relationship with them. Maintaining open lines of communication with your Indian suppliers is essential. This includes checking in regularly to ensure that everything is going smoothly and addressing any issues promptly. It is also important to provide feedback on their products and services, as this can help them improve and grow their business. Communication tends to be indirect, with a polite, non-confrontational style which may sometimes may require extra effort to understand the interests that matter most to the suppliers. Understanding these subtleties and responding with patience and attentiveness becomes crucial.

In terms of business etiquettes, formal attire is preferred, and punctuality is expected from foreign business representatives. Building trust with Indian suppliers involves consistent and open communication, understanding and respecting cultural values, and demonstrating a commitment to long-term partnerships. Transparency and ethical practices on both sides are the bedrock of trust in these business relationships. Other factors like timely payments, providing adequate lead times, personalizing the relationship, and sharing information also aid in building trust with the suppliers. Building a personal connection with your suppliers can help build trust and strengthen your relationship – this can include sending a thank you note after a successful shipment.

Engaging with Indian businesses is not as challenging as it may seem: by embracing India’s relationship-oriented business culture, companies can find building successful partnerships with Indian suppliers both rewarding and straightforward. GetAhead is committed to facilitating mutual understanding and bridging time zone and cultural differences.