Bosch in China: Developing and Producing Near-Client Talents for Internal Training

In 1986, Bosch celebrated its 100-year history in Germany. In the same year, 25-year-old Wang Xiaodong applied for an MBA class in Beijing. This is an MBA education program initiated by the predecessor of CEIBS (referred to as the China Europe International Business School since 1994). The MBA class will be taught for 3 years, followed by a half-year internship.

At this time, Wang Xiaodong still did not know that his future career would be linked with Bosch’s 100-year-old shop and lead Bosch Power Tools to open up markets in China.

“Because of the cooperation between China and Europe, our internships were arranged in Europe. European companies came to Beijing to choose us. Several companies came at that time. Bosch company picked me and another classmate.” After more than 20 years, it is already Bosch power tools. Wang Xiaodong, General Manager of (China) Co., Ltd. recalls the process of becoming a company with Bosch. "At the time, I knew very little about Bosch."

In the eyes of the Bosch company's Chinese people, Bosch was a German company and its business was related to automotive technology. Bosch, a large industrial group that started with the core components of the automotive engine, the ignition system, still has 59% of sales from the automotive technology sector.

The four-month experience and experience of internship at the headquarters of Bosch Power Tools in Leinfelden, near Stuttgart, Germany, is the first time in his life that Wang Xiaodong left socialism in China. He is also the first to experience the economic forms and corporate culture outside the planned economic system.

For these young people, what formed at the time was an overall impression of a foreign company. They were first exposed to market-oriented companies, which used the market to locate their products. This was a very impressive change for them.

At this time, Bosch headquarters in Germany has considered the expansion of the Chinese market. Helmuth Kuklinski, a German, was a Chinese communist who was appointed by Bosch in China in the late 1980s to establish an office in China. The earliest person in charge of the Bosch China region heard that there were Chinese interns at the German headquarters and they also took the initiative to contact them to meet. At that time, he had begun to search for the future.

After the internship, Wang Xiaodong returned to China on August 1, 1989. He soon received a call from Gu Kelin and invited him to join the Bosch China office. Wang Xiaodong became one of the first two employees of the Bosch Beijing office.

According to Bosch China's internal employee entry record, the first employee is Wang Yanyan, who is currently the director of Bosch China's taxation department. At this time, there were three people in the office, a suite of about 40 square meters in the Kunlun Hotel. The boss was in the middle and two Chinese employees were outside. From this starting point, Bosch began its rapid business development in China.

Now, the 48-year-old Wang Xiaodong's Bosch Power Tools China Company is located in Hangzhou Binjiang High-tech Park. In an interview with a reporter, the lawn mower has carved the word "Bosch 100" on the lawn between the office building and the factory building. In all the celebrations, Bosch has produced a picture wall that reflects the history of the company.

A few days later, employees of the Hangzhou factory will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bosch's products entering China. Before October 2009, the Bosch branch in China held similar celebrations in 9 cities. Bosch called it Family Day.

For a company, 100-year history is a moving record. Bosch, which has been born more than a hundred years ago, can give us some insight into the 100 years of its operation in China.

Started in China in 1909

In 1909, the first year of Xuantong. This is the last year of emperors in Chinese history.

Bosch began its journey in the Chinese market this year, which is also its first stop in Asia. At that time, it had not been able to independently establish a store in China. In October 1909, Walter Scharff & Co., a German trading agency, began selling Bosch magnetoelectric ignition systems in Shanghai. This is the only Bosch product of a trading company in China and one of Bosch's early inventions.

At this moment, it is only 8 years since the car entered China. In December 1901, Hungarian Leinz shipped two American-made Oldsmobile cars from the United States to the Shanghai Concession. The two vehicles appeared to be too early, so that the Shanghai Bureau of Work Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Development had no choice but to put them under the carriage.

However, the rapid development of automobiles has also promoted the development of Bosch's business. During that time, Bosch's business gradually changed from electrical equipment installation to franchised auto parts. It achieved an astonishing market position in the spark plug market. Bosch almost monopolized the market for magnetic ignition systems. In 1913, Bosch magnetoelectric ignition The system accounts for more than 90% of the global market share.

The turmoil brought about by World War I left Bosch shortly out of the Chinese market and ended the previous agency cooperation. In 1921, Bosch chose Jebsen & Co. as its sales agency for the Chinese market. This is a shipping and trading company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Jebsen expanded the sales scope of Bosch products, including Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Hong Kong, and its products are also enriched with lights and electric horns.

In 1926, Bosch expanded the scope of its products and services in China and established the first car service workshop in Shanghai. Outstanding performance in China and strong development momentum have received the attention of Bosch Group management. In order to ensure high-quality services, Bosch began sending engineers from Germany to China in 1937 to tell Chinese partners how to repair and service Bosch products.

This year, Bosch launched electric power tool advertisements in the “Linglin West News” in Shanghai, China. Today, power tools have become an important product of Bosch outside automotive products. By 2008, Bosch Power Tools has produced and sold more than 5 million units each year in China, and its annual growth rate has remained above double digits.

In 1949, when New China was established, Bosch distributed sales agency rights to two agents, North and South. Bosch still does not establish its own sales company in China, but it set up a local market factory directly managed by the headquarters this year. Since entering China, this is Bosch's first time using its own staff to deal with government contracts and other issues encountered in China. To some extent, we can think that Bosch has started to supervise the sales agents. After a few years, Bosch gradually withdrew its cooperation with agents and personally produced and sold products.

Since 1966, Jebsen has only been responsible for Bosch automotive products. The new agent, German-American company, is responsible for sales of electric tools in China. At the same time, Bosch's subsidiary Fernseh started marketing Bosch TV technology in China. In the 1970s, the Chinese television industry developed rapidly. Many people remember that the strengthening of Bosch's relationship with China began with the introduction of television equipment. At that time, a large number of Chinese television workers had gone to Germany to train.

Although Bosch still subcontracts dealerships to Jebsen and other agencies, its idea of ​​building its own production and sales capabilities in China has never been abandoned. In 1975, Bosch established the "Far East Special Committee" and sent special personnel to take charge of China business.

Perhaps we can conclude that in the process of Bosch entering the Chinese market, it first sells auto parts through agency companies, then power tools, and then TV technology and equipment. In the late 1980s, Bosch began a new effort to establish a joint venture company in China for local production.

The first task for Wang Xiaodong to join Bosch China is to help establish Bosch Beijing Representative Office in order to prepare for the follow-up investment in China and start the Chinese business. At that time, every business department of Bosch had its own plans for the Chinese market. The role of the representative office is to contact the local government and enterprises, assist the business department to find partners, do data collection, data collection, investment environment, policy analysis, and some coordination and communication work. When a business unit in China develops specific businesses, the representative office must also provide local support. "Basically, it serves as a bridge."

At that time, Bosch also had plans to establish production companies in other parts of Asia. The only difference was that in other regions, it was more of a fancy for lower production costs, while China included the country's huge market potential. A Bosch employee told the reporter: “I think Bosch looks more long-term. Early on, it did a lot of analysis on the Chinese auto industry. It feels that although the Chinese automobile industry market in the 1980s was not big, there is great potential for future growth.”

Bosch’s potential for the Chinese market is estimated to be so firm that at the turn of the spring and summer of 1989, when many foreign companies withdrew from Beijing, Bosch did not stop. They seized the time to find a new office in the East China International Trade Center and complete preparatory work such as decoration, furniture purchase, and telephone installation. In February 1990, Bosch Beijing Representative Office held an opening ceremony at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Obviously, Bosch's current follow-on investment in China may not be able to proceed so quickly and smoothly if these things are not done at that time.

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Development and production close to customers

The earliest production contacts between Bosch and China started with automotive products. In 1964, the Bosch patent department received a consultation from the China National Technical Import and Export Corporation on the diesel injection system. After a lengthy setback and negotiations, in 1984, the diesel injection system began production of a patent license in Wuxi, China.

Bosch diesel injection system comes from the automotive technology department established in 1924. In 1927, Bosch developed a diesel injection system for trucks. After 1936, the system was successfully applied to passenger cars. These patents are uniformly managed by the Bosch patent department. In addition to maintaining company patent rights, they also use patent licenses to make more profits. Currently, Bosch's Intellectual Property Department manages approximately 80,000 patents and patent applications, and nearly 8,000 registered trademarks.

In the mid-1980s, Bosch's power tools division also wanted to license patents in Hangzhou, and then selected a partner. The project was suspended in 1989 and restarted in early 1990. At this time, Bosch considered whether it was a permit production or a joint venture. After some thought, he decided to make a joint venture.

In fact, Bosch’s development model is preceded by local manufacturing companies (such as the Hangzhou factory), followed by local investment companies, and then large regions such as the Asia Pacific headquarters. This is a very solid development. Many Bosch factories were built earlier than Bosch China Investment Corporation.

The advantage of doing so is that there is sufficient time for preliminary negotiation preparation and feasibility studies, including market inspections, such as sales markets and procurement markets. The procurement of Bosch power tools entered China very early. The first is to establish a procurement office. The main purpose is to find suppliers and find qualified sources of raw materials. When the company later builds factories in China, there are certain local suppliers who can cooperate.

In 2005, Bosch's largest investment project outside of China, Bosch Automotive Diesel Co., Ltd., landed in Wuxi. The Wuxi plant is an ordinary one of Bosch's global diesel products. Bosch unites the global network together and calls it the global production network. It selects the best leading factory from the inside.

Now, Bosch's best diesel plant is still in Europe, and Chinese factories have started to make the Euro III standard common rail system since 2008. This is the first large-scale production of the Euro III standard common rail system in China. By 2009, this has already matched several Euro IV products.

Prior to coming to China in February 2007, Maier Rudolf, 52, was General Manager of the Commercial Vehicle Business Unit of Bosch Diesel Systems and was responsible for customers worldwide. He spent three to four years before coming to China to provide technical support to Chinese customers and factories.

Now, Ma Ruyi is in charge of Wuxi Bosch Automotive Diesel Systems Co., Ltd. His mission is to produce and promote Bosch's advanced diesel products in China. At present, more than 10 local automakers have adopted the Bosch common-rail diesel system.

Ma Ruduo said: "We are ready to prepare for the country's fourth production. The specific process depends on the models and matching of Chinese companies. In early 2010, there may be new cars listed by domestic companies that are equipped with Bosch's National IV products."

In Suzhou, which is not far from Wuxi, Bosch's new products are also preparing to enter the Chinese market. The 9th generation ESP® will be put into mass production in China in 2011. This product will debut in Europe next year.

According to information provided by Bosch, a new generation of products will reduce costs even more. Because the ninth-generation ESP® is a modular design, it uses the same software as the ninth-generation ABS. Now that ABS matching takes 12 to 18 months, the new generation of products takes only 6 to 9 months. Because in the eighth generation, ABS and ESP matching are separate, using different software. In the new generation of products, the two are made with the same software. Customers can match two products by simply giving a matching vehicle.

Today, Bosch's investment in China has increased nearly sixfold, from 52 million euros (4.9 billion yuan) in 2003 to about 290 million euros (3 billion yuan) in 2008. Although the global recession has slowed Bosch's investment elsewhere, Bosch's investment in China is as usual.

Take the Suzhou Chassis Control Plant as an example. At the end of 2007, there was only one production line for wheel speed sensors, which produced 2 million pieces each year. ESP® and ABS shared two production lines at the same time, with an annual output of 600,000 pieces. By 2010, the number of wheel speed sensor production lines will increase to 15 with a production capacity of 15 million pieces, and ESP and ABS production lines will reach 5, with an annual output of 2.5 million pieces.

In 2009, Bosch invested approximately 160 million euros (1.5 billion yuan) in China, especially investing in future-oriented renewable energy and powertrain electrification technologies. By the end of 2009, about 35 engineers will be in the electric drive and hybrid power business unit of the joint venture of Bosch and SAIC Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., specializing in powertrain electrification projects. In the near future, the number of engineers will increase to about 100.

The direct effect brought by localization is that the localization rate of products has been greatly improved. Currently Bosch's localization of ABS, TCS and ESP® in China is around 60%. The localization rate for the new generation of ABS products to be launched in 2011 will reach 85%.

On October 15, 2009, Franz Fehrenbach, Chairman of the Bosch Group's Board of Directors who attended the 100th anniversary of the Bosch Group's entry into the Chinese market in China, said: “Our requirements in China are close to our customers, not only sales, we The development and production are also close to the customers. The combination of technical expertise and local strength is the key to our success. We can't just shift our ability to innovate from one region to another. We need to develop local R&D capabilities.”

At present, one quarter of Bosch's 30,000 R&D staff worldwide is in the Asia-Pacific region. The number of R&D teams in China is 1,350. By the beginning of 2010, about 1,500 R&D personnel will be working in China to develop new technologies that meet the needs of the local market.

Talents focus on internal training

In 2000, Xiaodong left Bosch and joined another German company.

After returning to Bosch's power tools department, he experienced different corporate culture and talent development processes. In general, most companies, because they are listed companies, will pay more attention to short-term performance. They are also more willing to recruit and eliminate employees from outside. The Bosch Corporation’s largest holding company is the Bosch Foundation. It can treat many affairs in the long term. It attaches great importance to the training of its employees. About 90% of the top management are promoted from within. At Bosch, most of the employees at the regional company's general manager level have worked at Bosch for 10 years and 20 years.

It is because Bosch has a very rigorous talent development system that allows people to stay in Bosch for a long time. This is the continuation of more than 100 years of development. For Bosch, the development of personnel is an important topic. Some Bosch staff felt that at Bosch development and rotation, sometimes they did not present themselves, and the company thought about it. Every year, Bosch has regular performance assessments and feedback as well as employee potential forecasts.

In fact, Bosch's various departments, when choosing new employees to join Bosch, are very concerned about what your main purpose and motivation is, whether you think of Bosch as a big company gold plating, or want to develop together with the company. Because Bosch is a big company, it is not the highest paid foreign company.

Bosch does MED (Employee Development Planning) every year. Department heads and personnel departments work together to discuss subordinate employees, who have the potential to develop to a position higher than their current position, once a year. Then, the company will select these potential staff to do targeted training and understand where he wants to develop.

Based on this information, Bosch will make corresponding plans to plan the work development and job changes of employees. As managers, this is one of their main tasks. To cultivate talents for future development, not only leaders but also technical experts. In 2008, Bosch Power Tools Hangzhou factory had hundreds of staff included in different levels of training.

In fact, each company is similar in terms of training methods and content selection. However, some companies even believe in the combination of internal training and external recruitment, and believe that the survival of the fittest will be the best mechanism. Bosch emphasizes internal training. Although it also combines external recruitment and elimination, the proportion is not the same.

Bosch China, for example, started the CNTP project in 2008 and intends to use this training to recruit people with a better foundation, overseas education or work experience in the market, and recruit these potential people for purposeful purposes. Rotate jobs, in different positions, different companies, and even different countries, to see if they can quickly enter certain management or professional positions.

After everyone comes in, there is a mentor who follows, teaches, and formulates each person's specific plan. These people have to choose a specific department. After the rotation is completed, they must return to this department. There are also such candidates in the power tool Chinese company. Their future direction is to replace the positions of some foreigners in the Bosch management team, and to fill in some new positions in the future development of the company.

It is understood that every year, Bosch conducts inspections of high-level and key positions, and who has the potential to replace those positions, and has accordingly made corresponding plans for training and rotation. In addition, Bosch will also count the gaps in which jobs will occur at any time, what steps need to be taken to fill the gaps, and detailed plans will be formed. In this way, in the course of business development, Bosch will not delay opportunities due to shortage of talent.

Every employee of Bosch, although starting from one department, because Bosch itself has this relatively large platform, the company will encourage employees to try different departments, do different positions, and go to different countries.

Bosch has a strict selection of overseas staff. In the early days, each expatriate would have to have a face-to-face conversation with the boss before they could get this opportunity. In the 1920s, these technicians were carefully selected and supplemented with specific training. These people must be familiar with the car, understand the Bosch ignition system products and the interaction of the product and the engine. In terms of character, these people must be respectful, pleasing and well-behaved. And, crucially, this person must have a good language prowess, because Bosch hopes that employees can speak with customers in the local language.

In the mid-1970s, employees who wished to work overseas at Bosch would receive more training programs. Today, it has become a detailed standard process that Bosch's human resources department provides to overseas employees, and each step is carefully defined. The company will discuss with the staff each clause of the assignment contract, including salary and other benefits; the company will provide language course training, training in different cultures, and preparation for overseas survival. The company will also provide solutions to problems encountered by staff and families during the process of relocation and overseas settlement.

By the 1990s, overseas work experience has become a basic consideration for the career development of Bosch employees. Every year, Bosch has a large number of employees working in different countries. In 2008, about 3,000 employees worked overseas.

However, Peng Deyuan, president of Bosch China Investment Corporation, is not even satisfied with the current speed of development. In the next few years, he intends to increase the proportion of Chinese executives above the departmental level from the current 60% to 80%, and the proportion of department managers to 90%. “We have a strong foundation in China,” he said. “At present, what we see before us is a German company with Chinese characteristics, but we are only on the way. In the future, we will become a Chinese company with German characteristics. ”

This may reflect the Chinese market's position in Bosch globally. The Asia-Pacific region currently accounts for 1/6 of global sales. By 2015, this figure will reach 1/4. Fei Runbach said: "Without China's growth, we cannot achieve this goal."

In 2008, 74% of Bosch's sales came from outside Germany, including 17% in the Americas and 17% in Asia Pacific. "In the next few years, Bosch's investments in emerging markets' production capacity and local R&D applications will change the distribution of this region, with a focus on the Americas and Asia," said Fehrenbach.

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