Why China Why Not India

   11 August 2020  Leave a Comment on Why China Why Not India  Posted in consumer behavior buying decision brandbuyology hisham kabir influencer marketing neuromarketing

*Why China and not India?*

International Business: Why didn’t American companies choose India instead of China for manufacturing products?

– Haosen Cai, Engineer

I’ve come across similar questions from time to time on this very topic and I don’t recall anyone ever pointing out the true reason.

The reason as to why India can’t outperform China in manufacturing is NOT because of infrastructure, it’s NOT because of skilled labors, it’s NOT because of corruption, and it’s also NOT because of “superiority of the Chinese mentality”.

I’d like to answer this question with this noun

Unpredictability

Now repeat after me.

Unpredictability

Unpredictability

Unpredictability

This is the single most powerful noun that’s preventing India from being a manufacturing hub – because doing business in India is so god damn unpredictable, therefore it is impossible to calculate your return on investment when dealing with India.

Bad infrastructure? No problem, that can be factored into shipping cost & delivery time

Lack of experienced labors? No problem, that’ll factor into capital/startup cost

Corruption? No problem, tell me who I need to pay and how much, that’ll become part of operating cost

Lots of paper work? No problem, longer startup time means lower return on investment, but that again, can be calculated, and can be made up with higher profit margin.

You know what the problem with India is?

NOTHING CAN BE CALCULATED

In India:

When someone says “yes”, you have no idea whether he/she actually meant yes or no.

When a worker say that “I’ll be there in 5 minutes”, you have no idea whether he’s one of those workers who keeps his word, or he’s one of those workers who’ll just show up 4 hours later

When an official approaches you and ask for “expedition fee”, you have no idea how much he’s asking, and how much faster he can expedite, and how many more like him are coming

When you are presented with a pile of paperwork, you have no idea whether this is the last pile, or whether there are 20 more piles that’s coming after, and whether you were even given the correct paper works to fill out.

Heck, even if you have someone coming in to help, you have no idea whether he’ll hit a cow on the way here and then forced to wait for another 8 hours for a shaman to show up and complete the ritual.

All that plus the occasional “I refuse to work with people from that caste” plus union strike and power outages makes doing business in India extremely unpredictable.

If you are a business owner, would you buy from someone who sells you the same item with $3, knowing that the goods will likely be delivered on time and to specification, or are you going to buy from someone who sells you for $2, but you have no idea when, or even if you’ll get that item?

Most people would buy it for $3, then just markup the profit.

Business is all about predictability, trying to make money without ability to predict is called gamble, and business owner don’t like to gamble when they could avoid it.

So to wrap this up.

Unpredictability is what’s killing manufacturing in India. Not infrastructure, not mentality, not corruption, not skilled labor.

It’s UNPREDICTABILITY, in capitalized bold letters.

Author: Hisham Kabir
Hisham Kabir Dubai-Based Management Consultant | Specialist in Lean Marketing, Digital Transformation & Family Business Advisory Hisham Kabir is a Dubai-based entrepreneur and senior management consultant with over 20 years of experience in lean marketing, digital transformation, and global e-commerce marketplace expansion. With a proven track record of advising companies across the UAE and India, Hisham helps brands optimize marketing ROI, scale operations, and expand internationally—particularly through platforms like Amazon and Noon. A fourth-generation member of a business family established in 1894, Hisham offers deep insights into the dynamics of multi-generational enterprises. Having witnessed both the successes and setbacks of legacy business models, he now guides family-owned conglomerates through succession planning, organizational restructuring, and sustainable business growth. Previously the Director of Ideal Food and Catering Company in Kochi, he now spearheads initiatives under the Shuraa Synergy LLP umbrella—an enterprise spanning ITES, digital transformation, lean marketing, food, healthcare, and e-commerce marketplace strategy. An alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, with a postgraduate degree in Advertising and Public Relations, and an MBA from Mumbai University, Hisham also serves as Lead Research Scholar at the Boudhik Center for Management Research (BCMR) in Kochi. BCMR is the only Indian business research academy in Kerala, focused exclusively on family business management, in academic affiliation with Symbiosis International (Deemed University). His cross-sectoral expertise and strategic vision make him a trusted advisor for both emerging startups and legacy enterprises navigating transformation in the digital age. A Experienced in recruiting, training and managing F&B teams - Most recently managed a 50+ strong cross-functional team. Proven track record of managing 400+ catering events including numerous high-volume corporate and social events with more than 5000 pax. Further to MBA, completed a Management development programme in sales management from IIM which is among the leading business management school in India. Later ventured into independent entrepreneurial business by launching and retailing a ready-to-cook food gravy paste brand using retort technology called freedom kitchen. With significant insights into front-end retailing and a strong background in the Retail Industry, I shifted to Corporate Path by joining a food-based FMCG company as part of their rural market expansion.  My expertise is in operational excellence, channel sales development, team management, client relationship development, and Event Operations Management. large ticket banquet Management, Menu planning, costing and P&L, and people management. Driven by a passion for advertising have conducted an exhibition titled walk through the history of Volkswagen beetle. where I showcased several print ads released by Volkswagen Beetle in North America from 1958 to 1971. You can follow blogs on www.buyologist.in dealing with trends in marketing and advertising and behavioural economics.

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