Evaluating India as a Viable Alternative to China w/ Samir Kapadia

Art of Supply

“Folks from Dell to HP to Nike to Hasbro to Sony to Apple to Google to Goldman, they're all looking back at India and saying, let's go double down, triple down and build a presence here.” - Samir Kapadia, Managing Principal at Vogel Group and Founder and CEO at India Index

Most companies are obsessed with moving their supply chains out of and away from China - whether it is for regulatory, risk, or human rights-related reasons. That obsession is so strong, that in some cases, they are willing to embrace an “ABC strategy” as you will hear from this week’s guest: anywhere but China.

Samir Kapadia is a managing principal at Vogel Group, a lobbying and trade organization based in Washington, D.C. In 2019 and in 2020, he was ranked the number one tariff exemption lobbyist in Washington D.C.. Samir is also the founder and CEO of a B2B marketplace called India Index, which helps U.S. companies source from India, so he is uniquely qualified and also entirely willing to be honest about the opportunities and challenges of looking to India as an alternative to China.

In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner takes the opportunity to ask Samir for his professional opinion on:

• Why China looms so large over global supply chains
• The mindset and culture that play into corporate decisions about where to source internationally, and when to make a change
• Reasons India deserves serious consideration as an alternative to China as well as what companies should be aware of before they make new plans

Links:

• Samir Kapadia on LinkedIn
• Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
• Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter
• Art of Supply on AOP
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