A Canwall Case Essay

The Chinese also spent a lot of time talking about the Canadian trade agent who had been in their town earlier and asking about him. Burton wasn’t able to tell them much about that person since he had never met him. When the Canadians at last were able to make the presentation they had prepared, they were surprised at the number of people who showed up: ten Chinese faced them across the table. Still, the Chinese frequently nodded and smiled and said “yes”.

Burton and Raines had prepared sales data and showed, effectively they thought, that within five years the factory could double its current production. At the end of the day the jubilant Canadians returned to their hotel rooms confident they had sold the equipment. The next day they were asked to explain once again things they thought had been covered already to a Chinese team with four new faces in it. They were confused about who their negotiating counterparts really were. Their jubilation began to evaporate.They were asked to explain the technology in minute detail. Nether Burton nor Raines had been involved in the engineering of the high-tech component that was the heart of the equipment.

Things were still unresolved when the farewell banquet was held the following noon. The questions of price seemed neat solution, but not the method of payment. That was the final, apparently insurmountable hurdle, since the Chinese couldn’t guarantee the payment schedule; it seemed tied to deadlines and requirements of the municipal officials. Nevertheless, managers Li smiled and spoke of mutual cooperation for the future, and past Chinese-Canadian relations, and the great amount he and his factory could learn from the Canadians.They signed and expanded version of the letter of intent that had been ignored nine months earlier in Canada.

The Canadians left disappointed but with expressions on both sides of willingness to continue to discuss the sale by mail and fax. The Canadians were stunned to learn two weeks later that the factory had decided to buy from a Japanese equipment manufacturer. They knew their product was good and their price was fair. What had happened to derail their sale?