Doing Business in India For Dummies®

Making Adjustments when Your Business Plan Goes off Track

You may experience a time when your business’s course varies from your plan. When that happens, don’t panic. Instead, focus on analyzing and understanding the reasons for the variances, and think about what you can do to adjust for them.

Market volatility can always impact a plan and can’t be accurately forecasted. However, it can be analyzed and understood after it happens. For help with this analysis, seek professional Indian help in the form of marketing professionals. It’s worth the time and expense. (I cover the importance of coming up with a solid business plan in Chapter 4.)

But also make sure that you take a look at variances from your Indian business plan that can’t be explained by market force volatility. This is where an understanding of a few Indian market idiosyncrasies come in handy.

Delays in customs clearance

For businesses in India that depend on vital imported components, any delay in receiving is a huge cost factor that can considerably impact the profits. Delays are likely, so you need to know about the problems in order to minimize or avoid them.

Incorrect nomenclature of the imported component

More than 80 percent of customs delays are the result of incorrect nomenclature (mislabeled packages). India follows the International Harmonic Code of Classification of Goods, which is hugely helpful, but when it comes to export/import invoicing, companies more often than not get a bit careless. When that happens, ...