The Chinese Central Government recently modified China's national holiday schedule. In 2008, the holiday falling the first week in May will be reduced from seven days to three. Although a shortened holiday seems minor, the change will directly impact foreign demand scheduling, inventory management, lead time estimates and downstream planning, according to Bradley A. Feuling, CEO of Kong and Allan, LLC, a consulting firm based in Shanghai.
While the effects of the holiday change will impact many companies, few will actually modify their existing schedules, he says. "Many will not observe any direct effect, yet they will feel it, either through product delays or increasing costs. The critical piece is to identify these variables and modify existing plans to understand the cost impact, and predict potential challenges. By working closely with downstream operations, a company will better position itself for 2009 where the ripple effect of not changing will be more pronounced."
http://www.industryweek.com