Internet in Jakarta is indicative of Indonesia's infastructure

Hi! Sorry it has been so long, everyone.  Internet here is pretty slow, and so I haven't been able to upload pics.  Having an incredible experience in Jakarta, and hopefully I will be able to post more when we get to Vietnam next week.  Will share more asap.

Tuesday- P&G

We had an INCREDIBLE presentation from P&G Asia in Singapore where they showed us their brand-new BI system.  Extensive data is currently collected 12 out of the 15 countries of the region.  It was beyond impressive! For example, they showed us from their Asia headquarters in Singapore they can drill to the level of a single distributor's figures for a single brand in rural China.  Using TIBCO Spotfire software, David Dickman (Director of BI for P&G Asia) demoed this drill down by clicking on portions of charts and infographics. One of the coolest infographics showed vertically integrated value and volume share.  The software also has predictive modeling capabilities, but he could not show us that information. The most amazing takeaway from this presentation was that Mr. Dickman shared that just one year ago, all of this information was shared in paper reports.  He credits P&G Asia's ability to do implement this massive project as a combination of the right technology finally becoming available as well as Global CEO Bob McDonald's vision to "digitize the organization from end to end."  The rest of P&G's global operations' data remains separate, and this project was paid for using regional funds.  It was also interesting that corporate in Cincinnati has limited access to the data, as the BI director said they did not want them to get bogged down in a certain level of detail that is reserved for analysts.  The intricacies of Business Intelligence at work!

Since my group has focused on P&G since January for our project, this was an incredible opportunity to also meet with members of the marketing team.  We looked at trends for Asia, which P&G coins "Older, Urben, Richer, Smaller."  The product portfolio and distribution strategy will change significantly moving forward. The BI capabilities I mentioned above are critical to remaining competitive.  It's all about data!

Recapping a busy week- Monday

The week has flown by, and I cannot believe it is already Friday.  I've had classes taught by NUS faculty (National University of Singapore) from about 9am-2pm everyday, followed by corporate visits in the afternoon.


Monday we visited an HP plant that manufactures 3,000 computers 6-7 days a week.  The floor manager ran us through the major processes that take place at this particular facility, from sourcing parts and receiving orders to QA (which they break down into "pre-test" and "run") and shipping.  It was very interesting to see that their process still depends on paper scanning and is very reliant on human labor. Unfortunately, no pictures were permitted inside.

HP Plant, Singapore

After HP, we visited the Marina Barrage, which was more and educational experience than a corporate visit.  It was fascinating nonetheless.  Marina Barrage is a prime example of how Singapore's government actively innovates.  Singapore is a tiny island-  only about 700 square kilometers- smaller than most American cities, with very little natural water.  Singapore receives a lot of rainfall, however, and flooding can be a serious problem.  Marina Barrage serves three functional purposes.  The first is that it captures fresh water that can be treated and used by Singaporean citizens.  Secondly, it prevents flooding by opening gates during low tide and by pumping out water during high tide.  Finally,  it serves as a tourist attraction-  a place for local Singaporeans to relax on the grass above the building and learn about sustainability in the gallery inside.  Kite flying is also a popular past time at the Marina Barrage.  Below are some images of the Marina Barrage and the educational gallery inside.

Eating and Walking, Walking and Eating

Good morning! It is 6:30 am here, and I am clearly still adjusting to the time change, as I woke up at 5 am. I just uploaded pictures... be sure to check these out:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103282191594258450127/Singapore2?authkey=Gv1sRgCODWgICU_77Ldw&feat=directlink

These are mostly from Saturday and feature Chinatown, the walk through the Raffles/Marina area, Arab Street and Little India.  We most definitely ate our way through the city, starting at the Maxwell Hawker Center in Chinatown.  A hawker center is like an outdoor food court, and in Singapore the government tightly regulates the health standards in hawker centers.  We headed to this particular venue after some research.  Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" featured this locale as the best place for chicken rice, a typical Singaporean dish.  So we ventured to find a vendor called Tian Tian Hianese.  

Long queues reassured us that this was the place to be, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Others tried more dishes, soya smoothies, dumplings, even grass jelly drink, but I was more than satisfied with the chicken rice.  

Chicken Rice

Next, we walked from Chinatown through the Raffles/Marina area to Arab Street, another one of Singapore's famous heritage areas.  Here are some maps and photos to give you an idea of the route.  

Arab Street

Sultan Mosque (Arab Street)

After Arab Street, we cut through the Thieve Market to reach Little India.

Little India

We decided to eat at Banana Leaf in Little India, where you actually eat your food family style off of banana leaves instead of plates.  

Biryani Rice on a banana leaf

After a full day of walking and eating, we headed back to NUS (campus).  After taking a refreshing dip in the pool and much needed showers, we decided to explore some nightlife and headed to Clarke Quay.

Botanical Gardens, Orchids, and Getting Settled

Hi everyone!  I am exhausted, and so I will make this short and sweet.  here is a link to pictures from today from the national botanical gardens, orchid gardens, and dinner tonight near the university...
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=103282191594258450127&target=ALBUM&id=5611400648778759041&authkey=Gv1sRgCLOM386ajpmUDw&feat=email

Travelin'

Hi there!  Good morning from Singapore.  It is almost 8:00 am here, and I am very well rested.  Yesterday was a very long day, but I am glad to finally be here.   Lisa and I travelled together from 

DC to JFK to Honk Kong to Singapore.  We left her house in DC at 4:25am on Wednesday 5/25 and arrived in Singapore at the hotel on Thursday 5/26 at 9:00pm.   Long flights to say the least but we survived.  Below are a couple pictures from HK airport, you can see the mountainous terrain on one side of the airport, and on the other side there are shipping boats if you look closely.

We arrived in Singapore just in time for a late dinner.  We stayed last night in the Marriott Hotel on Orchard Rd (the main shopping district of Singapore).  Thank you to Papa Fish for setting this up for us :)  The room was more than we could have asked for, and the location is PERFECT. Everyone in Singapore is extremely friendly and polite, from the ticketing agents at the airport to the taxi driver, and especially the Marriott staff.  The waitress at the restaurant even gave Lisa and me a little chopstick tutorial (we must have looked very silly haha).

The concierge at the hotel recommended a great seafood place with in walking distance, called Tung Lok.  We arrived close to 10pm and were definitely on the later side. (I guess they don't eat like Europeans here.)

We tried Sambal Kan Kong ("water spinach")- amazing greens with sugar, chili paste, shrimp seasonings, garlic, and oil- Spicy and Delicious!

Delicious Scallops and Broccoli 

Looking rough,  but well fed and so excited to be in Singapore after travelling!

Bon Voyage!

Hi All!  Just wanted to get the blog up and running before I leave for Asia in less than 7 hours!  I had a lovely "last supper" in America with Carrie at "2 Amys"... amazing pizza in DC, very close to American University actually.  It was delicious and a wonderful way to celebrate my last night in America.

I am staying at Lisa's house tonight and we fly out at 6 am tomorrow morning.  We fly from DC to JFK to Hong Kong to Singapore.  It remains to be seen whether or not we will survive the trip without dying of boredom or wanting to kill each other haha... but we have some great travel books (including Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations") and Scrabble (travel edition) at least.  Well I better get some rest for the long journey ahead!  Love and miss you all!