Strategos: Launched December 2010

The Inaugural Issue of "Strategos" was launched in 20th December 2010.

It is meant to be a newsletter that serves as a "light-tea" and thought-opener for top managers to workers who like reading and trading ideas.

MIENS’ first newsletter was published in 2006 as “Limited Resources” to reflect the mood of the Firm with its clients at that time.

On top of positioning ourselves in the market as the management consulting in Penang see SmartPenang (under InvestPenang), http://smartpenang.my/index.php?option=com_sobi2&catid=70&Itemid=60

we have decided to come up with a new masthead for our newsletter, Strategos.

We were asked by people how often will be the publications, readership etc. All we can say for now, we would love to hear from our readers as to what interests them.

Customer Satisfaction First.

For all references, we tried to contact the original people and including the family of late Tun Dr. Lim.

So, do give us your feedback!

Here's the first article from the newsletter and more to come. Enjoy!

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Coming to 12 years of efforts translated to one break-through conclusion, a true management consulting professional firm for Malaysians, by Malaysians and accountable to Malaysians.

Successes had been measured in many ways; often used are profitability, resource availability and market shares. MIENS still has a long, enduring path to emulate the likes of McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Co.

2010 – we had met all our challenges set by clients and certification bodies namely SGS and BM Trada. We have included new clients including a Fortune 100 company*, new associates, market domination of the nursing colleges in Northern region and our first very own trend-analysis to support the research for our book-writing project.

With reliable trend-lines, we can continue to provide useful solutions for top management that helps to discover and develop positive directional thinking

2010 - with the actual posting of 9.8% sale growth for 3^rd Quarter beating an earlier 6.8% estimate by Retail Group Malaysia and a further a 2.2% boost in Black Friday sales in US compared to 2009 (see http://miensdigest.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-friday-increase-in-us-retail.html), the industry analysts believed there is a slower recovery in the world economy despite the continuous rise in cost of living.

Economic growth is certainly the good news for our clients and for us. So let’s welcome 2011 with a big shout!

* - changed from newsletter due to non-disclosure agreement.

Are We Really Off the Hook?

Malaysian fish exports to EU resume after long suspension

http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4485006>

The European Union said Friday its trade in fish and fishery products with Malaysia is back to normal, after it suspended imports more than two years ago over health concerns.

"After two years of intensive and fruitful cooperation between the Malaysian and the EU authorities, trade flows have resumed, in full compliance with EU standards," European Commission ambassador to Malaysia Vincent Piket said.

"We will jointly continue to ensure that only products complying with the highest food safety standards will be traded between the parties. That's what today's consumer expects," he said. In 2007, Malaysian exports of fish and fishery products to the EU were valued at 600 million ringgit (190 million dollars).

The ban came about during a period of severe economic turmoil 2007-2008. In terms of food safety standards, the fish food ban was listed together in the same time with Melamine cases in China's milk powder products.

Are food producers really concern about consumers or are they concerned about their production being halted?

Though we cannot place blame squarely on producers because they too have mouths to feed, investment made to be returned to, loans to be repaid and so on, however, years of neglect and inconsiderate standard of productions after making enough earnings should open the eyes of profiteers to food safety issues for their consumers.

When we were called-in by one of the largest and well-known Certification Body (CB) to take-over a particular case involving food safety standards, our sound appraisal was well-received by the owner of the Soya Sauce Manufacturer. It is most unfortunate that he has met many other consultants who made promises for good returns and delivering nothing in terms of end-result: the food safety management certification.

We salute the Business Owner who had inherited the 45-year old family business for his business ethics when he chose not to cut-corners but to continuously improve on his business. Though we were unable to deliver what he wanted after consultations with the CB and have his business on as a Client, we are proud to associate with him.

Kudos to Business Owners who are not "hooked" onto profit-making alone but ensuring public health is first and foremost, assured.

Black Friday - Increase in US Retail Sales 2010. What about Malaysia?

AFP reported that the Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season in the United States, showed a 2.2-percent boost in the number of shoppers going to the malls, according to early estimates. But the estimates showed only a 0.3-percent increase in spending. ShopperTrak monitoring on Black Friday retail sales summarised:

2008 - USD10.15bil; 2009 - USD10.66bil (+0.5%) and 2010 - USD 10.69bil (+0.3%) in various retail locations.

"This means the American shopper has adapted to the economic climate over the last couple of years and is possibly spending more wisely as the holiday season begins," said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.

There is a tendency to push consumers to websites as confirmed by PayPal of an increase of 27% total payment volume. "The tough economy has made shoppers more price-conscious, and this year's Black Friday results show that they're going online to find the best deals," said Amanda Pires, senior director at PayPal.

"With the convenience of shopping from a laptop or mobile phone, more people are choosing to avoid the long lines, parking chaos and early morning rush in exchange for great online deals available from the comfort of their homes," she added.

So how the scenario for Malaysia?

Do write to mienspg@gmail.com on your retail sales performance on Black Friday.

An End to an Invention

http://news.malaysia.msn.com/top-stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4418292

From one great idea to another.... what comes next after iPoD?

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 10/25/2010

Sony presses 'stop' on Walkman in Japan

After three decades and more than 220 million units, Sony has stopped selling its Walkman cassette player in Japan, the company said Monday, admitting the gadget could not keep up in the digital age.

Sony presses 'stop' on Walkman in Japan

Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka came up with the idea for the gadget on one of his overseas trips, during which he used to listen to music on existing tape recorders that were too heavy to be considered truly portable.

The initial reaction to the Walkman was poor. Many retailers thought that a cassette player without a recording mechanism had little chance of success.

That changed, and today, including newer digital models that use flash memory, total sales of the Walkman have reached 385 million around the world.

Fair Price Shop Awards and Not So Helpful Economy

With the influx of tourists, in 2003, the Ministry of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs ( now known as the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism.) took to finds ways to safeguard consumer market. Critically two main practices were of greater importance: fair pricing and ethical trading.

Participating retailers are judged not only on fair priced but also quality of services, goods, customer friendliness and sufficient after-sales & returned-good policies.

The evaluation and judging committees consider 20 catergories for the awards.

CODE	CATEGORY
01	Leather products / Shoes / Bags
02	Electrical & Electronic Products
03	Handicrafts / Antiques (termasuk pewter, alat muzik antik dll)
04	Jewelleries / Accesories
05	Textile / Clothings (including kain ela, garment / apparels , neck ties etc)
06	Batik / Songket
07	Cameras
08	Wrist Watches
09	Cosmetics& Fragrances
10	Cassette & Optic Disks
11	Telecommunication Devices
12	Books / Magazines
13	Optical Glasses
14	Computer & Accessories
15	Retail Shops
16	Mini Market
17	Supermarket
18	Hypermarket
19	Restaurants
20	Food stalls

http://www.kpdnkk.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15675&Itemid=681

In times of rising inflation and bad economy, it is difficult to mark-to-market price of goods with sufficient profits to be made and at the same time meeting customers . Rental, utilities and service taxes are some of the padded costs to consider.

With customers shrinking wallets, un-checked marketing behaviour could see price-wars or undercutting in exchange of better market share. Thus it won't be fair price but driving the retailers out of business.

Two strategies that could be applied here are 1) grouping together with an improved chain-supply system. This strategy requires the participation of same industry players and a truly independent group of administrators/consultants to ensure rules are followed. 2) to attached two different values of products and creating a totally brand new product pricing that are largely acceptable by the consumers.

Grouping together has been done in companies like groups of independent pharmacies when buying lots of medicines to break bulk for better discounts. It is one of the ways to match chain pharmacies like Guardians and Watsons to offer comparatively low price.

Attaching two different values are more for product pricing and tagging purposes. It attracts buyers to consider better value, budget-spending and easier choice-making.

So, have fun shopping in a Fair Price Shop!

dd

What is New in June 2010?

To make the website better~

Most people ask me to predict the future. Unfortunately even for Zhuge Liang (3 Kingdom), he can only predict 100% accurately in hours/days/months but definitely not years!

However, based on general observation with the news of Prudential-bid for AIA Asia, BP disaster off Louisiana and Germany's impact in European market (not to mention Greek financial tragedy), we are definitely not out of the woods yet since the major money crunch experienced in 2008/2009.

What more - with multiple disasters especially with Iceland volcano's eruption, Louisiana's oil disaster (and on our own backyard, Singapore-Johore oil spill) and lesser felt, Guatemala's Agatha Tropical Storm - created major headaches for the policy-makers and who is to pick up what bills.

Today, as I sit here in the famous red-and-yellow omnipresence McDonald's (what fate is in store for this giant), I read in AFP news, that China's State Council for the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, that the property woes are more severe than that of US and measures had been taken to prevent the growth of asset bubbles.

So where do we stand tomorrow?

My guess is just as good as yours. After all, Zhuge Liang left us some 1800 years ago.

From Erasmus

Jailed 14 years and fined 600 million yuan for 0.00002% worth of wealth used in Bribery

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 5/18/2010

Tycoon, once China's richest man, jailed for graft

A Chinese court on Tuesday jailed the founder of home appliance giant GOME -- once the country's richest man -- for 14 years for bribery, insider trading and illegal business dealings, state media said.

Tycoon, once China's richest man, jailed for graft

Huang Guangyu -- a high school dropout who built what is now the country's largest electronics and appliance chain -- was also ordered to pay a fine of 600 million yuan (88 million dollars), Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities seized another 200 million yuan in assets from Huang, once known as the "Price Butcher" for GOME's low prices.

Huang, in his 40s, was named China's richest man in October 2008 with an estimated net worth of 6.3 billion dollars by the Hurun Report magazine.

He was detained and placed under investigation a month later, and resigned as GOME director and chairman in January 2009. He was held for more than a year without charge, and tried in April in a Beijing court.

He stood accused of bribing five government officials with 4.56 million yuan in cash and properties from 2006 to 2008, Xinhua reported previously.

The bribes were offered in exchange for "improper benefits" for Huang's GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings and Beijing Pengrun Real Estate Development Company, a private equity group which Huang headed, the reports said.

China's Securities Regulatory Commission previously said he was suspected of manipulating trading in two mainland-listed companies.

Before his arrest, Huang was revered in the media as a model entrepreneur who rose from nothing by successfully capitalising on China's decades of economic reforms.

After dropping out of school, he started building his fortune in his teens, running a roadside stall in Beijing where he sold radios and gadgets purchased from factories near his hometown in south China's Guangdong province.

GOME Group is now China's largest electronics and appliance chain with more than 1,200 stores in more than 200 cities.

He previously topped the Hurun Report's rankings of China's richest in 2004 and 2005.

Trading in Hong Kong-listed GOME was suspended in November 2008 after Huang was placed under investigation.

But it resumed in June last year after private equity firm Bain Capital invested at least 417 million US dollars in the form of convertible bonds and shareholdings in GOME in a bid to rescue its business and tarnished reputation.

A string of top business and government leaders have reportedly been implicated in Huang's case, including the sacked former mayor of the southern city of Shenzhen, Xu Zongheng.

Two top police officials, including a former deputy minister of public security, were also detained on suspicion of bribery in connection with the case, reports have said.

One of GOME's wholly owned subsidiaries, GOME Appliance, was charged earlier this year with bribery in connection with the charges against Huang.

GOME said it was "highly concerned" about the case and pledged to "actively defend against the accusation at the subsidiary".

But it said the damage to its operations would be limited, with the worst-case scenario being a fine.

ISO 22000:2005 FAQ (English / Malay)

International Standards for Business, Government and Society

ISO 22000:2005 FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points)

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)

Introduction: ISO 22000 is about Food Safety, HACCP is about ensuring control of important parts of your food factory and GMP is the practice of maintaining clean-lifestyle within your company.

Pengenalan: ISO 22000 adalah mengenai Keselamatan Makanan, HACCP adalah untuk memastikan kawalan dari bahagian-bahagian penting dari kilang makanan dan GMP adalah amalan mempertahankan gaya hidup bersih dalam syarikat anda.

How ISO 22000 benefit society?

ISO provides a standard way of making products per your customer order or wants. This standard is accepted within your food industry. ISO 22000 also allows companies to compete as equals all around the world.

Bagaimana ISO 22000 boleh memanfaat masyarakat umum?

ISO adalah satu-satu cara untuk membuat produk mengikut tempahan atau apa yang hanya dikehendaki oleh pelanggan-pelanggan anda mengikut piawaian rasmi antarabangsa “Standard”. Standard ini diterima secara seluruh dalam industri makanan sedunia. ISO 22000 juga membolehkan syarikat untuk bersaing secara sama taraf di seluruh dunia.

How ISO 22000 benefits consumers?

For consumers: - conformity of products and services to International Standards -provides assurance about: -quality -safety –reliability.

Bagaimana manfaat pelanggan ISO 22000:?

Untuk pelanggan - kesesuaian produk dan perkhidmatan mengikut Piawaian Antarabangsa memberikan jaminan tentang:- kualiti- keselamatan-kebolehpercayaan.

CASE #1: HIGH-5 BREAD (EQUIPMENTS AND HANDLING RAW MATERIALS)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68192126@N00/sets/72157594269553740/

CASE #2: NESTLE in International News (2010)

CHICAGO - Nestle USA will begin using heat-treated flour in its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, months after the company temporarily pulled the product off of store shelves after the Food and Drug Administration found evidence of E. coli contamination.

The unit of Nestle SA said it will halt production at its Danville, Virginia, plant from Wednesday until January 25 in order convert the plant to use heat-treated flour.

In June, Nestle recalled the cookie dough after the FDA said it was investigating possible E.coli related illnesses that might have been related to the eating of raw cookie dough.

How ISO 22000 benefits authorities?:

Everyone has the same way of doing business – therefore easy for auditors to train and check on food processes are in accordance with Government food acts.

Bagaimana ini boleh manfaat ISO 22000 kerajaan?:

Setiap syarikat mempunyai cara yang sama menjalani perniagaan - adalah mudah bagi juruaudit untuk melatih dan menyemak tentang proses pemakanan samada patuh dengan kehendak Akta-akta kerajaan yang sedia ada mengenai makanan.

How ISO 22000 benefit developing countries like Malaysia?

For developing countries, ISO 22000 allows business people to conduct sales and marketing in developed and other countries in Europe, US and Middle-East which will require solid proofs on your general audit conducted.

Bagaimana ISO 22000 manfaat negara-negara membangun seperti Malaysia?

Bagi peniaga-peniaga dari negara-negara membangun, ISO 22000 membuka peluang untuk pemasaran baru ke negara-negara di Eropah, Amerika dan Timur Tengah yang memerlukan bukti-bukti kukuh yang syarikat anda telah menjalani audit umum.

Conclusions: Minimise future problems. Find ways to do business better. More opportunities to market businesses. Meet Government requirements.

Kesimpulan: Mengurangkan masalah di masa depan. Mendatangkan hasil perniagaan melalui cara-cara terbaik. Lebih banyak peluang untuk perniagaan pemasaran. Memenuhi kehendak Kerajaan.

New Year 2010

Morning Breakfast

I was at a coffeeshop when I noticed a table of Indian men seated where a well-dressed looking good in MU T-shirt aged 50ish, leading a talk (could be business, MLM or social) to the group of 3 stout men of mid-30s. To his immediate right, was a young male who looked to be in his early to mid-20s.

What was apparent that the early morning breakfast discussion was of value and great interest. The young man perhaps was either disinterest or there was a message on his phone for him.

At one point, after the young man put away his phone, he chipped in the conversation. The elderly man not short of interested listeners said this, "Boy, ...........". The "boy" was taken aback, I was taken aback.

The manner was said by this stylish elder man and the body language provided me that we are still very Asian in the task we do each day. The boy - can be anybody you know in public.

Bill Gates - 1st company at the age of 13. Microsoft at the age of 20.

Larry Page (25) and Sergey Brin (24) started Google Inc. in 1998.

Suhas Gopinath (14) started Global Inc. and recognised as the world youngest successful entrepreneur.

There are of course plenty more....

It doesn't matter who is the boy, its how you say it and you never know who is on the other end of the stick. Boy, what a big slip to start your 2010.

Evening Dinner

I went to a recommended bistro (one and only) at the New World Park, Penang. I got to know the proprietor a long time back when I approached him for business. So this was kind of our first meeting after a year's absence. Met him with a handshake and a new year greeting. The establishment was in full swing and I managed to get a small tidy table for myself.

Looked around, the head waiter was extremely busy. Not taking orders but white-washing the juniors when I was looking for someone to take my orders. He told me with his palm, to wait, at less than 1m away. So I waited. When he came to take the order, I somehow felt the service was not up to my mark. Again, its the tone of voice, the body action.

Fillet mignon, cooked medium. Excellent stuff and compliments to the chef.

Somehow, the bad waitering kept playing in my mind even though I read my book on Peter Drucker's biography. Midst in my wonderful steak, the head waiter dropped over and quizzed how was my steak. "Delish...". He smiled. Eh... the man actually smile? And poke up a signal of the ol' thumb-up indicating Great.

Now... considering the whole environment, its a New Year, the full-house, waiters here there, I would dare say, I was wrong to early judge the man. In organisational behaviour we call it"Halo Effect". Meaning to say, we meet a lot individuals, we see the good and the bad and we figure we know everything and interpret the positive and negative well enough based on 1 single trait or appearance.

This gentleman, I have seen him many times but never this close-up and never served up by him, I must admit he did his work well.

So if you ever give a thumbs-down to a place, a service - maybe once, perhaps its worth the while to check why people always gave good comments about it when you or I weren't there.

I was there on the 1st day of 2010 and I can tell you, the second time - well-worth more than just a steak.

Happy New Year!

Erasmus Koay

Servicing Your Customers and You