The Problem
The supply chain management team at a global food manufacturing company decided to increase manufacturing capacity in Asia in response to increased regional market demand for their products. While exploring potential locations for the new factories, they were attracted to Indonesia due to its growing economy and abundance of agricultural commodities. Unfortunately, they had no previous experience in Indonesia – this would be their first time attempting to build a facility there. As a result, they knew very little about local business regulations, customs, environmental regulations, and engineering laws. Without this information, they had no way of knowing if constructing a new facility there would be feasible.
Issues
Local Regulation International Insights Cultural Awareness
The Solution
Maven launched a Telephone Consultation inquiry seeking professionals with experience establishing manufacturing operations in Indonesia. Several knowledgeable professionals from around the world applied for consideration, but one respondent stood out as unique – a colleague in another division of the teams’s company! Their fellow employee had spent time earlier in her career managing manufacturing operations for another company in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, and had directly relevant experience. In fact, she had been closely involved in the process of building a manufacturing facility in Indonesia for her former employer.
The colleague met with the supply chain management team and provided detailed insights on the Indonesian business climate, including relevant regulations and restrictions. Better still, she arranged key introductions to trustworthy local partners, one of whom was an Indonesian manufacturing consultant who joined Maven at her invitation. The supply chain team retained the Indonesian manufacturing consultant for a lengthy Extended Consulting project, ultimately resulting in the successful construction of the new factory.
Through participation in her company’s Knowledge Community powered by Maven, the colleague’s own professional network became part of the supply chain team’s extended network, unlocking connections and resources that would not otherwise have been available. Moreover, the company recognized substantial savings on the Extended Consulting project due to the fact that the local consultant had been referred to Maven by their employee. The combination of the Knowledge Community and Maven’s unique referral program led directly to the successful outcome of the project.
“Finding out about our co-worker’s past experience with Indonesian manufacturing was invaluable; it allowed us to skip several time consuming steps and quickly get to the right contacts. We were able to move forward through the red tape much more efficiently thanks to the insights and recommendations we received.” – Director of Supply Chain Management
