Fieldtrip/Business Exposure

Transcription

1 Assumption University Martin de Tours School of Management and Economics Department of Marketing Summary Report Fieldtrip/Business Exposure Topic Explore Japan Company Eisai Co., Ltd. (Nagoya), Solar Ark (Nagoya), Maishima Incineration Plant (Garbage Burning Plant) in Osaka, Kansai International Airport (Osaka) Date November 2011 Venue Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka, Japan Coordinator A.Nattapon, A.Suppasit No. of Participants 16 students from different majors (e.g. hotel, management, marketing, non major, etc.) and one teacher (A.Suppasit Sornsri, Full time lecturer, Department of Marketing) Map of Japan: Our group went to Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka. This international field trip was organized by the Department of Marketing, Martin de Tours School of Management and Economics as a part of MKT3620 Global Marketing and MKT3515 Purchasing & Supply Chain Management subjects. 16 students and a teacher participated in this trip, helped organized by a tour guide in all sessions. The objectives of this trip are to provide students an opportunity to explore the global market trends, market innovations, and global business. It is also expected that students can gain experience from the real site, atmosphere, and have more comprehension on the global business and market. Apart from that, students can have direct experiences in learning Japanese culture and lifestyles in the real different culture context studied or to be discussed in the courses. 1

2 Our group left Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand for Nagoya International Airport, Japan on 10 November 2011 by TG 644. The trip program included many visits such as Eisai Co., Ltd., Solar Ark, Maishima Incineration Plant (Garbage Burning Plant), and Kansai International Airport, as well as other places (Takayama local Morning Market, Takayama former local government office, Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Kiyomisu Temple, Universal Studio, Aeon Plaza etc.) On the first day (11 November 2011), we visited the factory of Eisai Co., Ltd., the producer and dealer of medicines. We also visited its greenhouse and the museum, which collects Japanese historical medicines and equipments. Eisai Company integrates research and production. It produces well known medicines such as vitamin E and certified Aricept brand for Alzheimer's disease treatment. Its manufacturing process includes ingredients preparation and drug formation into capsule. It got GMP certification to increase trust of patients. The company emphasizes values of human, process, technology together to ensure safe and high quality of medicines. Japanese consumers will take a very close look into tablet drugs before taking them. If small marks were found, they would not buy or take it. The company is very careful about contamination. It has its own research center consisting of pilot plant, formulation research, analytical research, and drug safety research. They pursue value creation concept that value comes from human including the company personnel (800 employees), who provides right choice for consumers. The company links life with nature, health care, new medicine, and culture, all for patients. During our visit around the factory, we could see that the 2

3 factory is very natural, preserving the environments. We visited the plant that produces medicines for hospitals. Dealers will come and deliver them to the hospital. Mostly, the company medicines will be delivered to the hospitals rather than through direct selling to the drug stores. Raw materials will be prepared and moved through the conveyor line, installed underground, to the next building to ensure hygiene. These raw materials are from Japan and other countries. The company also have a subsidiary in Thailand (Eisai Thailand), whose medicines (for gastritis) are produced in Taiwan and imported back to Thailand. In addition, it has subsidiary plants in USA, India, China, and Taiwan. The company emphasizes very much about importance of human (its employees). They explain that human thinks and do about medicine, computer, and machinery, all together creating value for our products (medicines). They will not rely on only machines, but also investigation by employees eyes. They are willing to waste time to recheck since Japanese people are greatly careful, especially about medicines. If anything wrong found on the medicine, they might file. Eisai Company purchases capsule from Japanese suppliers but produces drug ingredients by itself. 90% of its medicines will be sold in Japan, while the other 10% will be exported to Europe and North America markets. After touring in the factory, we then visited museum and herbs garden, which grows about 600 kinds of herbs. However, with the weather constraint, we could visit some herbs in the Greenhouse. In the afternoon, we continued the business exposure at Solar Ark, the ark shaped building that uses solar energy more efficiently. Solar energy is cost saving, free, and from the sun, but it is still expensive compared with electricity from coal system. Behind the building, it locates the plant producing electricity obtained from solar. In addition, the Power Plant provides electricity to this building and share together when sunlight is not enough to generate the solar energy, for example in the rainy day on our visit. This Solar Ark has been constructed for people to learn about how to conserve environments and energy to help protect global warming and live harmoniously with natural environments. Residents with solar panels built on the roof can utilize the electricity for free through buying and selling the solar energy. If it is very sunny and there is a lot of solar energy left, they can sell the remaining powers to the power plant. The solar panel weighted 15 kg with a warranty of 10 years costs approximately 40,000 Thai Baht. 3

4 However, the amount of solar cannot be stored for future use. They are trying to explore how to store it. In general, sunlight will access into the plant and it will be used immediately to produce electricity, not stored. If we want to store, we need an expensive battery, which they are finding the cost saving solution such as making low cost battery. At the moment, they are also trying to cooperate with several organizations to make it as a pilot project. For example, one sub district can be tested under the pilot project, which use solar energy and solar energy can be stored in the sub district and transferred into other areas. In fact, one household needs 15 solar panels. On the last day, in the afternoon, we visited Maishima Incineration Plant (Garbage Burning Plant) in the suburb of Osaka. This garbage facility designed by an Austrian architect, who died before the completion of this facility, was built 10 years ago with two incinerators with the capacity of burning 900 tons a day. Ash remaining from the incineration will be sold or used to build the land on the sea. Heat will be processed to produce steam and electricity. Steel remaining will be sold to be recycled. This plant was initiated by municipality of Osaka that wanted to conserve the environments to help the world. Incoming garbage will be clean enough since every household will take care of its own garbage very carefully. Aluminum remaining will be sold to private aluminum recycling factories. Any financial gain from the sales of power and steel by this facility will be deposited into Osaka municipality as a center. This money will be spent to further develop the city in the future. In addition, some companies come to buy these steels from the plant. The 4

5 plant building belongs to municipality. Employees here are civil servants of the municipality. On the visit, we could observe how the plant is operated (24 hours) in burning the garbage. The garbage will be thrown into the 44 meter high waste pit, then the crane will collect the garbage weighted 8 tons into the incinerator. This garbage comes from 2 districts of 24 districts in Osaka. The remaining garbage will go to the other 8 facilities. The remaining ash will be transported to fill the sea and build this city. For plastic glasses and bottles, the particular government factory will bring to recycle to produce clothing etc. Recycled steel will be used to produce water can, aluminum chairs, and even cars. 5

6 The control room is staffed with 40 people, dividing into 5 small groups with 8 people each. The facility uses three different types of truck to load and unload the garbage including green truck (using hybrid system diesel and gas), red truck (using gas only), and blue truck (using diesel only). Under the ground of the second floor, they still have water tanks to store the water for use in this facility. In late afternoon, our group had a business exposure at Kansai International Airport, the reclaimed land airport and most modern airport. It is also Japan s the second most important international airport. Students enjoyed proving the great idea of Japan in using ash to fill the sea to construct this airport. Our group watched different countries airplane landing and visited limited areas in the airport including catering building, oil tank, international cargo area, control tower, and observation hall, where they offer collections of aviation products. At this airport, FedEx transports clothing, garment, medicines, and food products. 80% of Japan s export will be computer parts and components. In conclusion, more or less, we hope that this Explore Japan project would provide students with a lot of experiences from Japan about academic knowledge, business operation, culture and lifestyle, products, services, geography, transportation. In particular, the impressions of students with good culture, lifestyle, personality, and character of the Japanese would make them become more confident to do the best thing for our country in the future. In addition, they may use these experiences to improve their life and career as well as share them with friends or classmates. Our group arrived at the airport safely by TG 673 at a.m. on 15 November Reported by Supppasit Sornsri Full time Lecturer, Department of Marketing Mart in de Tours School of Management & Economics Remark: More pictures for the academic purpose will be available on the computers desktop at MSM