Innovation at the Frontier

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As Indonesian footwear industry has been struggling in the last decade to cope with low prices competition in sport shoes global market, this time around we have plenty of time to reflect our past vision and mission in order to chart a smart strategy in the near future.

This US$ 1.6 billion industry with an average of 9% growth annually in the last five years, in fact, has somehow changed its attitude through Association last general session. In which in the last general session, Association has drafted a new strategy to prioritize development in non-sport shoes and SME divisions.

The new strategy is exactly right, not only considering sport shoes competition tend to be more cost oriented, where big buyers can easily move sourcing to a new location with lower production cost, further this is in line with Indonesian labors’ most versatile weapon. That is their artistic touches within their fingers what we called the art of craftsmanship.

Indonesian people are long-well known for their sophisticated art of craftsmanship. Batik patterns in garment industry and Jepara crafts in furniture industry are a few examples of such an art.

Footwear industry too can benefit from such an art. Non-sport shoe made of genuine leather is the best case for such an art to be applied in. After many sport shoe factories went bankrupt with Dong Joe and Tong Yang as the last major cases, Indonesian leather footwear industry has shown its resilience in the global competition against China and Vietnam. Not only most of them still survive, a few of them even grow very fast in the last few years.

One leather shoe company for an example, after doubling its capacity still fails to fulfill market orders, is looking for another location with 6 times wider than their current factory. European buyers flock to the factory both new and previous buyers who moved sourcing to China and Vietnam several years ago.

Surprisingly, this factory located in Tangerang which has the highest minimum wage in Indonesia, since this is part of Greater Jakarta area. It just tells us price dos not matter for many buyers, but quality does!

What they do is simple, after 3 generations, current owner and management always utilize its long experience in craftsmanship to produce high-quality for even the most difficult designs from buyers. On-time delivery is another promise they never violated with buyers. Besides regular training for current labors, factory also holds training for newcomers to guarantee their quality standard keep up with current labors.

One other leather footwear company located in West Java successfully penetrated European market through generations with sophisticated art of craftsmanship in producing good year-welted shoes; their 60 Euro shoes are still saleable at around 600 Euro in European retail markets. Meanwhile another leather footwear producer in East Java keeps growing at an average of around 20% each year.

These examples are just a few, what we can get lessons from here is self confidence in facing tough global footwear competition comes from what we can utilize from long experience in traditional leather shoe making. Ideas for innovation such as developing new designs will come up as a result of persistent work in craftsmanship in which it involves concentrated use of eyes, hand and in-depth intuition.

The reason behind this is clear, historically, Indonesian people involved with difficult designs in garment and footwear much longer than Chinese and Vietnam 30 years ago when Indonesian people already produced fancy lady shoes, Chinese were still producing not more than ‘big boss’. At the same time Indonesian already produced lady’s evening dress, Chinese were still producing ‘pajamas’ and Vietnamese were still producing ‘khaki’ a uniform worn by Vietcong and villagers.

This longer experience curve in producing fashion garment and footwear is very valuable assets proven by the trust given back to Indonesia by foreign buyers, hence all the resources upstream-downstream in the value chain must be mobilized to utilize this asset and transform it into competitive advantage shown by several companies mentioned above. Government, Association and other supporting institutions involved must develop a program in such a way that industry finally can capitalize on the art of Indonesian people craftsmanship.

Do not forget besides the first class leather footwear companies mentioned above, Indonesia has several home industry areas with full of traditional leather shoemakers such as one in Bandung (Cibaduyut) and another one in Mojokerto (East Java). If all the stakeholders pay careful attention in developing these home industry through quality and design upgrading programs followed by opening foreign market access for them, this is not impossible to have some or many of them, in the future, join the group of first class leather footwear producers and contribute to the national economic development through job creation and export growth.

Written by: Hery Kameswara

Grant Technical Advisor at SENADA Indonesia Competitiveness Program. This is personal opinion.

Kemutug Kidul village in Banyumas regency, Central Java, is a shining example of a village that has overcome unemployment to become self-sufficient. People in this village earn their living by making various kinds of chairs from the bluish-black wulung bamboo. Averaging 1.5 meters in length, the chairs are designed for relaxing and reclining in while reading or watching TV. Chair making has now become the main source of income for 80 percent of the village's 1,300 families.

"This business was originally meant to meet orders from around Banyumas, but with increasing demand we began selling to other cities," said Slamet, 40, one of the locals now engaged in the home industry. Slamet sell to buyers in Bali, Surabaya, Bandung and other cities across Java.

This bamboo cash crop is now at the center of an industry comprising three groups, the first being the workers who build the chairs and are paid according to the number of chairs they complete. This group makes up the majority of the workforce.

"Workers are paid by their output rate. We pay them Rp. 4,000.- for every chair produced," Slamet told The Jakarta Post. Each workers makes on average four to five chairs per day. Employers like Slamet belong to the second group. In the village's home industrial circles, only a small number works as employers.

Handicraft workers make up 60 percent, sellers 30 percent and employers only 10 percent, a total of no more than 70 people," Slamet said. "Employers like myself have five to 10 employers at most. I don't think anybody has more than 10 workers," Slamet said.

No contracts bind the workers because they are paid only for the chairs they complete. Anybody can be an employer and there is no serious rivalry in the village. Slamet said this was due to the almost similar models and quality of goods and their markets. "An employer is someone who buys bamboo in fairly large quantities, about 200 stems at a time, and has tools like machetes and knives," he said.

Two hundred bamboo stems usually suffice for a two-week production run. Slamet buys wulung from the outskirts of Banyumas at Rp. 3,000.- per stem. On average, his workers can produce about 180 chairs from 200 bamboo stems.

The third group comprises the chair sellers. Some of them sell door-to-door around Banyumas, carrying the chairs on their shoulders or in push-carts, while others transport and sell them out of town. "They can sell at any price, as long as I get Rp. 20,000.- per unit," said Slamet.

In Banyumas' traditional markets, the average chair retails for about Rp. 50,000.-. "It's flexible. Sometimes we sell at only Rp. 20,000.- when business is slow and we need money – as long as we make a profit," said Tarmidi, 45, who said he had been selling chairs in Banyumas for 10 years. Tarmidi said he usually carried six chairs on his shoulders around Banyumas from six in the morning until dusk. "I'm very lucky, I sell all six. I sell four chairs on average per day," he said.

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A Reflection on a Decade of Economic Crisis :

Asian economic crisis started in the last quarter of 1997 has proven Krugman's insights (1994) that high economic growth of Asian tigers such as Korea, Thailand and Indonesia fueled mostly by capital investment would be vulnerable in the long run.

On a paper called 'The Myth of Asia's Miracles', Krugman was questioning the validity of such economic miracles really happened in Asian Tiger Countries. His doubt was principally based on the concept of Total Factor Productivity, in which the growth of output is the result of growth of input (labor and capital) and growth of output per input (productivity). Some studies had shown, that Asian Tigers economic growth was mostly input-driven oriented rather than productivity increase-driven resulted from innovation, technological advances, education, economies of scale or any means that keep optimizing the use of input factors more efficiently over time.

Paul Krugman, a noted economist now teaching in Princeton, consistently provoked the idea of driving the economic growth only through 'perspiration', he took example of Soviet Union era which had successfully droved economy through labor mobilization but failed to sustain it because of lack of factors in stimulating 'inspiration' in driving the economy more productively and efficiently. It is interesting enough if we remember Soviet Union was home to brilliant scientists and engineer. Soviet's case was because invention and innovation was not rewarded properly as there was no free market and business competition; practically there were no incentives to develop technology for better lives as all the efforts were oriented to serve military purposes.

While in South East Asian countries' cases, the environment was the opposite to Soviet Union because free market and business competition were present. However as capital input had been continuously injected without developing 'means' to utilize it efficiently, the law of diminishing return to capital applied where additional output rate became slower compared to given additional input rate. In this case we saw many Asian countries were void of such innovation and R&D centers, more miserably we even had seen much of the capital input poured into, not only non-productive but also, speculative sectors such as property though most of the capital was from the borrowings with high interest rates.

Now, exactly 10 years after such blowing economic crisis, ironically Indonesia has not taken serious steps in spurring economic growth through fostering a culture of innovative society. Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 finds out Indonesia's ranking in innovation is at 41st out of 131 countries. Comparing with the nearest neighbors, Indonesia's performance is very poor. Malaysia is ranked at 21^st, Singapore is ranked at 11^th. Even compared to Indonesia's competitors in export-oriented labor-intensive sectors, Indonesia's performance is still weak, such as India is ranked at 28th and China, is currently ranked at 38^th.

Though the wound has been healed, the pain is not gone yet. Unemployment is still very high and people under poverty line increasing day by day, signaling current economic growth at 5.5-6.5% is just not enough. Indonesia needs to be back on track of previous 7.5-8.5% economic growth. If productivity increase factors may include technological advance project, in fact we had had some state-funded high tech projects such as aircraft industry development. Unfortunately it was unable to become the motor to stabilize and maintain high economic growth. Some reasons may explain this such as project was owned and run by the Government for political purpose, which made it not possible to be run efficiently and profitably.

The so called strategic industry become meaningless if it was not a waste and Indonesia might benefited much more if invested heavily in oil-refinery industry to avoid today's big import of refined-oil or even better in developing alternative energy sources that would help businesses having decent options during today's skyrocketing oil prices.

For comparison, India performs better after a decade focusing in software engineering and development, while Singapore is approaching a developed-nation status after focusing in biotechnological R&D and in medical services. After aircraft industry failure, Indonesia needs to re-focus in an innovation area to achieve high economic growth, and sustain it, in the future.

The problem now is besides no strategic innovation focus of current economic development; Indonesia also lacks enthusiasm in bolstering spirit of the youngsters, academicians, researchers and businesses to induce innovation out of their mind.

We see Annual Indonesian Film Festival, strangely enough; we have not seen Annual Indonesian Innovation Competition. We ever had Visit Indonesia Year, surprisingly; we never had Innovate Indonesia Year.

If the atmosphere itself is not ready to support innovation, then it is just a dream to have economic growth driven by productivity increase, without this, we should pay attention on what Krugman explained," Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run it is almost everything. A country's ability to improve its living standards over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker." (The Age of Diminishing Expectations, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1990)

Written by Hery Kameswara, Grant Technical Advisor at SENADA Indonesia Competitiveness Program. This is personal opinion.

Information and communications technology has become increasingly more sophisticated, user-friendly and affordable.
Unfortunately, cheap alternatives to communication have been subjects of controversy over whether the use of these technologies is violating existing regulations. One of these is a technology called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which allows users to communicate by telephone through the Internet.
Fortunately, several groups of information technology lovers have been at the forefront of efforts to make telecommunications infrastructure available legally.
Ten years ago, Onno W. Purbo, a former lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), pioneered the campaign by setting up “Freedom VoIP”. He used a protocol H.323-based VoIP technology developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In 2005, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Center Jakarta developed “VoIP Rakyat“ (People’s VoIP) and Anton Raharja was the architect of the project. The technology used was based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) developed by the International Engineering Task Force (IETF).
VoIP Rakyat has done better than VoIP Merdeka (Freedom VoIP). While VoIP Merdeka users could communicate free of charge only with other VoIP users, now VoIP Rakyat users can be contacted through Telkom or cellular operators with valid numbers from the United States or the United Kingdom. They can also call regular landline numbers at only 105 rupiah per minute.
VoIP Rakyat has also developed an instant messenger similar to Yahoo Messenger (YM), American Online (AOL) and Microsoft Network (MSN). Using an open jabber as a basis, ICT Center Jakarta, which serves as the host of this new IM, provides messaging service using a domestic server. Fast, bandwidth efficient and not a waste of foreign reserves.
Contrary to fears expressed by many quarters, the legal use of VoIP will benefit all. Both companies and customers will gain from cheaper ways to communicate. Telkom will increase revenue from local calls, subscription fees, rented lines and so on and the state will enjoy increased tax collections.

The innovation enables more people--including the business community--to communicate with their counterparts in different parts of the world at a much more affordable cost, eliminating a significant barrier to small and medium companies in Indonesia. It is also inline with the government’s initiative to improve people’s access to information and communication technology, in keeping with improved IT infrastructure in the country.
As of the end of 2006, VoIP Rakyat has handled 100,000 minutes of VoIP telephone connections with 15,000 registered users, 4,000 of whom are active users.

Solar Energy
A new type of power plant harnesses the sun-and taxpayers

On February 22^nd, 2008, at an event featuring film stars, astronauts and technology gurus, Acciona, a Spanish conglomerate, is due to inaugurate a new power plant a few miles from Las Vegas. In fact, the plant has been running since last June 2007. But the technology it uses, known as "concentrating solar power" (CSP) is hot right now, as the Hollywood luminaries might put it.

Acciona's new plant, called "Nevada solar One", can generate up to 64 megawatts (MW)-enough, it says, to power more than 14,000 homes. The solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says that more CSP plants, with a total capacity of 4,000 MW, are in pipeline and have signed contracts to sell their future output. An 11 MW plant opened in Spain last year. New Energy finance, a research firm, estimates that 2,000 MW of capacity is in the works in Europe.

As their name suggests, CSP plants generate electricity by concerning the sun's rays, usually to boil water. The resulting steam drives turbines similar to those found at power plants that run on coal or natural gas. There are several different designs. The Nevada plant uses long curved mirrors to focus light on a tube of fluid running just above them. The Spanish plant uses a forest of smaller mirrors to focus light on a tower in their midst. Other concepts involve long flat mirrors and devices resembling satellite dishes.

Solar power, of course, does not produce climate-changing greenhouse gases. But it also excites utilities because it generates the most power just when it is needed: on hot, sunny days when people turn on air conditioners. And CSP provides a way around the main drawbacks of solar power from photovoltaic cells. Unlike them, it does not involve expensive silicon wafers. And some designs provide power round the clock, not just when the sun is shining, by storing energy in the form of molten salt.

Even so, CSP is still not as cheap as coal or gas fired plants. America's CSP boom is driven by state laws requiring utilities to generate a certain share of their power from renewable sources, and by generous federal tax breaks, which offset as much as 45% of development costs, according to SEIA. In Spain, meanwhile, utilities must pay an extra €0.25 ($0.37) per kilowatt-hour on top of the market price for power from CSP.

America's tax breaks are due to run out at the end of the year, and without them, says Rhone Resch of SEIA, no more CSP plants will be built there. But in the long run, he argues, costs should come down. And if fossil-fuel prices continue to increase and American power plants have to start paying for their greenhouse gas emissions, CSP might just achieve "grid parity" with the wholesale power price. That really would be an excuse for party.

(Blog Owner: I took this article from enterprise innovation site. I think this articles is important for your reference. Have a nice reading)

By Hung LeHong

Let's start with the bottom line: Social networks are getting too much consumer traffic for retailers to ignore. MySpace was the number one Web site, based on page visits in December 2007, according to comScore.

Social networks centre on younger demographic groups - so not all retailers should have social networks at the top of their agendas. However, social networks are expanding into other groups that retailers care about, such as career-based social networks (for example, LinkedIn), shopping-based social networks (for example, Kaboodle), employee groups on Facebook and MySpace, and so on.

Retailers must have a position on social networks. These positions can range from creating their own social community to gather feedback, to creating a marketing presence on large social networks, to doing nothing but observing how brands are discussed and perceived. To help retailers formulate their positioning strategies on social networks, Gartner has created a list of the top 10 things retailers should know about social networks - and what to do.

1. There Are Social Sites, and Then There Are Social Platforms

Any retailer's Web site can become social. Creating discussion forums, consumer reviews - and essentially any vehicle that enables consumers to create their own content, share it with others, and consequently interact with one another - will transform a "normal" site into a social site.

In contrast, a social platform is a large public site that enables users to do the same things as on a social site, but also creates a platform that encourages and eases the development of applications, widgets and mashups. Social platforms provide a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that give developers access to the very core of what makes social networks valuable: social graphs, profiles, social activity statistics, broadcast capability, events and integration of the "regular" Internet into the social network. In North America, Facebook and MySpace are prime examples of a social platform.

What a retailer is capable of doing on a social network will be determined by the platform's capabilities. For example, Zlio enables members to create their own stores by "mashing up" items from multiple retailers' Web sites. Members get a commission for products that lead to a sale on a retailer's site. Zlio's platform is focused on allowing retailers to make their items available for mashups and leveraging the affiliate network capabilities to manage commissions. Facebook, on the other hand, has a very open platform that allows for a huge number of applications, except for, ironically, managing large-scale commerce.

What to Do

Determine if you need to transform your Web site into a social site, leverage social platforms or both.

The answer to this question is rooted in where your target market resides and which social vehicles you will want to implement. Taking advantage of a social graph will require that you work with a social network. Staffing a discussion forum with expert sales associates who help customers may be better handled by giving community capabilities to your site. Understanding where your consumers are, what "actions" you want to take with these consumers, and understanding which platforms can or cannot do these actions will determine the path that you take. Keep in mind that consumers can participate in only so many communities and social networks.

2 Social Network Sites Span Well Beyond MySpace and Facebook - But the Market Is Starting to Reconsolidate

According to comScore, 207 domains are classified as social networks, while other sources claim well more than 300. In addition to the large social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, hi5 and Bebo, there are a large number of specialized sites such as Dogster (a dog owners community) or LinkedIn (a career-focused site). There are also social networks focused on shopping (for example, ThisNext, Pronto.com, Stylehive, Wists and Kaboodle).

Where does anyone find the time to spend on all of these social networks? Gartner Media analysts estimate that an individual is able to participate in one to three social networks in any meaningful way. comScore noted that, in September 2007, at the 207 sites that are considered social networks, a daily average of 46.7 visitors logged in an average of 22 times a month - which comes to 9.7 minutes per visit.

Because there are only so many social networks one can possibly participate in, we are starting to see consumers shift to the large centers of gravity (for example, MySpace and Facebook in North America). There appears to even be a shift among the large social networks. From January 2007 to January 2008, Facebook increased 305%, and Bebo (which has just been acquired by AOL) increased 76% in total unique visitors, according to comScore. In contrast, MySpace increased only 15% in unique visitors. We conclude that the social network market has not yet settled, so retailers should be cautious with their investments on any one social network.

What to Do

Target your social networks, and expect the fragmented social network space to consolidate. There is no way that a retailer could, or will want to, invest in all social networks, even if it's just for advertising.

If a social network has critical mass in an area that is well-centered on your merchandise or your target customer base, it should be at the top of your list for consideration. As mentioned previously, social networks also have different capabilities, ranging from displaying Google AdWords to hosting platform-caliber application and widget development. The combination of where your customers are or will be, what they are discussing or sharing, and what the social network can do for you will narrow down your list. The safest bets are to invest in the large social networks - one or two in your geographical market.

3 Social Networks Are Rich in Word-of-Mouth Discussions About Retailers and Products

If someone spends any amount of time on a major social network, they will quickly realize that word-of-mouth discussion about brands, products and retailers is rampant. Friends discuss with friends what they bought, what they are thinking of buying and what they think about items they never buy.

As a result, social networks are becoming a direct launch point to retailer Web sites. Statistics differ as to how much of the traffic to retail sites originates from social networks. For example, in late 2007, Hitwise stated that Facebook ranked No. 20 in driving traffic to retail Web sites in the U.K. During this same period, Topshop, a U.K. apparel retailer, stated that MySpace sent more traffic to its site than Yahoo search and MSN search combined - and only Google sent more traffic. In contrast, comScore data for the retailers Amazon.com and Best Buy show that less than 2% of traffic came from social networks in January 2008.

The statistics will vary across retailers and countries. Then there are the social networks outright devoted to shopping (for example, Kaboodle, Stylehive, ThisNext and Pronto.com). The whole point of these networks is to define who its visitors are and find "friends," based on what they buy, what they are thinking of buying and what they recommend.

The challenge for retailers is to determine in which social networks to invest marketing funds.

What to Do

View social networks as a lead generation channel just as you would search engines, review sites and price comparison sites. If your target market generates heavy traffic on a social network, invest in marketing vehicles that get consumers to your site or store. Lead generation vehicles range from banners, to search term bidding, to APIs that enable social networks to access your Web content, to affiliate marketing, to creating widgets that enable you to interact with consumers.

Unfortunately, each social network has its own set of "best vehicles to create leads," so no one approach will work universally.

It is also important to decide in which social networks you will invest, because this will decide which lead generation vehicles you will use. If you engage a third party, such as an ad agency, to create lead traffic from social networks, ensure that they include the social network channel as a part of your umbrella multichannel strategy.

4 Social Graphs Make Word-of-Mouth Relationships Known and Usable

Social graphs describe how friends are formally linked to each other on a social network. The term and the concept are far from being new. What is new is the prospect of accessing the social graph - not just for analysis - but for action. For example, Facebook has created an advertising vehicle called Beacon that enables one friend to broadcast to all their friends, as defined on the social graph, that they had just purchased something from an online site. Word of mouth is effectively "amplified" by making the social graph usable by friends and business entities on a social network. An issue of ongoing debate is whether the social networks will control what companies such as retailers can do with social graphs. Currently, social networks favor the retailers. Social networks are building more ways to leverage social graphs, while looking for new revenue sources.

What to Do

The first step is to understand how each of the major social networks allow, or will allow, you to leverage their social graphs. Facebook is much further ahead than MySpace in this respect (Facebook applications also work in Bebo). OpenSocial, a standard set of APIs that are currently being defined, will allow your developers to access the social graph in a number of social networks (for example, MySpace and Friendster).

Then, you will need to decide what to do if you have access to social graphs. Some social networks provide social-graph-enabled services ready for use (for example, Facebook's Beacon). Retailers can also create their own applications. Using social graphs in meaningful ways that lead to commercial ends is unexplored territory.

Finally, analysis of social graphs can be useful in understanding how consumer groups are linked to each other. For example, you might discover that 20% of your target market on a social network is linked to pro-environment-focused groups or individuals.

5 Viral Propagation Is Boosted in Social Networks

One of the earliest marketing initiatives that took full advantage of the social Web's capabilities was viral marketing.

The concept consists of creating content that users consider worth sharing with each other. YouTube videos, games, URLs to sites containing media, and widgets are examples of content that have been virally spread. For example, one of the early successes was Burger King's "Subservient Chicken," which got one million hits the day after it was released and 20 million hits within a week. Traditionally, the vehicles for the viral spread of this content have been blogs, e-mails, instant messaging and, lately, social networks.

However, retailers should note that there is a "boosting" effect with social networks. With a few mouse clicks, members can bring in external content and broadcast it to their networks of friends. These same friends can do the same with even fewer mouse clicks. In the past, links to content (or embedded content) would pass from blog site to blog site or via e-mail from one person to another. The social network equivalent would be consumers that send an e-mail with interesting content they want to share to their entire e-mail contact list - every time. E-mail can do the same thing, but social networks culturally encourage viral propagation.

What to Do

Viral marketing is the most obvious route to take with viral propagation. There are agencies that specialize in creating and seeding the content. Ensure that these agencies are well-versed in the nuances of each of the social networks. Some retailers have created original short miniseries videos or "webisodes" (for example, "It's a Mall World" by American Eagle Outfitters). Others have had their commercials virally spread. Technically, any content can be spread virally.

Be careful, because viral propagation can benefit and hurt your brand. For example, a pricing or promotion mistake on your Web site that makes an item ridiculously inexpensive can propagate very quickly in social networks. Already, discussion forums and blogs are quick to communicate pricing mistakes. Similarly, a strong criticism of a product or retailer can very quickly attract a large critical mass. Formal viral marketing efforts are typically tracked, but negative press that is virally spread is much harder to capture. Your public relations firm will need to be well-versed in the social network channels.

6 Applications for Social Networks Are Easier to Build - Opening Up a Whole New Way for Retailers to Interact With Consumers

The latest push in the social network world has been the focus on creating a platform that will enable individuals and companies alike to build applications (sometimes called widgets) that are designed to run on the social network.

Facebook has been particularly aggressive in this arena, resulting in more than 15,000 applications being developed in six months and 400 million installations by members. OpenSocial is an initiative by companies such as Google to define standard APIs that they hope will be used by many of the social networks. The idea is that these standards will enable applications to be developed once and then used on any social network - instead of having to build an application for each social network. OpenSocial has had some success with MySpace, Bebo, Friendster and others agreeing to adopt the standard, but

Facebook has yet to join. Another concern about these applications is that they still need to be built specifically for a social network if that application is to truly use the full capability of a social network's platform - a situation that is similar to building applications for mobile phones.

Some retailers have also eagerly adopted the application- or widget-building trend. For example, Topshop offers Fashion Fix, which allows members to vote for designs. Wal-Mart and Target have also created applications both coincidentally focused on helping students pick furniture. Amazon.com offers APIs that enable members to mash up content, such as applications that can display a member's Amazon.com wish list on the member's profile.

What to Do

Consider building an application for your retail brand as a way to more actively engage your target market. An application is also a way of creating a presence on a social network without directly creating a group or profile that attracts member comments and criticisms. For example, one of Wal-Mart's first entries into social networks was an official corporate "group." Members of the social network used the group as a place to broadcast their criticisms of the large retailer. Wal-Mart has since used an application to maintain a presence on social networks without directly exposing its brand.

The purpose of the application can go well beyond a game or branding front. Consider applications that have real shopping functions, such as customer service (for example, checking the delivery status of orders), multichannel sharing of content (for example, displaying an Amazon.com wish list), product selection guides and feedback mechanisms (for example, Topshop's Fashion Fix).

7 Social Networks Are a Huge Source of Consumer Data, but Retailers Cannot Easily Access It - And Privacy Will Become a Major Issue

In addition to the social graph, social networks contain a huge amount of data that members put into their profiles.

Beyond the usual demographic data, there is information on likes and dislikes, political and religious affiliations, sexual orientation, and the list goes on. In addition to this content are the messages and discussions that members create. However, retailers cannot easily access this data. Friends can view their friends' detailed profiles, but outside access to this data can be tightly controlled by each member.

Privacy concerns are appropriately huge as well. Some people are starting to regret having put so much information about themselves and their friends on the social networks. Access to this information should decrease over time. Access to consumer data will be dictated by a combination of the social networks and the members on that network, and perhaps eventually legislation. Social networks could provide anonymous and aggregated data to work with the privacy concerns. Members can opt in or out of data sharing, depending on who is viewing the information.

What to Do

First, familiarize yourself with the type and amount of data each of the social networks you are interested in will make available - this will range from no data to some data. Second, realize that you can access some of this data on your own by building applications or widgets and requiring that members agree to share some of their data with you in exchange for using your application. As with loyalty cards and search engines, we have found that consumers are willing to give up a bit of privacy in exchange for a valued service or discount.

8 Communities, Groups and Networks Can Be Created by Anyone and Are Impossible to Fully Control

Social interaction and community building are at the heart of social networks. Many of these sites were "built by the people, for the people." Sometimes called the "other Internet," social networks are places that people go to as an alternative to the controlled "corporate" Internet. The notion that the corporate world would control the content and services of a social network is unacceptable to some. Social networks know this and try to maintain the balance heavily in favour of their grassroots beginnings - while they simultaneously strive to build a revenue model. Retailers should expect that the "people" will always be in control of the content. If a social network provides corporations too many capabilities in interacting with members (for example, advertising and selling), there is a risk that members will leave the social network.

What to Do
Build your social network presence on content produced by social network members.

For example, sponsor a group that discusses topics central to your merchandise or your company brand. Create applications that engage members in providing feedback on product design (for example, Topshop's Fashion Fix and Threadless Plus). The best approach is to create a forum or application that will create value for other members and friends and to remain objective - all the while promoting your brand.

9 Social Networks Are Not Capable of Commerce - Yet

Large-scale commerce capability does not exist on social networks. There are applications that leverage the affiliate network click-through revenue models. There are applications that facilitate the movement of money. Zlio is a social network that enables members to create their own stores by mashing up content from retail Web sites into a member's own custom storefront. Social shopping networks such as Kaboodle do the same types of mashups.

Will there be commerce capabilities on social networks? The biggest threat to commerce on social networks is the perception that a social network has "sold out" to the corporations. That means the social network has simply become another channel by which retailers can sell products.

What to Do

Do not be an early adopter of commerce capability on social networks. We predict that one of the major social networks will launch a commerce capability - a gamble that other social networks and retailers will watch very closely. As an early adopter, you risk being part of a movement that may drive away social network participants because of the perceived commercialization of that social network. Being a "fast follower" is a better strategy if you are intent on using social networks as a commerce channel. Another advantage of waiting is to better understand how commerce engines will work with social networks. Will one engine give you access to many social networks, or will you have to invest in each one separately?

10 Social Networks Are Merging Into the Real-Time World - For Example, Making It Onto the Mobile Phone

The pervasiveness of social networks is reaching out beyond the desktop or laptop computer. The ability to access social networks from mobile phones is being promoted by the wireless carriers. At one extreme, some members are "reporting" where they are and what they are doing to their networks of friends on a real-time basis via mobile technology. Social network sites such as Twitter have been designed from the start to support this type of real-time social network usage.

Facebook and other social network sites are now available in a mobile format - making these sites "real-time" capable.

Although nothing major has manifested itself in the retail world, it is easy to see that consumers armed with a mobile version of a social network application can broadcast to their friends what they are shopping for. Today, those same consumers can access any number of retail price comparison and review sites from a mobile phone. With a mobile social network application, they can also "ping" their networks of friends for advice - while they shop. In some ways, the ability for consumers to ping their social networks while shopping is only slightly different from consumers simply calling their friends on mobile phones (or using instant messaging). The difference, of course, is that reaching out to their entire networks is made very easy.

What to Do

Watch this trend. For now, there is nothing to do immediately, because this is an emerging consumer practice. Consumers who would use such capabilities need a mobile phone and a generous mobile data account and use social networks - not the average consumer. For example, just as Facebook's Beacon broadcasts Internet purchases to friends, a similar capability could exist for physical store purchases. For example, consumers could receive a discount or loyalty points if they take a picture of an item, UPC or signage, and they broadcast it to their friends on a social network. A limited-time in-store-only promotion could be broadcast to friends in hopes of driving more traffic to the physical store - somewhat like a modern Web 2.0 version of Kmart's blue-light specials. The future holds all kinds of possibilities.

FURNITURE PRODUCER ASSISTED BY SENADA RECEIVES VLO CERTIFICATION

Djawa Furni Lestari, a Yogyakartabased furniture producer that is one of the firms SENADA is facilitating to obtain VLO certification, was recently the first firm to successfully receive VLO certification for its procurement of raw materials.
VLO stands for “verification of legal origin” and third-party VLO certification is becoming increasingly essential for access to international markets, thanks to the demands of environmentally conscious consumers.
SENADA is facilitating the efforts of 40 firms in East and Central Java and Yogjakarta to achieve VLO certification based on international standards accepted by key western markets. SENADA collaborates with Rainforest Alliance/SmartWood, TUV and SGS as third parties for the certification process.


SUSTAINABLE INDONESIA WORKGROUP INITIATE S “ECO EXOTIC” CAMPAIGN

SENADA facilitated a workgroup that chose the name “Eco Exotic” for a campaign promoting sustainability of the furniture and home accessories industries in Indonesia. The workgroup, Sustainable Indonesia, consists of four furniture producers and five home accessories companies in Central Java and Yogyakarta.
This campaign aims to increase the competitiveness of Indonesian furniture and home accessories producers, especially in the growing market segment of sustainable, ecofriendly products. Key to achieving increased competitiveness is obtaining improved access to and regular participation in international exhibitions, especially “sustainable” or “green” trade exhibitions in the West (i.e., the U.S. and Europe). By the end of March the group met three times to prepare its members for the Las Vegas international trade show to be held at Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. in July 2008.

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AIMS TO ENHANCE GARMENT INDUSTRY’S COMPETITIVENESS

The Garment Partnership Indonesia (GPI), initiated by SENADA, conducted six trainings that started in February and ended in early March through an Executive Development Program. Nearly two hundred participants from companies in the Jakarta and Bandung areas attended
trainings that covered topics including quality assurance, productivity improvement, merchandizing, labor incentives, social accountability and fabric sourcing.
The Executive Development Program aims to upgrade factory workers’ competencies and develop new management practices, giving the needed mindset and skills to senior level supervisors and management. GPI is a capacity-building program driven by a network of participating partners representing brands and retailers, garment producers, associations, business service providers, and international development institutions.
The partnership initiative is part of an effort to improve business practices and manufacturing standards in Indonesia’s garment industry as means to enhance its competitiveness.

One of the newest banking opportunities sweeping through the region has a potential market of more than 100 million people in Indonesia, if only the traditional institutions of financial services are willing to take their call.
M-banking, the mobile phone-based system of accessing banking services, has been around for several years in Indonesia, primarily in the form of additive services for existing bank customers. The real potential, industry pioneers say, lies in opening up banking services to the millions of people living beyond easy reach of banks, ATMs, and Internet.
“All it would take is a progressive forward-thinking bank to grab the opportunity,” says Brian Richardson, managing director of Wizzit Bank in South Africa. The company is a celebrated innovator in M-banking, delivering financial services to the rural and lower economic strata populations that have gone unnoticed by the traditional banking institutions.
In its simplest form, M-banking allows a customer to use a mobile phone to make basic bank transactions such as balance inquiries. More complex systems allow transfers of payment, stock trade and direct purchasing using virtual money stored on the phone. With a simple SMS or, increasingly, software that allows for data encryption, an M-banking customer carries both
a wallet and a bank in his phone, accessible anywhere within a company’s cellular coverage, reducing the need to carry cash, operate within banking hours, or travel to banks and ATMs.
In countries where widespread access to banks, ATMs, and Internet are taken for granted, customers see M-banking as a convenience and banks see it as a service for existing customers – a good thing, but not exactly earth-shattering. In Indonesia, where only a sixth of the population holds a bank account but nearly half will own mobile phones by the year 2010, the ramifications
are potentially far greater.
The International Finance Corporation, a private sector arm of the World Bank, in March 2008 held an M-banking seminar in Jakarta to discuss precisely these ramifications. At the very least, speakers said, M-banking has the potential to increase productivity in terms of time management, especially in the rural areas where traditional banking demands an investment in time and travel expenses that makes it unworkable. Beyond this, a new population is given access to all the benefits of savings: security, loans, and wealth generation, plus the psychological benefits of membership in a nation’s financial community.
Add to this the technology’s potential to bypass wire service fees in transferring some of the approximately $5 billion in remittances annually sent home by overseas Indonesians, and M-banking looks all the more attractive here. The Philippines – the regional leader in M-banking
and a country whose remittances last year hit a record $14.4 billion – has already seen this, with more than 4 million of its overseas workers sending money home by mobile phones. One of the country’s most successful M-banking companies estimates its customers alone send home
$50 million every year. The added revenue can be a significant driver for economic growth.
Where does Indonesia fit in all this? Behind, but not woefully.
Most large banks in Indonesia offer some form of M-banking, be it an SMS based service to make account inquiries, or a downloaded (and increasingly preloaded) program to allow activities of the kinds you’d expect with Internet banking. The problem is that most of these services are
aiming at the wrong target.
“One would have to call what they are doing (with their M-banking services) ‘additive’ rather than transformational,” Richardson says, adding that part of the reason Indonesia hasn’t yet seen a revolution in Mbanking is that traditional banks have never believed it could be designed with revenue in mind.
Wizzit is trying to prove that wrong. Now in its third year of operation in Johannesburg, it looks on schedule to meet its goal of breaking even within four years of opening its doors, and it’s considering expanding to other countries through local partnerships. Of the Indonesian market,
Richardson says a Wizzit model would likely achieve operational breakeven within two years.
“You have the typical urban/rural dynamic spread over thousands of islands together with an existing banking industry that is focused on the upper and middle income groups as well as the corporates – not the SMSEs or the ‘unbanked’ population. The cost of banking [the latter] using traditional bank thinking makes it prohibitive, so our view is that our solution is ideal for
Indonesia.”
“The potential is enormous, and the need is definitely there.”

Ben Otto
Contributor
(Source: Innovation at the Frontier - SENADA bulletin)

With concern rising everywhere about taking care of our planet, the first thing you probably think of when you hear the term “sustainable” is the production of environmentally friendly goods.
Unless, of course, you are managing the finances of a non-profit organization. In that case, you are likely to think first about whether your organization is sustainable enough to be around in five or ten years. Countless organizations with worthwhile missions that depended on government or other donor support have faltered or disappeared when funding has dried up.
At first glance, industry associations may seem to be immune to this problem; after all, they are supported by for-profit business members. As long as Indonesia still has a widget-producing industry, then surely a trade association of widget manufacturers will thrive, won’t it? Not necessarily. Indonesian trade associations often count many small businesses among their members; with relatively modest revenues such concerns are not in a position to contribute hefty annual membership dues. Quite often, it is not membership fees, but support from the Indonesian government as well as financing from donor agencies that make up a substantial portion of association income.
Associations that fit this profile may not be in danger of ceasing to exist entirely, but they may be unnecessarily constrained. Government funding is unlikely to grow substantially and it potentially hampers an association’s ability to provide independent advocacy on regulatory matters. Donor income is typically project-based and rarely finances ongoing operating costs. Thus, venturing into new, high-impact but possibly costly initiatives may be difficult for trade
associations that remain reliant on these traditional income sources.
A better approach for associations that hope to carry out their mission effectively is to explore cutting-edge techniques for enhancing organizational sustainability. A number of resources exist to help forward-thinking associations do this (see the links list bellow).
What recommendations do they offer that apply to trade associations in Indonesia?
The essential, and most vital, first step is membership development. This does not simply mean attempting to expand the number of members in an association (which is typically what most associations unfortunately try to do). “Membership development” involves taking a step back and thinking critically about how the association is an asset to its members. What is it worth to members to be part of the association? What high-value services does the association offer (or, if these are limited, what services should the association begin to provide)? What value, in explicit financial terms, should be assigned to those services? One example of a readily quantifiable, high-value service that associations can offer is skill or technical training. Other assets may or may not be as tangible: examples include trade promotion and advocacy efforts on behalf of members that can lead to important revisions in tax, labor or custom laws. While such benefits may seem hard to quantify, it is important to do so and communicate this to members: for example, customs reform may lead to a significant drop in clearance times for imported components of a locally manufactured product, or to a reduction in the need to pay expensive
bribes. Trade promotion may result in new overseas markets for exporters.
When association leaders determine the value of their assets, they can set appropriate membership fees and create service packages that reflect the true needs of their membership.
Another important step in achieving financial sustainability is to diversify income sources. Every non-profit organization should strive to have at least three revenue sources. For industry groups, a particularly promising revenue category is fee for services.
Associations are well placed to know exactly what businesses in the industry they represent need – whether it is training programs, an information clearinghouse or website, technical assistance in gaining international certification, and/or other services.
Meeting these needs for a price can simultaneously benefit association members and round out the association’s revenue. Sophisticated association managers can also look toward developing partnerships with the private sector. A good example is the partnerships Exxon Mobil Corporation has developed with entrepreneurial associations in several countries. Exxon Mobil has underwritten the development of business centers that operate on a for-profit basis, offering
services such as training, meeting facilities, and other forms of business support.
As important as these strategies are, they are incomplete if they do not occur within a context of long range planning. Associations that thrive do so not only by taking advantage of near-term opportunities but by planning for their financial future.

Caesar Layton
SENADA Grant Manager
(Competitiveness at the Frontier, Mar 2008)
Links list:
• http://www.uneptie.org/Outreach/bi/practices.htm
This site is devoted to the role of industry associations in promoting sustainable development. It contains a collection of 18 case histories that introduce associations from more than 10 sectors. It also provides commentary from industry association partners such as governments, NGOs, and trade unions.
• http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid14_gci994335,00.html
Provides tips on whether joining an industry association will be worth the cost, and how to make the most of membership. (The site is targeted to the IT sector, but the advice is applicable to all firms.)
• http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/vol_std.pdf
Offers a thoughtful look at the role of voluntary standard setting by trade associations, how such actions should be analyzed in the regulatory context, and benefits and pitfalls of such standard setting.
• http://www.nbsolutions.org/index.html
Targeted at all non-profit organizations, it helps them to develop business plans and to explore what earned-income potential each organization has, and if the potential is there, how to exploit it successfully.
• http://www.npgoodpractice.org/
This “nonprofit good practice guide” sponsored by the Johnson Center at Grand Valley State University offers best practices information in many areas relevant to industry association activity, including advocacy, evaluation, financial management, fundraising, governance, marketing and communications, organizational management, technology, and volunteer management.
• http://pemd-pdme.infoexport.gc.ca/pemd/tradeassociations/bestPractice-en.asp
is devoted to “Best Practices of Trade Associations.” Sponsored by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

You could be forgiven for thinking 3-dimensional printing (3DP) sounds a little far-fetched. It’s not quite printing as most of us know it, and going straight from the drawing board to a prototype you can pass around the room perhaps conjures up thoughts of a future age better seen in science fiction movies. But in fact such technology really exists, enabling companies to speed up design and production in the midst of what many call a design revolution, and it’s recently made inroads in Indonesia. Just how far it goes may be up to the ability of Indonesian industry leaders to think both outside and inside the new box.
3DP is a form of rapid prototype creation whereby a 3D computer rendering of a product can be quickly assembled in three dimensional form. A 3D printer, or “additive fabricator,” does this by analyzing the design data and “printing” layer upon layer of materials such as plaster powder, sand, and cellulose, until it’s built a small product prototype. It’s a bit like brick-laying, where
the bricks are a fraction of a millimeter thick and laid down by a machine that costs about
as much as a luxury car. Add enough layers and bind it all together and you’ve got a model of just about anything you can put into a computer-aided design (CAD) program: sports shoes, pistons, heart valves, electronics, or the kitchen sink. Printers vary in price, materials used, speed of processing, and prototype sizes, but the end result is more or less the same: a small model to be used for presentations and design proofing.
Chief among the benefits is the speeded-up time-to-market, as 3DP shortens product design time by allowing the faster production of prototypes, potentially allowing a company longer selling periods and time and resources to turn out more products every year.
Indonesian 3D printing pioneer PT Design & Teknik, a mechanical engineering company in Bandung, has been using the technology for three years, recently to make automotive prototypes for Suzuki and metal casing moulds for PT Stampo Prima Akurasi.
It says the technology is starting to catch on and change local design practices. “One of our observations is that product development in Indonesia is very slow, and it’s mainly caused by designers being unable to present accurate ideas of their product in real time,” says company head of marketing Syahri Andi Rivai. “As a result, many companies in the past have gone overseas for rapid prototyping needs to Korea, Japan, and Singapore, or other places where the technology has advanced into the mainstream. Nowadays, though, some of them have already turned to us.”
For example, a housing development company used to go to Singapore to create the mockup models of building developments it used for sales and marketing. Today the same company makes the trip to Bandung.
“Orders are increasing, although still below our targets because companies have yet to become aware of all the benefits of 3DP technology. University engineering and design students are starting to learn about it, though, and their arrival in the industry will likely change the shape of things.”
Regionally, Indonesia is still far behind in 3DP technology among Southeast Asian nations, with the smallest number of both 3DP service providers and users. Japan, China, and Korea have the most, with Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia also advancing.
“This significantly affects their [other countries’] designers’ ability to create products and raise the number of new products each year. Their customers end up with more choices, and the company ends up with a better image,” Rivai says.
“Ultimately it stimulates all industries to become more competitive.”
In Jakarta, a handful of companies offer 3DP services, including the Tangerang based Serempak, which, in the last year, has also doubled as a reseller of 3D printers.
“Most of our business is on the services side, since the printers are an expensive investment for smaller companies,” says the company’s managing director. “Bigger companies that need regular prototypes, like Adidas, purchase printers from us.”
He says the company has seen a steady increase in need for its printing services, with recent orders coming from home furnishings, footwear, automotive parts, and home accessories companies, both for conceptual modeling and rapid prototyping.
The technology, he says, speaks for itself. “Compared to current systems for assembling prototypes, the 3D printers are 5 to10 times faster, and they provide fullcolor and high-definition resolution, and multiple models can be simultaneously produced for a lower per-model cost.”
“Currently many of our customers consider the return on investment too far off to make purchasing a unit worth it. If 3D printer manufacturers find a lower price point, though, I believe many competitive companies will invest in a printer of their own.”
Worldwide, prices will likely continue their downward trend until even small developers
can afford to design in-house. Further on the horizon, affordable printers could move beyond
today’s prototype production and begin producing final products of their own.
Let that be a note to Indonesian industry everywhere: Today’s designers are a printer away from being today’s producers. And with a new generation of engineers, designers, and printers at the ready, Indonesia industry may be poised for a faster age, at home, thinking about the possibilities of the new box.

Ben Otto
Contributor
(Competitiveness at the Frontier, Mar 2008)

SENADA and Microsoft Indonesia jointly held an award ceremony on 26 February at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jakarta to announce the three winners of the iMULAI competition. This competition, designed to highlight the important role that innovation plays in enhancing Indonesian competitiveness, solicited proposals for the design of innovative software and business solutions and generated 106 submissions.
The awards, attended by US Ambassador Cameron R. Hume, go to these three winners:
PT Dycode Cominfotech Development, for “Portmap,” a web-based and internetbased application for port management.
Laboratory of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, ITS SURABAYA, for “Application Software to Optimize Product Shipment Consolidation.” This software will permit small firms within an industrial cluster to consolidate their shipments, for more efficient allocation of transportation resources.
PT Sentra Solusi Integrasi, for its “Mobile Application Development for Inventory Management.” This application uses mobile devices (wi-fi) to perform a variety of inventory management tasks.
The winners are receiving hardware and software from Microsoft and up to $75,000 in grant financing for innovation costs for six months from SENADA.
(Competitiveness at the Frontier, Mar 2008)

Microsoft Indonesia and SENADA, a project funded by USAID for competitiveness acceleration, announced the first three winners of iMulai competition out of more than 100 participants. The winners deserved the awards not only for their distinctive concepts, but also for their innovative and creative ideas which would bring merit to industries in Indonesia.
iMulai Competition which was held from November 15th to December 31st 2007 has successfully selected PT Dycode Cominfotech Development, Logistics Lab and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) ITS Surabaya, and PT Sentra Solusi Integrasi, as the first three winners respectively. Dycode presented port management portal (PORTMAP), a web-based application to manage port’s activities. LSCM proposed on software development to optimize consolidation of product delivery to cluster industries. While Sentra Solusi presented development of Mobile Application for Inventory Management System (MAINS).
“iMulai opens an opportunity for us to contribute in developing local software industry” said Yugo Goutomo, Business Development Manager PT Sentra Solusi Integrasi.
Tony Chen, President Director Microsoft Indonesia, pointed out Microsoft’s commitment to stimulate and empower what so called Local Software Economy (LSE), with iMulai as one of its initiator. He expects the winners to become Independent Software Vendor (ISV), through which the need of infrastructure and application in the country could be served, or even to enter a global competition.
Steve Smith, Project Director SENADA, stressed on innovation as the most important factor in increasing the competitive value. All SENADA programs are focused to numerous innovations, not merely to generate products but develop strategy and from 18
diverse institutions. “We really proud of the winners as their ideas reach out more than just product innovation, but also answer the quest on wider competitive value” he added.

Detikinet, 28 February 2008

Steve Smith, Project Director SENADA, expressed his expectation that the winners of iMulai competition will revive Indonesian industries.
“We wish your business will flourish. But we certainly expect, in line with our purpose, the invention which was developed by the winner will bring a positive impacts on industrial sector of Indonesia as a whole” said Smith on Tuesday (26/2) at Crowne Plaza, Jakarta.
Tony Chen, President Director Microsoft Indonesia, expect the winners to become Independent Software Vendor which contribute to the growth of local software economy. “We expect local companies to perform not just in a local circle but also international sphere” said Tony.
PT Dycode Cominfotech Development, Logistics Lab and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) ITS Surabaya, and PT Sentra Solusi Integrasi, have successfully secured the first, second and third place respectively. Dycode presented port management portal (PORTMAP), a web-based application to manage port’s activities. LSCM proposed on software development to optimize consolidation of product delivery to cluster industries. While Sentra Solusi presented development of Mobile Application for Inventory Management System (MAINS).
“iMulai opens an opportunity for us to contribute in developing local software industry” said Yugo Goutomo, Business Development Manager PT Sentra Solusi Integrasi.
Farid Maruf, Senior Industry Advisor SENADA, urged the winners of iMulai innovative 39 competition to synergize their distinctive, yet inter-related ideas, as it would directly bring merit to industrial development in Indonesia. The first three winners presented different concepts, yet all are closely inter-related with supply chain management (SCM). Farid pointed out Yugo Goutomo’s invention will be the ‘upper end’ in SCM as it develops inventory software for manufacture industries. Ahmad Rusdiansyah’s concept could cover logistic and delivery aspect of SCM as it proposed on software development to optimize consolidation of product delivery to cluster industries. While Andri Yadi’s model will be the ‘lower end’ side of SCM, as it develops inter-connected port management portal.
http://www.detikinet.com/index.php/detik.read/tahun/2008/bulan/02/tgl/28/time/134653/idnews/901461/idkanal/319

By Chuck Frey

For years, Tony Buzan's company sat on the sidelines of the mind mapping software market, endorsing one program or another over the years. But most of these programs didn’t adhere very closely to his vision of what a mind map should be – a rich, organic creation, full of color and imagery – a unique visual representation of its author's thoughts.

In 2006, the Buzan organization decided to launch its own mind mapping program – iMindMap – with an aim of creating a software environment that would more closely mimic the process of creating hand drawn maps. In 2007, iMindMap 2 was released, and it shows tremendous promise. It delivers on the promise of creating a more organic interface for creating mind maps, while also offering numerous features that should satisfy all but the most demanding businesspeople.

In this "first look" review, we’ll take a look at what makes iMindMap 2 different, and what its unique paradigm means to business users.

The interface

iMindMap 2 offers a simple but well-designed interface. At the top of the workspace is a toolbar, plus commands for formatting topics. Another, smaller vertical toolbar is nestled on the left side of the workspace. At the bottom of the screen, tabs provide fast access to editor, text (outline) and presentation views. Finally, another set of tabs on the right side of the screen provide access to the map navigator and libraries of images and icons. For users of mind mapping software, this interface should be quite familiar, adhering to many of the de facto standards that developers in this software genre tend to follow. But don’t let that fool you: Lurking just beneath the surface is a unique, powerful, organic mapping experience just waiting to break free.

Creating a map

When you first open iMindMap 2, you’re greeted by a dialog box, which asks you to select an image to surround the central idea of your mind map. You can choose one of the recommended images, or browse your computer for another one that is suitable to your purpose. iMindMap then places your central idea in the middle of the screen.

To add a topic, you simply hover over the central topic, and a red dot called a “control point” appears. Next, you drag your mouse from this dot outward to create a branch, and type in your topic text. By default, the program opens in mind mapping mode, which creates organic, flowing topic lines – each one automatically colored differently. You can also insert new branches quickly using a keyboard shortcut – nice! A branch can be reshaped by clicking and dragging on its control points; additional control points can be added to give you even finer control over your branch shapes.

A SpeedMapping mode is also available, which makes it possible to quickly add ideas, but isn’t quite as pleasing to the eye. A branch, when selected, contains several blue dots, which enable you to easily modify its shape. iMindMap creates predefined branch shapes, but you can also switch to a hand-drawn branch mode if you want to get more creative.

Adding subtopics is done in a similar way. If you hover over the end point of a branch, a target-like circle – another control point – appears around it, which indicates you can drag a sub-branch out from it. The whole experience is rather organic, and is very creatively pleasing, compared to clicking the “Insert” key and adding a pre-defined (plain, boring) branch to your map in other mind mapping programs.

Enhancing your map

iMindMap gives you access to an extensive selection of topic icons, plus an online library of nearly one million images, which you can utilize to enhance your map. The program’s image library includes clipart, animated images, photos and 3D objects; you can also add your own images to your maps. What’s nice about the way this is implemented is that all images and icons are free-floating, and can be moved to any position within your mind map. You can also resize and rotate images and icons using your mouse. In addition, you can connect disparate map branches with relationship arrows lines, and can encircle groups of topics using “clouds" – iMindMap’s name for topic borders.

Topics may contain notes, as well as links to web pages and files. iMindMap 2 includes a full-featured word processor that lets you create highly formatted text in the notes window.

When working with topics and subtopics, a right click of your mouse gives you immediate access to a wealth of options for formatting, modifying or enhancing them. It’s nice to see that the developers of iMindMap 2 support this, because there’s nothing more frustrating than having to move your mouse back and forth between the topics in your workspace and a toolbar at the top of the screen, just to accomplish common mapping tasks.

A couple of minor complaints: The icons that are displayed on branches to denote attached notes or links are rather small. At lower screen magnifications, they get a bit hard to see. Also, when I tried to edit the text of a branch, when I double-clicked on the text, nothing happened. It turns out that I need to double-click on the branch to select it and open the edit window. This took a little getting used to, but was manageable.

Notable features

SpeedMapping mode: While the mind mapping mode of iMindMap has been optimized for organic mind maps, SpeedMapping mode is designed to enable you to enter ideas into your map quickly, using only the keyboard. You simply type in the name of your topic and click enter; iMindMap enters that topic outline and automatically opens a new branch to capture your thoughts. SpeedMapping mode also automatically reformats your map as new branches are added, ensuring that your branches stay well-organized. You can easily start out in SpeedMapping mode to quickly get your thoughts on the screen, and then switch over to mind mapping mode to embellish and personalize your map. This operating mode is also ideal for capturing ideas during brainstorming sessions or for taking notes during a meeting. SpeedMapping is new to version 2, and was definitely designed with businesspeople in mind!

Support for the Tablet PC: iMindMap 2 includes a Pen Mode, which enables you to utilize the program on a Tablet PC, with an interactive whiteboard or on a PC with a graphic tablet input device. Creating branches in Pen Mode works much like hand drawing a map; you simply drag away from the currently selected topic and the pen draws a branch. When you hand write the topic text, a pop-up window appears with a list of possible words that the text recognition engine has identified as possible matches for what you have written. The program even gives you the option of displaying larger control points, which make it easier to select them when using a Tablet PC or whiteboard input device. In short, iMindMap’s Pen Mode gets you even closer to the experience of hand writing a mind map!

Outline view: iMindMap 2 includes an outline view, which displays your map’s topics, subtopics and notes in a hierarchical text outline format.

Insert sketch: Recognizing that many users will probably be utilizing iMindMap 2 with some sort of a pen input device, the developers have wisely included an “insert sketch” command in the program. Selecting it opens a separate window, with several pen shape tools, an eraser and a color palette. When you insert a sketch into your map, it can be manipulated just like any image file.

Grid tool: iMindMap 2’s grid tool overlays the program’s workspace with a grid that helps you to position your branches. By selecting the “snap to grid” option, you can ensure that all of your branches have well-aligned end points.

Overview navigation map: This neat feature helps you to find your way when working within a larger map. It is located in a set of tabs on the right side of the workspace. Clicking the navigator tab opens a narrow vertical window next to your workspace, showing a high-level overview of your map, with the part currently displayed in the workspace highlighted in white with a red border.

Presentation view: This operating mode gives you access to some additional commands and toolbar icons that allow you to expand and collapse branches one at a time or one level at a time and to quickly open or linked to any attach documents, media, files or external links.

Powerful keyword search: iMindMap’s search capability not only enables you to search for a specific word within the current map, but you can also do an expanded search that looks for it in all of the mind maps within a specified directory at your computer. Nice!

Thesaurus: If you're looking for just the right word to insert into a branch, iMindMap can help you with its built-in thesaurus. It's unusual to see this capability in a mind mapping software program, but when you stop to think about it, it makes a lot of sense!

Export options: The developer has wisely included a full complement of export options in iMindMap 2, including the ability to export as image, a Word document, a web page, a PDF or a PowerPoint file. In addition, you can copy your mind map or text to a clipboard and past it into another application – which represents a quick and easy way to share part or all of your mind map with others.

Cross-platform compatibility: Because iMindMap 2 is built on Java technology, it can be utilized on Windows-based PCs, Apple Macs and certain versions of Linux.

Conclusion

There’s much to love in iMindMap 2. It offers a wealth of powerful features for business users, while also delivering a very organic mapping experience that is unlike anything I’ve experienced. It just feels right!

The other thing it gets right is that it enables new users to get up to speed quickly, without presenting a lot of overwhelming options. Yet these "power user" features can be quickly accessed by experienced users utilizing right clicks and the program’s logical drop-down menus.

Version 1 of iMindMap introduced a more organic mind mapping experience to the world. Version 2 added a wealth of features aimed at the needs of business users. It will be fascinating to see where the developers take it from here. I predict a bright future ahead for iMindMap!

iMindMap 2 can be purchased from the program’s website; a single license costs US$115. A 7-day trial download is also available, and is a great way for you to experience the benefits of this unique mind mapping tool firsthand.

Published on 1/14/2008

Identifying best practices is a common technique for stimulating business improvement. However, there are a few downsides to this process: sometimes certain practices do not translate from one organization or industry to another and sometimes practices are not implemented well. This can tend to make people say, “Well, we tried that and it didn't work here.” Too often, they generalize that failure to justify dismissing an entire initiative such as innovation, quality or so on.

An alternative to focusing on best practices is to look at the underlying principles of the initiative. For instance, if you learned that most innovative organizations were doing cross-functional teams, you might decide to implement that practice in your organization. However, assume that for some reason (such as an autocratic, chain-of-command organizational structure) this practice fails. This failure might discourage further innovation efforts. If you were focused on principles, however, and knew that collaboration was important to innovation, you could try to figure out ways to stimulate collaboration that would work within your culture. Understanding the underlying principles of innovation can help organizations develop conscious competence which could prevent making changes to their systems or culture that might adversely affect their ability to innovate.

Several years ago, as part of the work of the Fellows of the Innovation University, we decided to create a framework of innovation principles – those things we knew were important to the life of innovation. Those involved with this project wanted an organic, living metaphor for this framework. They finally settled on the DNA, the genetic structure, as the metaphor and representation of life. This resulted in the InnovationDNA which can be seen and downloaded at http://thinksmart.com.

The InnovationDNA consists of seven operational elements operating on a “playing field” of culture and surrounded by the context of the world. The operational elements are:

Challenge - The Pull -- Innovation, by definition, means doing things differently, exploring new territory, taking risks. There has to be a reason for rocking the boat, a vision of what could be or a deep fear of what might happen if things don't change. This is the challenge. The bigger the challenge and the commitment to it, the more energy the innovation efforts will have. Generally we only notice the dramatic challenges such as putting a man on the moon or mapping the human genome but every organization can identify challenges to its future, its customers and its employees.

Strategies do not have to be cast in concrete. Capital One was very successful luring consumers with high debt levels but good pay off records with their low interest balance transfer program … until competitors began to imitate them. So, they shifted gears. Their 1996 annual report states: “Many of our business opportunities are short-lived. We have to move fast to exploit them and move on when they fade.”

Customer Focus – The Push -- All innovation should be focused on creating value for the customer, whether that customer is internal or external. Interaction with customers and understanding of their needs is one of the best stimulators of new possibilities and the motivation for implementing them.

At Datex Ohmeda, a developer and manufacturer of anesthesia and critical care products, part of their innovation efforts is a program called “Discovery” that encourages people to do onsite customer observations. Russ Ward, program manager, states, ”When people see our products being used in real situations, they get stretched outside of their normal consciousness. They understand the problems and needs of the customer in a new way and learn how to step outside the normal perception processes.”

Creativity – The Brain -- Everything starts from an idea and innovative organizations understand that ideas can come from anywhere. Rather than focusing on owning ideas, these organizations want to own the results.

One day in 1995, the maverick thinkers of AT&T's Opportunity Discovery Department donned sandwich boards that read: “What if long distance were free?” This weird action prompted a lot of thinking and conversation about the future of long-distance.

Communication – The Lifeblood -- Open communication of information, ideas and feelings is the lifeblood of innovation. Both infrastructure and advocacy must exist in an organizational system to promote the free flow of information.

Cisco can close its books in one day and has hourly info on revenue, bookings, discounts, and product margins. This information is also available to each supervisor for the operation s/he runs. Real-time information is the basis of true empowerment as it gives front-line managers the information to make sound decisions.

Collaboration – The Heart -- Innovation is a group process. It feeds on interaction, information and the power of teams. It is stifled by restrictive structures and policies as well as incentive systems that reward only individual efforts.

IBM makes its alpha code available to the world at the earliest possible moment through a website known as “alphaWorks.” This open collaboration process, currently featuring over 200 technologies, creates a virtual collaborative community that evaluates code, tests market interest and speeds development.

Completion – The Muscle -- New innovations are projects that are successfully realized through superior, defined processes and strong implementation skills--decision making, delegating, scheduling, monitoring, and feedback. Innovative organizations also know that celebration is an important part of completing a project, regardless of its level of success.

At CIGNA Healthcare of Arizona, the Program Management Office helps employees to propose, plan and implement projects. One objective of the PMO is to make sure projects are in alignment with the company's mission and goals.

Contemplation – The Ladder -- Making objective assessments of the outcomes, benefits and costs of new projects is essential. Gleaning the lessons learned from both fruitful and failed projects builds a wisdom base that creates an upward cycle of success. Documenting and evaluating projects is a critical step that helps perpetuate innovation and yet this is the step that we find most organizations avoiding in their rush to get on with the next project.

The Neenan Company, a construction company which “yearns to be a learning organization,” has folks develop a written Learning Plan for the year. The plan includes not only what they want to learn, but also what they intend to teach to others.

Culture – The Playing Field -- Culture is the reflection of leadership, people and values--the outward and observable expression of how they work and behave together. An environment that is flexible, empowering, welcomes ideas, tolerates risk, celebrates success, fosters respect and encourages fun is crucial to innovation. Culture comes from four elements:

Leadership – The Role Model – We follow our leaders because we believe that they see a better place in the future and know how to get us there. Since, by definition, innovation involves journeying into the unknown, it is critical that the organization have confidence in the vision and strategies of the leadership.

People - The Source -- Of course, nothing happens without people. Every organization has an identity, a competency that arises from its collective and shared skills, talents, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and most of all, from the relationships among its people.

Basic Values – The Backbone – These are the heartfelt principles that define an organization -- such as Trust and Respect, Learning, Commitment, Inclusiveness, and Contribution. They provide the structure for decisions at all levels.

Innovation Values – The Mindset -- Beyond Basic Values, there are some values that can transform the mundane into the compelling and an ordinary project into a stellar new business. Freedom, Intuition and Synergy are just a few of the ideals that form the mindset that creates the "magic" in innovative organizations.

Context – The World -- Nothing happens in a vacuum, particularly innovation. While it is obvious that Customers, Suppliers, Competitors and The Economy affect us daily, we also periodically interact with Government, World Events, Communities and Families. All of these interactions form the context for all business activities, including innovation.

Ten Practical Steps to Keep Your Innovation System Alive & Well

1. Remove fear from your organization. Innovation means doing something new, something that may fail. If people fear failing, they will not innovate.
2. Make innovation part of the performance review system for everyone. Ask them what they will create or improve in the coming year and then track their progress.
3. Document an innovation process and make sure everyone understands it as well as his or her role in it.
4. Build in enough looseness into the system for people to explore new possibilities and collaborate with others inside and outside the organization.
5. Make sure that everyone understands the corporate strategy and that all innovation efforts are aligned with it. However, also create a process for handling the outlier ideas that don't fit the strategy but are too good to throw away.
6. Teach people to scan the environment for new trends, technologies and changes in customer mindsets.
7. Teach people the critical importance of diversity of thinking styles, experience, perspectives and expertise. Expect diversity in all activities related to innovation.
8. Good criteria can focus ideation; however, overly restrictive criteria can stifle ideation and perpetuate assumptions and mindsets from the past. Spend the time necessary upfront to develop market and success-related parameters that will take you into the future.
9. Innovation teams are different from “regular” project teams. They need different tools and different mindsets. Provide enough training and coaching so that when people are working on an innovation team, they can be successful.
10. Buy or develop an idea management system that captures ideas in a way that encourages people to build on and evaluate new possibilities.

Joyce Wycoff is the Co-Founder of the InnovationNetwork, an organization which helps organizations build competency in innovation. She is the author of several books in the field of innovation and creativity including industry standards Mindmapping and To Do … Doing … Done! For more information about innovation, please go to www.thinksmart.com .

© InnovationNetwork™, 2004 www.thinksmart.com