Supplier Marketing/Outsourcing Forum: Alibaba, Globalsources, Indonetwork

Saya beberapa bulan terakhir ini melakukan outsourcing segala macam
automotive parts di Asia (Cina utamanya) dan termasuk Indonesia. Yang saya
temukan adalah masih banyak perusahaan dari Indonesia yang belum mengetahui
forum outsourcing/marketing bagi produk mereka. Karena mahalnya harga
produksi di Amerika Utara dan Eropa Barat, sekarang banyak perusahaan dari
negara-negara tsb melakukan outsourcing ke Asia (utamanya Cina dan India).
Sekarang adalah saat terbuka lebarnya pintu marketing/outsourcing bagi
Indonesia.

Cina sudah mempunyai berbagai forum bagi supplier mereka untuk menampilkan
berbagai produknya. Sebagai contohnya adalah Alibaba.com (yang paling luas
networknya), globalsources.com dsb. Indonesia sendiri mempunyai forum
seperti ini yang masih agak kecil lingkupnya (indonetwork.co.id atau
indonetwork.com). Perusahaan Indonesia yang masuk networknya alibaba.com-pun
masih belum terlalu banyak.

Oleh karena itu, rekan-rekan yang tergabung dalam milis APICS-ID, jika
perusahaannya masih belum masuk network outsourcing seperti diatas (
alibaba.com terutama) bersegeralah mendaftarkan perusahaannya. Cara
mendaftarkan mudah sekali dan GRATIS. Hasilnya perusahaan rekan sekalian
akan terekspos oleh banyak perusahaan lain yang sedang outsourcing.
Perusahaan dari Malaysia jauh lebih banyak yang sudah terdaftar di forum
itu.

Ayo jangan sampai ketinggalan kereta lho ya! Jaman sekarang, jamannya
outsourcing dan jamannya integrated supplier network, kalau kita sampai
ketinggalan (apalagi dari anggota APICS-ID), POM anda tidak dapat
dimanfaatkan oleh kami di Amerika Utara.

Saya tahu banyak perusahaan rumahan/home industry di Pasuruan Jatim,
Jababeka Bekasi dsb yang sudah dapat melakukan berbagai macam technological
acrobats yang semua orang ingin memanfaatkannya.

Wassalam
Danet Suryatama
http://www.elektrikcar.com

TIPS Meng-ekspose Perusahaan kita terhadap Outsourcing Effort

Beberapa hari lalu saya mengirim email tentang pentingnya perusahaan kita
ber-koneksi/networking dengan berbagai marketing/outsourcing forum seperti
alibaba.com, globalsources.com atau indonetwork.com. Saya hanya ingin
menekankan betapa pentingnya usaha ini bagi anda yang di Indonesia.
Outsourcing sekarang menjadi kata kunci SETIAP business entity di
Amerika (termasuk membuat pekerjaan saya mudah dari ujung Amerika sini
........ : )

Ada beberapa pertanyaan yang dikirim kesaya yang ingin saya jawab secara
umum agar memberikan manfaat bagi kita semua:

- Apakah kita perlu menjadi anggota supplier network atau outsourcing
forum? Jawabnya benar sekali dan banyak forum ini yang gratis. Contohnya
alibaba dan kedua diatas.

- Kalau sudah masuk menjadi anggota terus bagaimana? Di Alibaba.com ada
fasilitas WEB bagi produk anda secara GRATIS. Yang ini harus dimanfaatkan.
Tips: setiap outsourcing effort akan mencari harga sebagai pemicu order.
Jadi harga SEBAIKNYA ditulis secara jelas (cukup di cantumkan harga yang
optimum dalam bentuk US $ atau Euro). Jangan lupa mencantumkan pula
gambar/foto dari produk yang menarik

- Apakah perlu menjadi paying memberships (di Alibaba adalah trust atau
gold membership)? Jawabannya tergantung. Pertama yang dilihat oleh
outsourcing effort adalah harga dan kemudian trustworthy/kejujuran melakukan
transaksi. Hati-hati juga bahwa banyak pengusaha luar (AS, Eropa dsb) yang
suka menipu. Harus jelas sistem pembayarannya atau ada badan yang menjamin
pembayarannya.

- Kalau sudah demikian bagaimana? AKTIF di web tsb (alibaba dsb) mencari
yang dinamakan BUYING LEADS. Ini adalah kebutuhan perusahaan pengimpor akan
sesuatu barang. Kontak buying leads yang sesuai dengan produk kita. Jangan
SPAMMING mereka (mengirim info jasa/barang yang tidak mereka butuhkan).
Gunakan bhs. Inggris dengan baik. Kalau tidak punya penerjemah, gunakan
translator GRATIS di internet (banyak site-nya).

- Terus bagaimana lagi? AKTIF pula membuat yang dinamakan SELLING LEADS.
Ini adalah pengumuman ke anggota komunitas outsourcing produk apa yang kita
punyai. Sekali lagi JANGAN spamming orang lain. Teruskan kontak pertama
(bila sudah ada) dengan menanyakan apa kebutuhan pembeli dan bagaimana kita
dapat membantu mereka l(ewat email). CAUTION juga hati-hati dengan setiap
calon pembeli. Kalau bisa segera mengecek bonafiditas mereka, lewat
perusahaan atau lewat referens. Cek lewat informasi umum, internet, GOOGLE
dsb.

- Selanjutnya? Silakan berdoa .................. : ) agar usahanya
berhasil. Pembeli biasanya minta quotes (harga penawaran secara resmi).
Penuhi permintaan mereka karena biasanya ini pemicu transaksi. Kalau
setelah quotes mereka diam saja berarti ada beberapa kemungkinan. Pertama
terlalu mahal, barang tidak cocok atau mereka mempunyai calon produsen yang
lain. Silakan kontak mereka lagi dan nyatakan bahwa kita bisa BEKERJA SAMA
dalam hal ini (Ini artinya kita dapat fleksibel dengan harga, barang dsb).
Berikan insentif agar calon customer tertarik melakukan bisnis dengan kita
(sample pricing, jaminan kualitas, dsb).

Sekian dahulu semoga banyak membantu. Saya akan sambung bila responsnya
banyak.

Wassalam,
Danet

Sumber : milis APICS-ID

10 Keahlian yang Diperlukan untuk Melamar ke Perusahaan Teknologi

Para ahli sependapat, semua orang bisa belajar bahasa pemrograman C++, namun mentang-mentang Anda mempelajarinya bukan berarti Anda langsung mendapatkan pekerjaan.

Pekerjaan yang paling diincar tahun ini mungkin berakar pada melebarnya industri komputer, namun bukan hanya keahlian teknis dan kemampuan pemrograman yang memberikan kita kesempatan untuk direkrut.

“Keahlian yang paling banyak dicari para perekrut lebih pada keahlian dalam pemrosesan dan bahasa kode,” kata Rich Milgram, CEO jaringan karier Beyond, “Mempelajari sebuah teknologi adalah hal yang mudah. Memiliki pola pikir untuk menerapkannya, memprosesnya, dan mewujudkannya, serta berorientasi pada detail sambil melakukannya, itulah keahlian yang penting.”

Pembuatan teknologi membutuhkan keahlian yang unik dan mendalam agar hasil inovasinya dapat dipasarkan. “Atasan ingin mengambil, mengurai dan menerapkan data yang besar untuk menghadirkan solusi yang lebih baik kepada klien dan bisnis mereka sendiri,” katanya. “Mereka membutuhkan para ahli teknologi yang mampu merancang strategi yang lebih besar dan lebih baik serta melaksanakan strategi tersebut.”

Untuk mengungkap 10 keahlian yang paling dicari di 2013, kami menyusuri keahlian penting untuk pekerjaan-pekerjaan teratas di 2013 yang menurut CareerBuilder disebut sebagai pekerjaan yang paling banyak masuk di O*NET, pusat informasi pekerjaan AS, sejak 2010.

Tidak mengejutkan jika keahlian teknis dan berbagai bentuk terapannya banyak masuk ke dalam daftar keahlian yang paling dicari, meski demikian keahlian yang tidak begitu mencolok ini benar-benar mendominasi.

“Dengan mengetahui keahlian mana saja yang banyak dicari, bisa membantu pengambilan keputusan dalam hal pendidikan dan pekerjaan,” kata Brent Rasmussen, Presiden CareerBuileder Amerika Utara. “Ini bisa membantu para pekerja untuk mengidentifikasi hal apa saja yang berpotensi memperkaya keahlian mereka yang sekarang atau meningkatkan pendidikan mereka guna menyiapkan masa depan yang lebih baik.”

Berikut adalah 10 keahlian penting dalam pekerjaan guna meningkatkan peluang Anda untuk diterima di 2013:


1. Berpikir kritis 
(9 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Menggunakan pola pikir yang logis dan beralasan untuk mengidentifikasi kekuatan dan kelemahan dari berbagai macam solusi, kesimpulan, atau pendekatan dalam penyelesaian masalah.

2. Kemampuan memecahkan masalah yang rumit 
(9 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Mengidentifikasi masalah rumit dan mengulas informasi yang berkaitan dengan masalah tersebut untuk mengembangkan dan mengevaluasi pilihan solusinya serta menerapkannya.

3. Menilai dan mengambil keputusan 
(9 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan kemampuan ini)
Memperhitungkan kerugian dan keuntungan dari masing-masing tindakan guna memilih keputusan yang paling sesuai.

4. Aktif mendengarkan 
(9 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Memerhatikan apa yang orang lain katakan dengan cermat, meluangkan waktu untuk memahami keputusan yang dibuat, bertanya hal yang perlu ditanyakan dan tidak menginterupsi pendapat orang lain.

5. Komputer dan elektronik 
(8 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Pengetahuan papan sirkuit, prosesor, perlengkapan elektronik serta perangkat keras komputer termasuk aplikasi dan pemrograman.

6. Matematika 
(6 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Pengetahuan aritmatika, aljabar, geometri, kalkulus, statistik, serta terapannya.

7. Operasional dan sistem analisa
(5 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Menentukan bagaimana sebuah sistem atau operasional bekerja dan bagaimana perubahan kondisi, operasional, dan lingkungan akan memengaruhi hasil produksi. Memahami kebutuhan dan persyaratan produk dari desain tertentu.

8. Pengawasan 
(5 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Mengawasi dan mengakses kemampuan orang lain, organisasi atau diri Anda sendiri untuk membuat kemajuan atau melakukan koreksi.

9. Pemrograman 
(tiga dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)         
Melakukan pemrograman komputer untuk berbagai tujuan.

10 Penjualan dan pemasaran 
(2 dari 10 pekerjaan membutuhkan keahlian ini)
Pengetahuan mendasar serta metode-metode untuk menunjukkan, mempromosikan, dan menjual berbagai produk atau layanan. Termasuk strategi pemasaran dan taktik, demonstrasi produk, teknik penjualan dan kontrol sistem penjualan.

Sumber : http://id.she.yahoo.com

How to Master Content Marketing In a Month

Social Media Examiner has allowed me to hare the following post with you.  Not only did I want to share this great article with you, but I also wanted to share information about the upcoming Content Marketing Summit.  You've probably heard me say before that social media alone is not enough. Content marketing goes hand in hand with social media to drive traffic to your website and capture more sales.

Enjoy the article,

Deborah

How to Master Content Marketing In a Month

By Patricia Redsicker
Published December 11, 2012

Do you want to attract a steady stream of new customers?

Are you looking to create better content, but you need fresh ideas?

A lot of marketers are still unclear about what content marketing means.

This article will explore the benefits of content marketing and preview an exciting new opportunity from Social Media Examiner to help take your content marketing to the next level.

Smart Content, Big Rewards: An Example
Today, businesses of all sizes are using content marketing to slay the competition, attract large followings of loyal customers and explode their business’ growth.

But when tiny Magnolia Hi-Fi started using content, the Internet wasn’t even around. Did that stop them? Heck no!

Magnolia used content marketing to grow from a small audio store to an $87 million brand.
Back then, they had just transitioned from a neighborhood greeting card and photography store to an audio specialty store. Competition was fierce and they didn’t even have a marketing plan. So they hired a salesman (who knew a lot about educating prospects with great information) to develop a solid profitable marketing plan.

The plan was to give prospective buyers something to focus on other than price – content.

They created a series of stereo buyer’s guides, which offered educational content that answered prospects’ questions about buying audio equipment. These were distributed as newspaper inserts (remember there was no Internet at the time!).

But the guides were quarterly and Magnolia needed to nurture their audience by keeping the story alive throughout the year. So they invested in weekly distribution channels and different content formats. As resources grew, they scaled content velocity to achieve broader distribution and broadcast frequency.

Within 18 months, the small, out-of-the-way store was joined by a huge store in Seattle’s high-traffic University District, followed by two more stores and finally expanding to Washington, Oregon and California.

In 2000, the father-son business sold to Best Buy for $87 million! Today, there are over 350 Magnolia Home Theater Locations in Best Buy stores throughout the U.S.

Here’s a question for you. You have all the advantages of the Internet, right? What’s stopping you from growing your business?

Content marketing is simply creating and sharing information that solves buyers’ problems or makes their lives easier. The result is that you build a platform that draws in ideal customers, increases your exposure and achieves sales growth for your business.

Content Marketing Use and Adoption Statistics
Want to know how successful B2B marketers are using content marketing?

Here’s some research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs with the latest findings:

91% of B2B marketers are now using content marketing
79% use content marketing for brand awareness, 74% for customer acquisition and 71% for lead generation
On average, B2B marketers are spending 33% of their marketing budgets on content marketing, which is up from 26% last year
54% plan to increase their content marketing spending in 2013
Large companies use an average of 18 content marketing tactics while small companies use an average of 11 tactics
These numbers demonstrate the huge investment B2B marketers are making in content marketing.

Don’t you think you should invest a little to learn more about content marketing this coming year?

Are you interested in learning how to create awesome blogs, podcasts, video, webinars and other forms of content to keep customers focused on your brand?

Social Media Examiner Announces Content Success Summit 2013
One of the biggest challenges marketers face is not knowing if their tactics are effective (according to Content Marketing Institute).

In response to this challenge, Social Media Examiner is bringing together 22 of the world’s leading content marketing experts to present at the first-annual online Content Success Summit 2013.

It’s an online conference spread over an entire month to meet your busy schedule.

This conference is designed to help you build your own platform, market your products and grow your business.

“Content is what makes social work, and it is at the core of all that we do here at Social Media Examiner,” says Michael Stelzner, CEO and founder of Social Media Examiner. “We have one of the largest business blogs in the world and a successful podcast. This summit is about teaching people how to do exactly what Social Media Examiner has always been doing.”

Why a Content Marketing Summit?
Unlike the early days of Magnolia Hi-Fi, we live in an era where everyone has the opportunity to build any kind of platform they want.

Business owners can develop and use their own platforms to publish great content for marketing the products or services they’re trying to sell.

Content Success Summit is the first virtual conference created to help marketers figure out exactly how to build their platform. By attending this conference you will:

See how successful content producers operate and how you can achieve similar results
Learn how to grow a loyal following via blogging, video, podcasting, email marketing and webinars
Discover how to sell your products and services using content
Gain a leg up on your competitors, helping you stand out
Pick up new content marketing strategies that will bring you more exposure
Designed to accommodate your schedule, the conference will be conveniently spread over a four-week period starting February 5, 2013.

You will receive recordings and transcripts of all live sessions. And because it is fully online, you can attend right from your home or office, thus eliminating long-distance travel expenses and hotel bills.

Meet Your Presenters
Our first Content Success Summit features the most experienced leaders in the industry. Many of them have written a book about content marketing or are founders of successful businesses fueled by content. Among them are:

Joe Pulizzi – founder of Content Marketing Institute and co-author of Get Content Get Customers
Ann Handley – chief content officer of MarketingProfs and co-author of Content Rules
Michael Hyatt – chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
Michael Stelzner – founder of Social Media Examiner and author of Launch
Amy Porterfield – co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies
David Siteman Garland – founder of Rise to the Top and author of Smarter, Faster, Cheaper
Gini Dietrich – co-author of Marketing in the Round
Heidi Cohen – president of Riverside Marketing Strategies
Pat Flynn – founder of Smart Passive Income
Marcus Sheridan – founder of the popular blog, The Sales Lion
Mark Schaefer – author of Return on Influence
And many others!
Is This Summit Right for You?
Perhaps you’ve been focusing a lot on social media, but not much on content marketing. You’re wondering if you could learn something new that might be a game-changer for your business. Ask yourself the following:

Do I have a content marketing plan for 2013?
Are there some content tactics that I’m not aware of that could be useful for my business?
Could I use some advice to build my platform, market my products and grow my business using content?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, then sign up and learn from the leading content marketing authorities in the industry.

Want to Save Money?
If you reserve your spot right now, you will save 50%. Click here for details.

Over to You. Are you interested in learning how to create a content platform that will successfully grow your business? Please share your thoughts and comments in the box below.

Source : tekkbuzz.com

GUEST POST, JIM TOMPKINS: THE AMAZON EFFECT — RETAILERS AT THE X-ROADS

Published by Jim Tompkins on October 22, 2012 | 

One of Greg Brady’s recent posts mentioned my new Amazon Effect video, and I wanted to respond and talk a little about how the right technology can better position you for a world dominated by Amazon and its business practices (e.g. same-day delivery). If you haven’t already seen the video, I really suggest that you watch it first and then come back and read the rest of this post.
Whether you’re a retailer, logistics provider, or supplier, what Amazon is doing will have a major impact on your future.  As I explain in the video, in terms of total revenue, Amazon has the potential to be as large as Wal-Mart, and already it arguably exerts more reach and influence.
What is really exciting (or scary, depending on your position) is that unlike Wal-Mart, Amazon is increasing the rate of its infrastructure investments. They are set to open up their own retail store. Make no mistake: the real disruption is yet to come.
So what should you be doing to prepare yourself? Well, in addition to new processes, business practices, and strategies, you need to invest in the right technology. I agree with Greg Brady that connecting yourself to a many-to-many network can offer a way forward for many brick-and-mortar retailers, logistics providers, raw material suppliers, and manufacturers. Here’s why:
1.     The need for real time operations — I’m sure you’ve read the articles that are cropping up everywhere. Amazon is moving toward offering same-day delivery. And for the coming holiday season, Wal-Mart will be doing the same.  In addition, Best Buy and Target are looking at matching Amazon’s prices for holiday shoppers. All these strategies require real time capabilities, which means seamless collaboration among stores, e-commerce sites, suppliers, and logistics providers. This is tough to do, and few other companies have the resources and pre-existing network of an Amazon or Wal-Mart.  That’s why I believe many companies would benefit from joining a preexisting network platform that is designed to enable demand-driven collaboration in real time.
2.     Connects to all parties — Much of the information that is most important to you lies outside the four walls of your enterprise. Can you access it? And more importantly, do you have the ability to deliver an optimized response?  Current technology simply isn’t designed to do this, but a “many-to-many” network is designed this way.
3.     Designed for the future — Over the years, I’ve seen many IT projects that took so long to implement that they were obsolete before they even began! A many-to-many network platform can grow with your business—allowing you to easily scale across new product introductions, new infrastructure, and new trading partners. Just as important, a many-to-many network can give you the ability to design your own enterprise applications that are custom tailored for your own unique business processes.
In short, a many-to-many network can give you the ability to strategically respond to the Amazon Effect now, but it still sets you up for the challenges of the future.

Source : http://supplychainbeyond.com

One Thing You Need to Know About Social Media Today

Social media is a powerful tool that can aid your business in reaching your highest goals. it can help with:
• Increased traffic to your page
• Page exposure
• Increasing brand awareness
• Business development

It’s easy to get so excited over the technology sometimes we fail to plan or create the necessary road map for your online business to be successful.

I'm often asked, if there was only one thing you could tell people that will help them move their social media marketing forward, what would it be? And here is my answer.

When you are on social media, your goal is to drive traffic back to your site. That is the fundamental result you should be working toward every time you are on social media. Now, that doesn't mean that Every post should lead back to your website. It means once in a while you offer information from your website with a link. There are steps to drawing new prospects to you in social media, and then bringing them to your website. This can be viewed as a funnel, similar to a sales funnel. These are the steps you want your readers to take.

1. Engage in easy light conversation. You can talk about many things other than your business. It's often those simple posts that get responses and start conversations with new people.

2. Offer tips and information with no strings attached. As you're chatting with people, from time to time you should offer good useful information. Quick tips are an easy way to accomplish this. I may put out one sentence that says
"Placing a photo on your LinkedIn profile greatly increases your chances of engagement with new prospects."
This type of post doesn't need a link. Just the tip itself will show readers you care about giving good information with no strings attached.

3. Offer a link to information on your website. Once you've (1) engaged a new person in conversation (2) offered free information to gain trust, now it's time for the third step. Occasionally post information that leads back to your website. A blog is a great way to continually have good information to post to social media accounts. Readers will read the title, become interested enough to click the link, and they land on your website.

These are the simple easy steps you should be taking to increase engagement on your social media sites, and to drive traffic to your website.

Source : tekkbuzz.com

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY CHECKLIST

Published by Bruce Tompkins on December 31, 2012 

I’ve spent the past two blog posts outlining the sustainable landscape. My basic argument is that we are in the early stages of a new sustainability era, with the associated regulations and laws only beginning to catch up. The next logical question is, “What can my company do to become more sustainable from a supply chain perspective?”

Here is a sustainability checklist that you can use as a starting point:

• A comprehensive sustainability strategy: This should cover emissions, resource consumption, reporting, and a good public relations message. Sustainability is truly an opportunity.
• Facility audit: Analyze your facility locations, numbers, purpose, construction, and equipment. Doing this from an emissions/sustainability perspective will reveal potential opportunities for improvement.
• Transportation: What are your transportation practices and what modes do you use? Transitioning to more sustainable transportation best practices can have a huge effect.
• IT systems: Find technology that monitors and controls your sustainability activities. Choosing the right IT system is critical. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
• Reporting Requirements: Determine what your reporting requirements are. Seemy recent post for a discussion of potential reporting requirements.
• Benchmarking: Measure and benchmark any steps you take toward sustainability.

Source : http://supplychainbeyond.com