Fudan-Tekes iLab Project ---Stereoscape iLab team
On 22nd April 2013, the team Chenchi, Liujinfen, Linzhenzheng and Qiufeng started the journey to Helsinki for mid-term report. As a fudan iLab team, the main purpose of the journey is to present what they have done for stereoscape, which is a 3D company in Helsinki and interested in explore the 3D market in China. For the mid-term reports, students have made lots of research and preparation. Theyhave developed in depth knowledge of the not only the macro business culture and network environment for Finnish firms, but also the detailed business model as well as standard operation procedure for Stereoscape Company.
It’sthe presentation time on 24th April, students made final rehearsal early morning and all the team is confident. During presentation, students deliver the slides in a natural and professional way. They focus on 4 parts: macro environment analysis, 3D related market analysis, pipeline analysis, opportunity/treat analysis; the client finds it very helpful in learning the China 3D market in detail. They have received very positive feedback from the Stereoscape Company, and identified the key field to focus after a long and interesting discussion with the company CEO.
During the on site company visit, studentshave conducted detailed onsite review on the client’s organizational structures and operational standards. In addition, students reviewed various 3D equipment provided from in house and network partners, which is very beneficial in understanding in figuring out the competitive advantages of the firm. Students also spend a good hour watching and experiencing the video productions made by Stereoscape Company, along with the detailed explanations by the company CEO about the features of these productions,the team developed a clear picture of their service from a very quantitative perspective.
The team has concluded the meeting with reviews on report feed backs, European industry benchmarks, as well as deliverable defining for final report. The whole team is extreme excited about the outlooks for not only the second half of the projects, but also the future business opportunities in China. The trip is concluded with high notes and optimal expectations for both parties.The midterm review for Fudan Stereoscape iLab team has been a great success from both party perspectives.
Fudan-Tekes iLab Project ---Planray Team
Among the five iLab Finland Tekes teams, Planray team had the most special and unforgettable experience. The team is composed of Sabrina Xiao, Jacky Gan, Jessie Chen and Jeff Zhang. Emma Qiu is the mentor and students have a facilitator Mr. Chai Hua from part-time MBA. Students overcame many tricky issues, such as VISA (to get which we negotiated with Finland consulate), the long and arduous high-speed train journey to Beijing, and flight transfer from Beijing to Finland.
On the Morning of April 25th, Fudan team members, at the gracious invitation of Planray management level, visited Planray’s production lines and assembly workshop. The top-notch machinery of Planray actually left a deep impression on our team and students had every confidence in Planray’s capability in competing with main-stream heating controller manufacturers. The factory tour was followed by an exciting interview of a local Newspaper. Many questions were asked by the journalist such as the purpose of iLab, the future development and potential of Planray in China, the possibility of a small company’s going globe.
Starting from 11 a.m, the team made an impressive presentation about the customer analysis, Planray’s strength and weakness analysis, etc. In the meeting, students handed out the three questionnaires theymade to the chairman and General Manager and they seemed to be very satisfied with the results they had made. The most interesting part must be the interviews they made and the conclusions they offered. After the presentation, the general manager spoke highly of the work and anticipated final report.
On April. 26, after visiting partner company Planray in Kajaani, students flied to Helsinki to visit Tekes office with Director Sun Long. At the 1:00 P.M, MAIJA warmly welcomed our coming and asked about the feeling and impression of Finland and journey. Afterwards, she was very excited to learn that Planray’s top management was satisfied with theinterim report and students did some helpful jobs that exceeded their expectation. She was also glad to know that students were interviewed by local journalists in Kajaani and an article was published in the local newspaper. She exchanged some opinions about how to help these partner companies to explore the market in China and how Tekes can further facilitate Fudan University and partner companies to the find the appropriate direction of effective cooperation.
With deep understanding of cultural and business differences between China and Scandinavian countries, MAIJA deeply appreciated our effort in this program and encouraged us to keep in contact with partner companies and other Finland companies even after this program. In addition, MAIJA was curious about the MBA study and Director Sun Long shared herwith the latest progress and achievements that Fudan has achieved with various companies and universities in various projects.
Although suffering from the European financial depression and the recession of Nokia, Tekes is still fully confident that technical innovation can continuously boost and stimulate the economy of Finland in various industries, such as biotechnology, new energy, TMT, online game. etc. This visit was a fruitful one and Mr. Sun Long presented our souvenir of School of Management as a reciprocity. With the encouragement and support of Tekes ,students are confident and ready to spare no efforts in the next two months to provide a more professional report in the final report session.
Fudan-Tekes iLab Project ---Confidex Team
On 2nd May, Fudan-Tekes iLab project team finished the mid-term report in Confidex. On Fudan side, faculty mentor Adam Sun led four team members. They are Stuart Yuan, Qingqing Li, Ying Zhou, and Gray Lee. CEO Timo Lindstrom, Vice President of Sales Jarkko Miettinen, CTO and pre-sales manager of Confidex also attended meeting.
Confidex is a RFID tag and contactless ticket manufacturer located in Tampere, Finland. They also has a plant in Guangzhou, China. With over 100 employees, Confidex want to strengthen its presence in China’s market, especially in China’s automotive industry.
Before the mid-term report, iLab team have conducted a lot of research, including deskwork, cold call, interview and site visit. More than 50 essays and research reports were collected and read. With the help of MBA office and Alumni Center, iLab team got the chance to interview a lot of key persons in the industry. For example, in April, 2 of team members visited Guangzhou Honda, Dongfeng Nissan, as well as Confidex’s plant in Guangzhou, and interviewed crew in IT and logistic department. Confidex Team also interviewed sales in IBM and Dematic, who were potential partner of Confidex. Of course, during the last two months, team members kept communicating with Confidex to make sure everything is on track.
On 30th April, iLab team and Confidex had a 4 hour meeting to discuss the project, and Confidex’s new product which was quite competitive in the market.
Basically, Confidex was quite familiar with what the team are going to report. The main topic of the mid-term review was to identify what the team and the client are going to do in the next stage. Every participant from Confidex presented opinions and views on the project, and provided lot of valuable suggestions.
On 3rd May, two iLab teams visit Tekes in the morning. In the afternoon VP of Sales Jarrko arranged a meeting between iLab team and Vilant, one of their partners in Europe. Vilant is a well-established system integrator in Europe, with more than 600 sites over the world.
After the review, iLab team members are more convinced of the future plan. In the next two months, team members will analyze more the competitive advantages of Confidex and finalize a business plan recommendation.
Fudan-Tekes iLab Project --- Cesim Team
Simulation Training provides a simulative dynamics for users to “learn through practice”. It has been a popular tool for corporate training among foreign companies but is still a brand new concept in China. Cesim, a successful Finnish simulation provider, has been successful in simulation industry internationally and now taps China market.
In the last four months, Fudan-Tekes ILab team has been working with Cesim to get more knowledge about China’s corporate training practice by desk study, competitor interaction, and face-to-face interview with training decision makers in different industries. On Apr. 22nd China time, the team went to Finland with Dr. Qiu, the project mentor, for mid-term presentation.
On Apr. 23th Finland time, two Fudan-Tekes ILab teams and the team mentor were invited to visit Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Mr. Lam, the Senior Advisor kindly received the team, and offered concerns and help for the projects.
On Apr 24th Finland time, the Cesim Team visited Cesim Company to report the project progress. Mr. Kyosti, the Managing Director, and Ms. Wu, the Area Manager of Cesim Company attended the mid-term report conference. All of the four members of Cesim did a good job in the presentation, elaborating the methodology, progresses, current finding, and the plan for the following research. During the presentation, ILab team disclosed new market knowledge such as price, focus of end users and partners, which were highly interested by Cesim Company. The one and a half hour presentation was fruitful and rewarded. Both the team and company initiated another reflection meeting to further navigate the next stage the next afternoon.
Within the short one week stay in Finland, the teams were impressed by the beautiful city and kind people there. Tekes and client companies showed great hospitality and support for the program, which also encourage the team to make more efforts to fulfill the project.
Fudan-Tekes iLab Project --- Sintrol team
Fudan-Tekes iLab Sintrol team was required to search the dust monitoring application in China iron & steel industry for the company Sintrol Oy in Helsinki, Finland. This mid-term review has been a great success to both parties. With around 4 months efforts on researching the specific market from the consulting team, they delivered a valuable presentation with effective information and their deep analysis from four aspects of: China iron & steel industry, dust monitoring industry, the application of dust monitors in iron & steel industry; and strategic suggestions in penetrating this market. Their accurate data and directive suggestions gained acclaim from Sintrol. Meanwhile, Sintrol appreciated their methodologies adopted throughout the project too. They confirmed the further focus after an effective discussion with Mr. Ehrstrom, the CEO of Sintrol.
While during the company visit, Fudan iLab team visited Sintrol production lab, they watched and learned how Sintrol dust monitors work under actual scenario. At the same time, Fudan iLab team also talked with the application engineer on the questions that they usually met during their research. Fudan iLab team gained more practical knowledge about the product application which would be very helpful in the following work. In addition, Fudan iLab team also spent a good time while visiting their production plant and experienced their highly efficient production line. What’s more, Sintrol product specialist delivered a presentation to Fudan iLab team from the perspective of the technology that adopted in the application of dust monitors in iron & steel industry.
Fudan iLab team considers the meeting as a productive and successful discussion which helped both parties confirmed the future direction. Fudan iLab team has more confidence to do better job in the second half of the project.
