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Uun Widhi Untoro: The Importance of ERP in the Globalization Era

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Uun Widhi Untoro: The Importance of ERP in the Globalization Era

THE application of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in Indonesia is increasing, with a rise in profitability and a reduction in a company’s operational costs. ERP can present entirely integrated realtime data. Uun Widhi Untoro, the president director of PT IFS Solutions Indonesia, explained that: “The ERP system will be more in demand in line with the dynamics and development of information technology.”  

Educating companies on the importance of the ERP system is indeed not as easy as ABC. It takes determination and hard work. In the 1990s, for example, very few companies here were willing to apply ERP, more so in family or first generation companies. They thought that they could proceed without the support of information technology (IT), because their perception or way of thinking was still of the old paradigm. So, in their opinion, their companies did not need an integrated system.  

Slowly but surely, under the auspices of PT IFS Solutions Indonesia, established in 1997 and with its headquarters in Sweden, Untoro started offering the ERP system to a number of companies. Initially many rejected it. However, his perseverance and persistence paid off. The man who acquired an IT education in a self didactic way finally achieved success. One by one companies became interested and ultimately applied ERP.  

Today, dozens of companies use the ERP system, such as PT Parit Padang, PAL, Pusri, Soho Industri Farmasi, Lautan Luas, Olympic Furniture, Ateja, HM Sampoerna, Sosro and Petrokimia Gresik. At present, his company is preparing the necessary software for other types of companies, such as agribusiness, trading and oil and gas as per their requirements.   In any company, Untoro said, IT has become a necessity. It is neither complementary nor just for the sake of appearances. Why?

Because not only company managements care about IT but also employees. IT has turned into a strategic tool to enhance competitiveness, increase profitability, cut down on operational costs and expand market share. “If previously IT was chucked into a corner, called the EDP or MIS Department, now it is placed at the level of an operational director, even CEO. They are moving in that direction. If a senior employee joins a company that does not avail of IT, such a company is considered second-rate,” said the man who loves traveling.  

Technology development is progressing rapidly, fueled by strong market demand, and this keeps IFS Solutions on its toes to always fulfill the relevant requirements. Naturally, this company has to come up with breakthroughs in the application system as an answer. “IFS always strives to deliver the best system, such as through its IFS Solutions 7, which is the seventh generation application system and the most sophisticated. It enables the user to build architecture based on SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture),” he explained.  

Today, IFS’ core business covers distribution, manufacturing, maintenance, engineering and human resourcing. The company is also preparing the necessary software for agribusiness, trading and oil and gas companies. In developing its business further, IFS also works in partnership with a number of prominent providers, such as Oracle, SAP, Artajasa and Lintasarta.  

With his extensive IT knowledge, Untoro has become the driving force of the company. He acknowledges, however, that the success of IFS is also due to the quality of the company’s personnel. Although the company is deeply immersed in technology, IFS is able to alter the employees’ way of thinking from the technical side to the technocommercial side.

Employees at this company are taught to understand not only technical problems but also commercial ones. “Our objective is to develop technocommercial people,” he said. Although it is understood by employees, it is not easy to initially change the mind-set of programmers, who mostly care about technology matters rather than commercial issues. But with great patience it has been achieved.  

Untoro’s success is closely related to a life philosophy that he strongly adheres to. For him, success does not just miraculously happen without a struggle. Hard work is needed to achieve success. “The key is simply hard work, keep learning and praying. That is my asset in reaching my achievements.”  

Furthermore, the application of the ERP system in IFS’ clients is a relatively long process that takes time. To apply the system it is not only about understanding the business process of the client, but also concerns the capability to predict the dynamics of the client’s company in the future. The aim of all this is to optimize the ERP system and at the same time adopt a new application without totally revamping the existing one.  

The next step is to decide the required application system. The system used must at least be related to the next phase of the ERP system. That is why, Untoro said, IFS has a continuance module that can be developed, such as Business Performance, Customer Relationship Management, Quality Management, Document Management, Supply Chain Management, Project Management and Business Modeller.  

Through these modules the ERP system can be expanded into several applications required by the client, such as e-procurement for the procurement of goods, web store for online sales and employee development for employee training and skill enhancement.  

The last step is an education program for everyone in the client’s company, from top management down to the bottom level so that they understand how to apply the system. “We continue with the education program until they really comprehend how to operate the ERP system. We also provide training for employees on how to maintain the system,” explained Untoro, adding that the investment for ERP application program is more than US$150,000.  

Although the investment is high, many benefits can be obtained from the implementation of the ERP system. Through this system, he said, one client, PT Soho Industri Farmasi, can easily control all its products, from stock, production capacity to the monitoring of expired products. While at Petrokimia Gresik the application of ERP greatly helps in making available integrated online distribution data. 

“From the viewpoint of business performance, the ERP system can evaluate key performance indicators (KPI) of a company. As a result, the presence of ERP is required more and more in this globalization era that prioritizes information technology,” said Uun Widhi Untoro. (Burhan Abe)  

The Jakarta Post, August 15, 2007    

Naratama: Mesmerizing Jazz

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Naratama: Mesmerizing Jazz


“Improvisation, that is the soul of jazz that permeates deep in our hearts,” says Naratama, producer/director of Voice of America (VOA), Indonesian Service, Washington DC, the U.S.

It seems that jazz is inseparable from the life of Naratama, formerly a lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute’s (IKJ) Film and TV Department. Jazz is part of his daily diet.

He listens to the strains of jazz every chance he gets, either at home or in his car, from his collections of CDs or on a jazz radio station. He likes mainstream jazz as well as jazz fusion, which has a heavier beat. He feels mesmerized by the tinkling sound of the piano played by Ahmad Djamal and the unexpected guitar chords played by Lee Ritenour.

This is one of the genres to have developed after the jazz rock era was spearheaded by Yellow Jacket, Level 42 and AL Di Meola.

Naratama is not just a jazz lover as he can also talk eloquently about the genres of jazz and the musicians that play them. It would be more appropriate to call him a jazz fanatic.

When the Jakarta Jazz Festival, or JakJazz, was held in 1996, he was very happy to be given the opportunity to be a producer/director for a special JakJazz television production for four stages.

“I had to stay awake for three days as I had to stay in our OB van to record the live shows,” he said.

Indeed, during the three days he could enjoy the live shows to his heart’s content. In 1998, braving everything, he made a TV program called Jazzy in SCTV together with Chico Hindarto and Eri Prabowo, two figures who deserve mention for their efforts in trying to popularize jazz in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, this program did not last long as it is difficult to make a TV jazz program that attracts advertisers. A lot of people did seem to be interested in this program, and people still ask Naratama when he will produce a TV jazz program.

Naratama handled various music programs on TV before he went to work for VOA in Washington. Many things make him long for Indonesia, including Java Jazz. “It’s a pity I can’t attend this great event in Jakarta. News about this event has even spread to Washington, DC,” he said.

Many Indonesians living in the U.S., particularly jazz lovers, talk about Java Jazz, he said. Some have decided to return to Indonesia just to attend this international event.

However, there is some consolation for Naratama with a Norah Jones & the Handsome Band concert being held on April 23 at the Constitution Hall, Washington. “Hopefully, I can still get tickets,” he said, while also hoping that he can keep abreast of the progress of Java Jazz through Youtube, a video website. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post – February 26, 2007

Nungki Soetrisno: Complementary Improvisation

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Nungki Soetrisno: Complementary Improvisation

Some people say they can’t live without music, but Nungki Soetrisno goes one step farther and says he can’t live without jazz! It may sound extreme, but just take a look at what Nungki, born in Yogyakarta on Sept. 18, 1963, does every day of his life.

When he gets up in the morning, he listens to one or two jazz pieces. On his way to the office, he again listens to a few jazz numbers in his car. In his comfortable office, Nungki, managing partner of Neo Indonesia advertising company, also listens to this “black music”.

When he is in a good mood, he enjoys mainstream jazz, ranging from Bebop to Swing. He prefers pieces played by Big Bands, such as the Count Basie Orchestra, Charli Parker and Duke Ellington. When he is stressed out because he can’t think of a spiel that he can offer to a client, for example, he prefers to listen to Fusion Jazz.

“After listening to one or two songs, my head clears and I get fresh ideas,” said Nungki, a graduate of the School of Economics, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), with over 15 years’ experience in the advertising world.

Before he goes to bed, at about 10 p.m., he still finds time to enjoy some jazz, either on CD or DVD. “My wife knows not to disturb me if I’m listening to jazz,” he chuckled.

Nungki has hardly missed a single jazz concert in Jakarta. He has attended, for example, JakJazz, Java Jazz, concerts by George Benson, Al Jarreau, Tania Maria, Diana Schuur, Lee Ritenour and David Benoit. And he plans to catch the performances of jazz musicians at this year’s Java Jazz, for instance those of Chaka Kahn and Sergio Mendez. “Neither of them must be missed,” he said.

Nungki’s love of jazz began when he attended senior high school in Yogyakarta. Back then a friend from Jakarta gave him a cassette of jazz songs. “I found the songs nice to listen to,” he said, reminiscing, adding that Autumn Leaves, one of the songs on the cassette, appealed to him the most.

After that he always kept an eye out for jazz cassettes, which could easily be found in Yogyakarta. Ever since then he has got pleasure out of listening to jazz of various genres and generations.

When he was a student at UGM, he joined a marching band and played the trumpet. Playing the trumpet deepened his love for music, particularly jazz. Knowing how difficult it is to play the trumpet, he greatly admires Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and a number of jazz musicians who play the trumpet or other wind instruments.

“Jazz is highly inspiring. It helps me in my work. I set up an office with two friends of mine. We are free to create anything that is compatible with our own capabilities and areas and we all complement each other. It is like jazz, where there is a lot of improvisation, but all the musicians complement one another,” said Nungki, who has over 100 cassettes/ CDs/ VCDs/ DVDs, with 90 percent of this collection being jazz. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post – February 26, 2007

Sonia Wibisono: Starting with Curiosity

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Sonia Wibisono: Starting with Curiosity


One afternoon in a cafe, Sonia Wibisono heard the indistinct crooning of a female singer. Sipping a cup of tea, Sonia, a celebrity doctor, was mesmerized and found it was a cure for the boredom she felt waiting for a client. After inquiring, she was told that the singer was Norah Jones, a jazz singer who has gained popularity around the world.

After that, Sonia, who as a university student loved disco music, became interested in jazz as she found it pleasant to the ear and enjoyable. “People say this music is difficult to enjoy, but some songs are sentimental and easy to listen to,” said Sonia, who loves the wind instrument music played by Dave Koz. She was already familiar with the music of romantic tenor saxophonist Kenny G and the late Embong Rahardjo.

Indeed, it is not jazz of the early periods that Sonia, the presenter of O Clinic, a program on O Channel, likes listening to but jazzy pop. Among the jazz singers she likes are Ermy Kulit, Iga Mawarni, Ruth Sahanaya, Harvey Malaiholo and Glenn Fedly. Although they are all well-known in the pop music world, they are all rooted in jazz.

As for instrumental music, she prefers the easy listening type such as GRP albums, ranging from Lee Ritenour, Dave Valentine, David Benoit, etc. “I’m married, so perhaps my choice of music is the slow type. I believe this kind of music can give you peace of mind and is suitable for relaxation,” said Sonia, a mother of two.

Although she is fond of slow music, Sonia, formerly a finalist of “Abang and None Jakarta”, does not mind other jazz genres as long there is harmony. Al Jarreau, she said, is one of her favorite singers. When this African-American singer came to Jakarta, she excitedly attended his concert. She likes not only energetic songs like Spain and Take Five but also Jarreau’s slow and melodious songs. “His voice is excellent. He is all heart and soul when he sings. Who could resist that?” said Sonia, who also does the “Kuku Bima” commercial.

She is not that into the musicians performing at this year’s Java Jazz, but hopes she can see the performance of Sergio Mendez, who reminds her of one of Indonesia’s leading jazz musicians, Elfa Seciora. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post – February 26, 2007

Managing Change in the Supply Chain

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Managing Change in the Supply Chain

Providers of courier and storing services are increasingly in demand today. Understandably, it is impossible for a company to manage all affairs from upstream to downstream, especially if these are beyond the scope of the company’s core business. A company certainly cannot deal in all business areas. This means they will do the business that they master and outsource the rest to a company specifically dealing with these matters.

Rapid changes in technology, globalization, free trade and stiffer business competition are the four main factors compelling companies to continue to come up with innovations so that they can maintain their position as leaders in their line of business. Ensuring efficient supply chain management (SCM) is one of the ways toward reaching this goal. Research has shown that without effective application of SCM, a business, or even a nation, would lose its competitiveness in this increasingly global world.

A company usually has various departments, such as production, marketing, human resources and technical departments. However, the most important thing after a company produces a (new) product, finds a market and obtains orders from its customers is to meet the orders.

“It is here that the role of SCM is needed,” said Nugroyo Suryo, PhD, associate dean of Prasetya Mulia Business School, Jakarta, at a workshop.

The United Nations deems it important that SCM be applied by the companies it works with in many countries. The implementation of SCM can enhance competitiveness, which is why the UN organizes SCM training for corporate CEOs, particularly in developing countries.

The components of SCM include:

1. Demand planning: Forecasting

2. Demand collaboration: Collaborative resolution process to determine consensus forecasts.

3. Meeting orders: When can one promise a product to a customer, taking into account lead times and constraints.

4. Strategic network optimization: What plants and DC’s should serve what markets for what products — monthly — yearly

5. Production and distribution planning: Coordinate the actual production and distribution plans for a whole enterprise – daily

6. Production scheduling: For a single location create a feasible production schedule — minute by minute

7. Transportation planning: For multiple supply, manufacturer, distributor and warehousing points in a network

8. Transportation execution: Enactment of long-term plans on a per shipment basis, typically performed by forwarders

9. Tracking and Measuring: An ever increasing aspect of supply chain management designed to highlight potential against the plan and possible process improvements

10. Plan of reduction of costs and management of the performance: Diagnosis of the potential and the indicators, the organization and planifiaction strategic, masters dysfunctions in real time, evaluation and accounting reporting, evaluation and reporting quality.

(Burhan Abe/Source: www.ali.web.id)

The Jakarta Post – May 29, 2007

Warehousing and Logistics: Tough Challenges, Good Prospects

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Warehousing and Logistics: Tough Challenges, Good Prospects

The logistics business has a promising outlook, with Indonesia being a potential market thanks to the growing trend among companies to outsource the dispatch and sorting of their goods to logistics providers. “Logistics services have grown the fastest. In Asia Pacific, our sales volume in the first half of 2006 rose by 178.6 percent from the same period last year. This is outstanding as other types of services have grown by only one digit. In terms of income, logistics services also serve as the biggest contributor to DHL (9.9 billion euro), followed by DHL Express (9.2 billion euro),” said Tim Wong, managing director of DHL Global Forwarding Indonesia.

The promising prospects of the logistics business in Indonesia has prompted several global logistics providers to invest in the local market.

DHL, for example, invested US$3 million to build a logistics facility measuring some 6,000 square meters in the Soewarna Business Park, Cengkareng, Jakarta, in October last year.

PT Schenker Petrolog Utama has also built an integrated logistics facility in the same compound at a cost of some $1.5 million. The compound houses offices, temporary storehouses and warehouses.

Headquartered in Germany, Schenker AG, the parent company of Schenker, is one of the world’s major players in the logistics and services business. With a global sales volume amounting to $8 billion, Schenker Group employs over 36,000 people in 1,000 locations in over 100 countries. In Indonesia alone, Schenker employs over 250 people in its branch offices.

The distribution and logistics service business started in the 1990s and blossomed several years later due to increasing demand. Small domestic producing firms and foreign manufacturing companies taken advantage of the distribution and logistics business for the dispatch of their products to their destinations in a rapid and safe way, with quality being maintained.

Most logistics companies started out by providing express dispatch services and then extended to logistics services. Interestingly, while previously logistics companies only handled the movement of goods in their physical condition, later they also handled warehousing. This was only natural because the market share of this business reaches billions of U.S. dollars in value, plus there is constant demand for logistics services.

Domestic and foreign logistics companies now vie with one another in offering their services, all with their pluses and minuses. These international companies include DHL, TNT, UPS and FedEx.

On average, they have provided comprehensive warehousing and logistics services in Indonesia since the 1970s. Meanwhile, domestic companies involved in this competition include PT Pos Indonesia and PT Titipan Kilat (TIKI).

TNT, which started its express business in Indonesia in 1979 under the name of PT Skypak International, opened in 1995 its Logistics Division under the name of PT TNT Logistik Indonesia. This company employs some 650 people and owns 17 warehousing facilities measuring a total of 110,000 square meters. It provides special information system services and has 1,200 trucks on duty every week.

As for DHL, this company concentrates on providing express and logistics solutions with a network covering over 220 countries and regions the world over. With its head office in Brussels, Belgium, DHL, which is fully owned by Deutsche Post World Net, began its business in Indonesia in 1973.

Today it also deals in the logistics service business in Indonesia by operating Express Logistics Centers. DHL has also expanded its reach by building Strategic Parts Centers in countries with strong potential for growth, including Indonesia.

At present, DHL Indonesia, which employs 683 people and registers 1.3 million dispatches per year, controls close to 50 percent of the express and logistics dispatch business in Indonesia.

Although it is not a market leader in Indonesia, UPS should not be underrated. Globally, this courier service company ranks 32nd in the world and enjoys a brand value of $9.92 billion. The business wings of this company reach over 450 markets the world over and the company is divided into two main business divisions: UPS Logistics and UPS Capital.

Through UPS Logistics, UPS, whose corporate color is brown, offers complete services as it handles all the needs of customers for fulfillment of orders, management of inventory and assistance in their supply chain. “Logistics is a way to feed our core network,” said the company’s CEI, Michael Eskew.

Meanwhile, local companies are also engaged in the logistics business with integrated solutions. Take PT Pos Indonesia (Posindo), for example. This company, which focuses on domestic logistics services, has introduced a variety of breakthroughs in the provision of postal services, particularly with respect to logistics services.

One of these breakthroughs is its Logistics Total Service. Under this service scheme, this state-owned postal company no longer only sends a consignment to a particular destination but also undertakes warehousing, assembling, packaging and tracking the movement of the consignment.

At present, Posindo provides total logistics services in a number of areas in Jabotabek and is developing the provision of these services in a number of other cities like Surabaya, Bandung and Medan. Its clients are domestic companies dealing in consumer goods, electronics, book publishing, office equipment, vehicle spare parts, computers and telecommunications products, pharmaceutical products and even agribusiness products.

Posindo benefits from about 4,000 buildings and facilities under its control all over Indonesia to expedite this total logistics service. Its service approaches are also customized. Consumers can also insure their products while in Posindo’s care.

Meanwhile, TIKI, a courier company established in 1970, also deals in logistics and distribution and serves as a cargo agent. This company, whose shares are owned by Posindo, has set up a transportation service agency to deal with logistics and cargo services: TIKI Indonesia (Tikindo).

Indeed, currently, domestic logistics service providers are still losing out to foreign companies, and to local firms affiliated with global companies mainly due to a lack of capital. The logistic service business requires huge capital and investment.

In addition, logistics services are inseparable from their supporting facilities, such as forwarding companies, which serve as architects in the regulation of dispatches through various transportation modes: overland, sea, air and rail.

In addition, what is of no less significance is that mastery of information technology, which continues to develop rapidly, is a must unless the players want to be left behind. A company, for example, spends between Rp 2 and Rp 3 billion a year on information technology. “Information mastery is the backbone and at the same time the key to the modern integrated logistics business,” said Rocky J. Pesik, the owner of PT Caraka Yasa, a logistics and distribution company. (Reyhan Fabiano)

The Jakarta Post, May 29, 2007

Stanley Setia Atmadja: Blending Hard Work with Passion

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Stanley Setia Atmadja: Blending Hard Work with Passion

The history of the automotive industry is simply fantastic. Various makes and brands of cars were available in Indonesia long before the country gained independence. And as time has passed these cars have become classics. This was the reason that Otoblitz and Adira Finance decided to hold the Adira-Otoblitz Classic Car Show from June 29 to July 1 at Kartika Expo Center, Balai Kartini, Jakarta.

“Indonesia has a heritage of rare classic cars that are in top condition,” said Stanley Setia Atmadja, president director of PT Adira Finance, one of the people behind the show.

It is not without reason that Atmadja was involved in the highly anticipated show. Atmadja, also president director of PT Asco Automotive and chief commissioner of Ascomaxx, is an ardent aficionado of classic cars. The auto show was meant to be a turning point for his financing company to convert motorcyclists to car owners.

“Adira is mainly known as a financier of motorcycle purchases, but now we are going to increase financing for car purchases as well,” explained the man who was born in Jakarta on Aug. 24, 1956.

He said that currently Adira Finance’s lenders comprised 70 percent motorcycle purchasers and 30 percent car owners. “We are striving for a 50-50 figure, which probably will be realized in two years,” stated Atmadja, who received his Master’s degree in business administration from the University of La Verne in California, the U.S.

Since its establishment, said Atmadja, Adira Finance, with its current network of 260 offices throughout Indonesia, wanted to focus on cars and other four-wheeled vehicles. However, a drop in car sales after the country’s economic crisis in 1997-1998 saw Adira Finance extending more financing for motorcycle purchases. At present the number of car owners financed through the company stands at 300,000 with a total financing value of Rp 3 trillion, while the company’s financing business for motorcycle purchases is much larger. “We have 1.1 million customers in the motorcycle financing section valued at about Rp 7 trillion,” he said.

After leaving Citibank in 1991 he started his own company with only five employees and it has developed into a giant-sized company with about 12,000 employees. This fact makes Atmadja truly proud in running Adira Finance, which has assets worth Rp 11 trillion.

Currently, the major shareholder of Adira Finance is Bank Danamon (75 percent) and Mega Value Profits Ltd. owns 17.4 percent while the remaining 7.6 percent belongs to the public.

The automotive business on the national scale, especially the financing part, according to Atmadja, has been an extraordinary story. At the end of 1998, when the recession eased, only 880,000 motorcycles were sold. In five years the figure jumped to 2.8 million. The year 2006 saw a fantastic increase to 4.4 million.

However, the figure is minuscule if one considers the country’s population of 234 million. “The ownership ratio of motorcycles here is still low, about 10 to one,” said the man who started his career at PT Metro Sarana Motor, one of Astra’s authorized dealers and workshops.

Atmadja has indeed been astute in recognizing opportunities. Today, through his management, Adira has become the number one player in motorcycle financing. “The key is passion and hard work,” said the man, who is always impeccably dressed.

However, it must be admitted that sales in the automotive industry, both cars and motorcycles, are not as robust as recent years. Reasons include the prolonged effects of fuel price hike some time ago, reduced purchasing power and high interest rates, which are gradually coming down.

Although the macro economic situation is not favorable, Adira Finance remains highly active. In line with the company’s specialty in handling retail financing, Adira Finance concentrates on financing with a high rate of return. With huge financial support from Bank Danamon as well as a high degree of dedication and professionalism, the company was able to acquire Rp 8.5 trillion in business in 2006.

Motorcycle financing contributed the most, 74.5 percent, while the balance, 25.5 percent, came from the car business. This means that Adira Finance financed 12.2 percent of total motorcycle sales in the country and 3.9 percent of cars in the year 2006.

The company’s achievement was recognized by a survey conducted by the Indonesian Customer Satisfaction Award Index (ICSA Index) 2006 supported by Frontier and SWA magazines. Adira Finance emerged the winner in the motorcycle financing category, overtaking PT Federal International Finance, which used to be the ICSA number one every year.

Atmadja explained that the customer satisfaction award was due to various factors, including his strategy for the past four years to increase the number of branch offices, enhancing the competency of human resources and strengthening each process with the latest technology.

Atmadja, who was also named “Entrepreneur of the Year 2002” by Ernst & Young, said that the level of service can ascertain the level of customer satisfaction. What is offered by Adira Finance, for example, is a speedy credit approval process and the return of the Vehicle Ownership Book (BPKB) when the credit is fully repaid, renewal of vehicle registration documents (STNK), convenient payment system, either at Adira’s branches, BCA ATMs or Danamon as well as post offices throughout Indonesia. 

“Our various services provide customers with utmost convenience and satisfaction when doing business with Adira,” said The Best CEO 2005 in explaining his strategy for success.

Now, he said, the most important thing is to increase the competency of the company’s manpower, from the headquarters down to the branches, including improvement of their mentality through various training, workshops and so forth. He appears obsessed with making Adira not only the top multifinance company based on business and performance, but also based on customer satisfaction. To achieve this he has a leadership model based on the following: trust, respect, delegation, reward and punishment.

He believes that if such principles can be implemented by a company leader, the company will automatically run well. “One should not handle everything oneself. A leader should be a harmonizer, unifier and decision-maker,” said the father of two. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post, August 08, 2007

New TV Sets Designed to be Admired

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New TV Sets Designed to be Admired

Players on a golf course are looking for a missing ball. Nobody can find it. However, it can be seen exactly where the ball is on a Plasma screen with high definition (HD) at 1080 lines of resolution. At least this is what you can see in the aggressive advertisement campaign of Sharp Plasma TV of the Aquos series.

Sharp entered the LCD market following its success with its convex or CRT/cathode-ray-tube television sets. According to Kiyanto Purnomo of Sharp’s Aquos LCD TV Department, LCD television sets offer better technology than Plasma television sets even though both are flat-screen and thin television sets.

An LCD TV has several advantages. It is easy to carry or move and has 60,000 hours of durability. In addition, the advanced super view technology adopted for this television allows pictures to appear perfectly in a bright room. “Thanks to this technology, bright light does not reflect onto the television, unlike in the case of a Plasma television,” he noted.

Of course, watching a game of golf on TV may not be your fancy but soccer fans will not wish to miss decisive kicks in an exciting soccer game. This may not be possible with a Plasma TV. The same is true with scenes in a film. “These scenes may be very dramatic and full of captivating visual details. As a result, I can enjoy all these at home. I don’t have to go to the cinema,” said A. Indrajaya, an interior designer who has a LCD TV at home.

There are many types of televisions on the market but the most popular are Plasma TV and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) TV, both top-range digital televisions with sophisticated features and capable of presenting captivatingly moving pictures in your living room.

Compared with conventional CRT televisions, these two digital televisions are superior, particularly in terms of design as they are thinner and do not need a lot of space. While a Plasma TV makes use of hundreds of thousands of glass cells containing Plasma gas to produce pictures on the screen, an LCD TV uses millions of crystals that contain a liquid.

Despite their different mechanisms, these two digital televisions offer more or less the same number of advantages. In terms of the size of the screen, for example, a Plasma TV has a screen measuring a maximum of 63 inches while the screen of the largest LCD TV measures about 50 inches.

Another superior edge is their resolution level. Digital televisions are capable of improving the resolution and the number of pixels, which affects the sharpness of the picture.

However, only an LCD TV is believed to present full high-definition pictures. One example of an LCD TV is Samsung M8, which at present has the highest resolution level, namely 1902 x 1080 full HD. Samsung has also brought out a Plasma TV which offers sharp pictures with full HD, namely Samsung Q9 with 1080i HD.

The Consumer Electronic Show and the Macworld Expo, held this year in the United States, featured Samsung F P-T589W, the first wireless Plasma TV in its class. The wireless standard of this type allows high-definition 1080 pixel pictures to be smoothly transmitted at a data transfer speed of up to 150 megabytes per second (Mbps). This Plasma TV has a natural resolution of 1080 pixels (1920 x 1080).

Since the dawn of the high-definition television (HDTV) era, television picture technology has undergone rapid progress. This technology is capable of producing high-quality pictures and at the same time minimizing up to 99 percent of picture distortions that appear on the screen so that the pictures look real.

Unfortunately, this sophisticated picture technology is applied mostly in high-end television models such as a Plasma TV or a 100 Hz television. However, as the competition is getting stiffer among electronics producers, particularly following the influx of Chinese products, leading television makers such as Sony and Samsung have begun to change tack. They have introduced various innovations in high-quality picture technology so that this technology can also be adapted to middle- to low-range television sets.

Samsung has deemed itself the pioneer in the innovations of high-quality pictures for medium- to low-range televisions. Meanwhile, Sony has also continued to improve its picture technology by innovating on the wega engine and digital reality creation (DRC-MF) to ensure that this technology can be adapted to its 29-inch flat-screen televisions, such as the KV-DA29.

Besides Sony and Samsung, television producers are yet to use Plasma picture technology on medium-range televisions. A number of television producers prefer to tinker with the sound system or picture quality. Take, for example, Toshiba, which has launched a middle-range television, the Quattro Bomba of 21JZ8DE series.

New technology will indeed lend great support to increase the demand for televisions as it promises better and clearer pictures as well as more esthetic, space-efficient and futuristic design.

This is in response to the demand of buyers, who would like to have better pictures, brighter colors and greater durability. As for prices, they will get lower and lower because Chinese-made televisions have begun to enter the Indonesian market in great numbers. In addition, Korean televisions are also lower in price than those from Japan.

This price competition is expected to eventually lead to tight competition all around. The prices of electronic goods today, said Budi Setiawan, sales and marketing director of PT LG Electronics Indonesia, have continued to drop. Certain products, he added, may be said to be low in price. He said that this condition is the result of a price war among electronics producers in Indonesia.

As for LG, it believes that Indonesia still has vast market potential. The core products to be marketed in Asia are TV picture tubes, audio products, monitors, Plasma TVs, refrigerators (including large ones) and LCD TVs. Of course, these products are selling points for LG to dominate the Indonesian market. LG’s focus of development in 2007 lies on technology-based products and products that other makers do not produce, such as Plasma TVs and large refrigerators. “These products require a large investment and sophisticated technology. However, we have not abandoned mass products as these are our strength. We continue to ensure that our mass products will follow trends,” Budi Setiawan told Seputar Indonesia.

What’s obvious is that there is fierce competition involving various makes of televisions, offers of technological sophistication, appearance, etc. In the end, TV price competition is advantageous to buyers. Meanwhile, producers continue to compete with one another in offering various new technologies and comfort just to win the competition. Again, it is the public that will benefit as they will have a lot of choices. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post, August 07, 2007

Air Taxi: Solution to Traffic Congestion

JAKARTA JIVE
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Air Taxi: Solution to Traffic Congestion

The following data will show how acutely the public transportation system in Jakarta has been damaged today: in the past decade the number of motorized vehicles in Jakarta has grown by 6 percent annually. It would come as no surprise to someone who is familiar with the city that about 4.95 million motorized vehicles travel across Jakarta every day. Motorcycles make up 53 percent of this number. Next comes private cars with 30 percent, buses with 7 percent and trucks, 10 percent.

This condition has been worsened by the additional several million motorized vehicles that come from outside the city. The great number of motorized vehicles has led to serious traffic congestion on many roads across the city. One of the government’s attempts to solve the problem of traffic congestion is to lengthen the roads in Jakarta. In reality, however, this would not have much impact.

Lengthening the roads would only increase the mobility of private cars, and that is not part of an effort to build an integrated road network system. Some 85 percent of road space is used by private cars, which actually serve only 9.7 percent of (car) trips. Given the fact that the existing public transportation in the city far from provides comfort and security, it is understandable that so many people opt to use their private cars.

There are not enough air-conditioned buses in Jakarta, nor enough comfortable and safe taxis. That’s why, to meet the demands of the “premium” market, several car hire companies have started renting luxury cars.

Several taxi companies have also provided limousines. The largest taxi company in Jakarta, Blue Bird, for example, has long offered premium services. Its Silver Bird taxi service provides luxury sedans. Meanwhile, another taxi company, PT Centris Multipersada Pratama Tbk, is planning to add 500 Toyota Limo sedans to its taxi fleet, a program that will be implemented in stages up to the end of 2005. “This is in response to the market demand,” said Omar Dhani Hassa, its president director.

But don’t jump to the conclusion that riding in a limo in Jakarta guarantees comfort. Traffic congestion is a problem that affects everyone. One solution is air transportation. Several top executives in Jakarta have resorted to this mode of transportation. James Riady, the CEO of the Lippo Group, for example, has for the last decade used a helicopter, particularly when he visits the centers of his business activities in Lippo Karawaci, Lippo Cikarang, Bukit Sentul real estate and, also perhaps, Depok Town Square.

For James, and others with the means at their disposal, air travel means avoiding the potentially disastrous scenario of being late for a meeting due to a traffic jam. A chopper is an obstruction-free and quick transportation means. People who can afford to hire a chopper are willing to fork out more money just to save time, and to make sure they will continue to be highly mobile.

Indeed, the use of a helicopter as an air transportation means is a business opportunity. The chopper is the right choice for those who need to travel often and be on time. A chopper, for example, can transport four to 13 passengers at one time. As for landing and take-off sites, there are no fewer than 24 heliports on the roofs of tall buildings, such as hotels, on which helicopters can land.

A heliport is a vital facility for air transportation, particularly in major cities. Outside Jakarta, such as Bekasi, Karawang, Cikarang and Tangerang, particularly in factory areas, there are also landing facilities for helicopters. Of course, air taxi fares are high at between US$750 and 1,000 per hour, given the fact that a helicopter may cost some US$3 million.

Despite this, however, air taxis have regular passengers such as executives wishing to visit their factories or hospitals that need to air-lift patients to other hospitals. During the 1999 general election, there was an increase in the demand for air taxi. Politicians, like former People’s Consultative Assembly chairman Amien Rais, used an air taxi to get from one campaign venue to the next.

Despite its great potential, only a small number of aviation business players in Indonesia operate air taxis. There are several reasons for this: the high hourly rent, the tight regulations imposed on this particular business and the lack of regulation of its routes by the central government. One of the air transportation companies is PT Helizona. Another such company is Airpacific, whose base camp is located in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang.

“As a residential settlement area and an office zone, Karawaci needs alternative transportation that links it with Jakarta,” said Budhi Achaddian, the director. Starting its operation in 1996, Airpacific now owns three Bell 407 helicopters, each of which can carry six passengers, excluding the pilot.

Every day, Budhi said, there is always a passenger that hires their helicopter. Formerly belonging to the Lippo Group, Airpacific can take passengers for at least four to five trips a day. When a foreign investor, for example, visits a company in Jakarta and can only stay in this city for a very short time, then hiring a chopper may be the best choice, especially if this guest needs to visit several places.

If you hire a chopper, you can take him or her from the airport to the pick-up point of the Airpacific helicopter. From this pick-up point you can fly to anywhere you wish, going to four or five places before the investor returns home. While the air taxi business may be a potentially lucrative one, it is quite difficult to operate a helicopter rental company. It must be remembered that maintenance costs can eat up 90 percent of rental fees. That is why air taxi operators in the capital have not booked any significant growth. And with little growth in the number of passengers, the air taxi business has failed to attract many investors.

In addition, it is difficult to obtain an operational license as an air taxi provider. Companies cannot simply start operating helicopters as air taxis; there is a licensing process that must first be completed. Only companies with an Air Operation Certificate (AOC) are allowed to get into the business. The international-standard AOC can be revoked at any time if the helicopter operator fails to fulfill the set standards, for example, if it fails to protect the safety of its passengers.

That is why there are only a few air taxi companies in the country. Besides Helizona and Airpacific, the other air taxi companies in Indonesia are Indonesia Air Transport, which owns eight helicopters, Derazona Air Service, which operates eight choppers, and Pelita Air Service, which owns 15 helicopters.

Derazona Air Service and Pelita Air Service do not confine themselves to spot charters or ad-hoc charters, i.e. the sort of on-demand charters usually associated with air taxi services. These two companies concentrate on scheduled flights on a long-term contract basis. In the case of Pelita Air Service, although it usually carries state officials, including the president and vice president, it also has oil and mining companies as regular clients.

It is true that air taxi services have yet to take off in Jakarta. In the meantime, special regulations governing the air taxi business, including technical provisions on the types of helicopters that can be used and their routes, have yet to be drafted. There is also the need to designate special flight lanes and establish open spaces for landing purposes, as you have in the United States. (Arif T. Syam)

The Jakarta Post, October 25, 2005

Treatment at Home Brings Peace of Mind

JAKARTA JIVE
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Treatment at Home Brings Peace of Mind

“You don’t wear glasses anymore?” This is a question that Apung, a young professional, was often asked by friends, and he always gave the same brief reply, “Thanks to laser treatment.”

Apung had his treatment a decade ago. Today the laser treatment that Muhammad Nurrahmansyah, nicknamed Apung, refers to is better known as “Lasik”, which stands for “Laser-In-Situ Keratomileusis” and has gained great popularity. This is a procedure that several hospitals in Jakarta and other major cities in Indonesia offer to improve one’s eyesight using cold laser radiation. With Lasik, poor eyesight can be improved so that one no longer needs to wear glasses, no matter whether far-sighted or near-sighted. Some people are uncomfortable wearing glasses, with only a few believing they are more attractive when wearing glasses.

Aryani also enjoys the great benefits of Lasik. A housewife living in Jakarta, she is grateful that she no longer needs to wear glasses. “Many of my friends were surprised to see me after I had Lasik treatment because they were used to seeing me wear thick glasses,” said Aryani, who had Lasik treatment seven years ago. Besides Apung and Aryani, many executives and celebrities have been able to abandon their glasses thanks to Lasik. Robby Tumewu, Helmi Yahya, Sarah Sechan, Rio Febrian and Nurul Arifin are but a few in this group.

Lasik first became known in Indonesia in the early 1990s. In Jakarta there are many places where you can have Lasik treatment done, such as the Jakarta Eye Center, Laser Sight Center and Nusantara Eye Clinic. Using sophisticated equipment, these clinics promise that they can identify, measure and correct eye problems accurately. A patient can have painless laser treatment in a very short time as an outpatient.

At the Jakarta Eye Center, Lasik is conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a flap (thin layer) in the cornea is made using laser rays. In the second stage, this flap is removed and laser rays are beamed onto the inner part of the cornea so that a new cornea surface forms. After this is done, the flap is returned to its original position and in three minutes it will automatically stick to the cornea, therefore requiring no stitching. “Lasik is painless and takes only a very short time,” said Aryani, who had Lasik done on her eyes at Jakarta Eye Center.

Anybody aged 18 years upwards may have Lasik with the exception of pregnant women or breast-feeding mothers. Prior to having Lasik, a patient must do away with his or her soft contact lenses for 14 days or hard contact lens for 30 days at a stretch.

For both eyes, Lasik takes less than 20 minutes. However, in such a brief span of time, a doctor must make a lot of very important decisions. That’s why it is wise to always entrust your Lasik treatment to an experienced eye health service center with complete facilities and reliable as well as experienced doctors.

Various providers of Lasik treatment in Indonesia use the latest technology. Allegretto Wave Eye-Q, which is claimed to be the world’s fastest Lasik machine, is used by the Jakarta Eye Center. Meanwhile, the Laser Sight Center Indonesia uses technology from Bausch & Lomb, a German company specifically producing all its own wavefront analyzer systems so that it can offer an integrated system called ZyOptix.

Dr. Sjakon G. Tahija, president director of PT Austindo Nusantara Jaya (ANJ) Healthcare Services Division, said that Nusantara Eye Clinic uses VISX Lasik technology with a VISX Star S4 Excimer Laser System and the WaveScan Wavefront System.

The latest technology used by various providers of Lasik treatment leads to a high level of public confidence. Nurul Arifin entrusted her eyesight to the Laser Sight Center Indonesia at Mal Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta while Apung and Aryani had their Lasik treatment at the Jakarta Eye Center.

Anyone wanting Lasik treatment so that they can throw away their glasses must be ready to dig deep into their pockets. In Indonesia, it costs between Rp 8 million and dozens of millions of rupiah to have Lasik done on one eye. The fee depends on the result of your doctor’s analysis of your eye problems requiring a Lasik solution.

High fees aside, it is obvious that many hospitals in Indonesia continue to improve their medical capability and technologies in an effort to provide health care services to the people in the middle to upper-class, who usually go overseas for medical treatment. Aside from Lasik, a service now available in many places in Indonesia, heart and stroke patients as well as patients with other internal organ disorders can enjoy speedy and easy help for their ailments.

Harapan Kita Hospital in Jakarta, for example, has a German-made Multi Slice CT Scan. Costing about euro 1 million, this instrument can speedily and accurately detect any damage in the internal organs.

The scan gives results of high accuracy because it can view the internal part of an organ up to 16 slices. Before being scanned, a patient is given an injection of a contrast substance so that the organs to be examined can be clearly viewed on the monitor. The patient lies down for the scan, which is painless. A scan of 16 slices of a particular organ enables the doctor to accurately diagnose a patient’s condition. In addition, the possibility of a future stroke can also be detected as the scanner can examine carefully the condition of a patient’s blood vessels.

The latest and sophisticated technology in CT Scan with 64 slices is also available at Medistra Hospital, Jakarta. With this machine, a doctor can view a person’s coronary heart blood vessels in a non-invasive manner (without using heart catheterization). Indonesians commonly go abroad for scans of this caliber, which can detect plaque (of cholesterol) that causes arteriosclerosis.

In Jakarta, a Multi-Slice CT Scan examination costs between Rp 500,000 and Rp 6 million. In Malaysia the cost ranges from Rp 5 million to Rp 16 million. Meanwhile, at the Singapore Heart, Stroke & Cancer center the cost ranges from S$5,000 to S$7,000.

Now that hi-tech medical equipment is available in Indonesia, there is no further need to travel abroad for medical treatment because there is sophisticated technology here. Traveling abroad for medical treatment entails a great outlay of money to cover the cost of treatment and accommodation, plus you may not enjoy the peace of mind that you may have when undergoing medical treatment at home. It is this factor that has become an opportunity for many hospitals to cash in on in providing services to patients who usually go abroad for medical treatment. (Asep Saifullah)

The Jakarta Post, May 30, 2006

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