Growth in Halal Industry

Supply Chain Asia hosts its first Halal Supply Chain Dialogue in the month of May. It addresses the opportunities and challenges in the halal industry within the country. Malaysia is already globally recognised for its expertise and experience in halal standards and certification – establishing a strong foundation in the said industry.

During the officiating ceremony, Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir gives attendees a breakdown of the global industry: “Presently, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the two strong markets for halal products. All major U.S. and Brazilian poultry processors export to these markets, whereas secondary suppliers provide beef. The primary sources of beef in those markets are imports from Australia and New Zealand.

“Marketing efforts to supply certified halal products throughout the world are gaining momentum. More importantly, the fast growing markets for halal products are in Europe and the USA. Halal products are not just confined to food but also include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and medical related products.”

However, Mukhriz comments that becoming a leader in Halal Supply Chain for Malaysia is not as easy task. It involves more than just a halal-labelled product. It is about maintaining halal integrity along the entire value chain from farm to plate. The process will have to involve the entire value chain – transports, handling, storage, and process to protect product integrity.

Setting an Example

Yokohama Batteries’ new R&D laboratory has been positioned as the foremost advanced Centre for Electro Chemical Research in the region. Through this new centre, Yokohama Batteries has developed its latest allow and paste formulae – leading to the launch of its latest Beta Series. Its new product boasts of being the only battery that exists with Sealed Maintenance Free with Dry Charged options.

In addition, TKYB takes an initiative to negate the common perception that battery manufacture is detrimental to the environment. The company is involved in recycling spent batteries, reusing the lead and plastics with all recycling facilities. It is also supporting the National Green Technology Policy by investing in solar-powered solutions.

A New Breed in Business

In a recent study by Kelly Services, its Kelly global Workforce Index reveals that Malaysia’s economic recession has forged a new generation of home-grown entrepreneurs. According to the research, one-in-six respondents described themselves as ‘self-employed’ and more than half expressing a desire to work more independently.

“Many of those who lost their jobs as a result of the global economic crisis are reinventing themselves as independent contractors, freelancers and consultants. Today, more people are taking charge of their own careers and view self-employment as a way of achieving personal and professional success,” say Melissa Norman, Managing Director of Kelly Services Malaysia.

Systems Upgrade

Accenture announces the replacement of Media Prima Berhad’s (Media Prima) broadcast management system with a state-of-the-art broadcast management application using Accenture’s Integrated Broadcast System (IBS). The system allows Media Prima to streamline and simplifies its broadcast management processes to achieve better time to market, high productivity as well as efficiency in its core business operations.

Painting Malaysia Green

Nippon Paint launches its next generation of paint, Nippon Odour-less Aircare boasts of being the first paint innovation in the country to use green technology. The company claims that it cleanses the air by absorbing the indoor air pollutant – formaldehyde.

“Nippon Paint Malaysia has been supporting initiatives to encourage environmental sustainability and to protect the world we live in. We have proactively started the ball rolling in the paint industry in 2006 by being the first to launch odourless paint,” says Yaw Seng Heng, Managing Director of Nippon Paint (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Kraft Grilled for Broken Promises

According to the Takeover Panel, Kraft had promised:  “Our current plans contemplate that the UK would be a net beneficiary in terms of jobs. For example, we believe we would be in a position to continue to operate the Somerdale facility, which is currently planned to be closed, and to invest in Bournville, thereby preserving UK manufacturing jobs.”

However, Kraft has been reprimanded for backing out of its promise and closing down the facility after finding out how much Cadbury had already spent more than spent more than £100 in transferring production to its new facility in Poland.

The Panel Code Rule 19.1 says: “Each document or advertisement published or statement made, during the course of an offer must be prepared with the highest standards of care and accuracy and the information given must be adequately and fairly presented.”

The Panel concludes that the statements made by Kraft were not prepared to the standards required by Rule 19.1. It accepts that Kraft genuinely believed that it could keep the Somerdale facility operation, but it should not have made the statements when it did not know the details of Cadbury’s phased closure of Somerdal and its investments in Poland.

Moving Away from the Sweet Spot

Tate & Lyle, manufacturer of renewable food and industrial ingredients reports a solid performance for its financial year 2009, with adjusted operating profits up 22%. It also announces that it will be shifting its focus from its traditional sugar business to its Speciality Food Ingredients business.

Javed Ahmed, CEO of Tate & Lyle says, “[The Speciality Food Ingredients business is the] key focus of investment and long-term growth, as well as making a number of important changes to the Group’s organisation. Through these changes, as a strong focus on perational excellence and execution, we will build the platform to deliver sustainable long-term growth.”

Stolen Identity

A joint “undercover” assignment by The Observer and a British security company, CPP reveals how easy it is to get your hands on forged documents with anyone’s details on it. According to CPP’s identity theft expert, Michael Lynch, the process of applying for a fake national identity card, a motorcycle license, an international driving licence and a European work permit only took half an hour.

Lynch adds that thousands of results will come up when you search for the keywords ‘fake identity card’. Some of the results even offer fake cards for as little as £2 each. “You can apply for cards using whatever information you want – details of real people are freely available on the internet through social networking websites like Facebook and Linkedin.”

Japanese E-Tailer Expands

The Financial Time reports Japan’s home-grown online marketplace, Rakuten completes a US$250m deal with Buy.com. As the country’s largest online marketplace, the e-tailer views the acquisition as a part of its efforts to accelerate its global expansion and be in the same ranks as global rivals – Amazon and Ebay.
On the same note, the Japanese company announced its first move outside Japan by setting up a subsidiary in China. It is collaboration with China’s popular search engine, Baidu to open an internet shopping marketplace.