Software Park to be City of Global Entrepreneurship

    The sixth annual Global Sourcing Summit, “New Opportunities for a Changing World,” held Nov. 10-11 of last year, provided an entry point for global entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses on both the client and consumer side of outsourcing and IT services. The major development revealed during the summit was the building of a 5.7-square kilometer software city over the coming years. The park will invest more than 100 billion RBM, using state-of-the-art information technology and eco-friendly design, to host over 200,000 global IT entrepreneurs looking to relocate and cut costs or to launch their business for the Chinese market.
    “We are attracting more global business since the financial crisis started,” said Zigeng Wang, director of the Xi’an software park. “Companies are focused on finding value now more than ever.” Xi’an’s unique coupling of a high concentration of engineers with a low cost of living provides an unequaled opportunity for businesses in search of value.
    “The scale and growth of the Chinese economy means opportunities for global entrepreneurs,” continued Wang. “China is not only an established valuable IT service supplier, but also an important consumer for various IT services, and we want to be the gateway to help those entrepreneurs access the dynamic Chinese market.”
    Xi’an is establishing itself as China’s hub for outsourcing and beyond, as developments over the last several years demonstrate. The software park maintained 35% year-over-year growth since its foundation in 2001, even in the face of recent economic downturn worldwide. Five global Fortune 500 companies — including DENSO, Rockwell and Yum Brands — have recently established their IT centers in Xi’an. IAOP announced the launch of a chapter in Xi’an, its first in China’s strategic midwestern area.
     Xi’an also benefits from a strong domestic growth market and increasing demand of Chinese companies to improve their IT systems. As China is rising to become the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, midwestern development is the focus of the state’s strategic growth plan. “This will be the signature IT city of the world,” said Wang, “an opportunity no one should miss.”
     The Global Sourcing Summit in Xi’an, founded in 2004, is one of the most significant annual outsourcing events in China, featuring industry leaders, officials from the Ministry of Commerce and State Government, and leading analysts and scholars from both within China and overseas. Last year’s event attracted more than 400 VIP guests and overseas participants, including the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), Microsoft, IBM, XL Solutions, SAP, UBS, and Tribune Company.

VODONE Telemedia, Cmedia to grow PRC handset market

    VODONE Telemedia has entered into an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with Cmedia of Taiwan under a revenue sharing principle. Through cooperation with iPeer, to which Cmedia and MTK are shareholders, VODONE Telemedia becomes MTK’s exclusive strategic partner in integrated mobile entertainment development in the Greater China region. An important purpose of this co-operation is to embed VODONE Telemedia’s mobile lottery focused value-added services such as games, entertainment, music, video and wireless payment gateway, etc. into mobile chips manufactured by MTK.
    iPeer is MTK’s sole channel vehicle in entertainment and music value-added services in the PRC. MTK is an internationally renowned IC design house and it has a prominent position in the mobile handset market. The output of MTK’s mobile chips for the year 2009 exceeded 300 million pieces; it is the second largest global mobile chips supplier. MTK is the market leader in the PRC’s mobile chips market.
     In the co-operation referred to above, Cmedia will be responsible for the platform’s research and development, application layer, mobile client technology development, and marketing, while VODONE Telemedia will be responsible for providing an authorised lottery and entertainment value-added business and payment gateway system. Both parties will work closely with an aim to build up the largest mobile lottery and entertainment platform in the PRC.
     This strategic co-operation is an important milestone to VODONE Telemedia, and an important strategic development to VODONE Telemedia’s mobile business. VODONE Telemedia will therefore be in a position to embed its lottery business in new mobile handsets in a significantly massive volume in the PRC.
     There are about 670 million mobile users in the PRC with a sales volume of about 200 million mobile phones per annum. Approximately 80% of the new mobile handsets could be embedded with VODONE Telemedia’s mobile lottery business. Such is believed to have paved way for a substantial future business and earnings growth for VODONE Telemedia’s mobile lottery business.
     According to Dr. Zhang Lijun, Chairman of VODONE, “The cooperation between VODONE and Cmedia enables VODONE to become a new media company with a competitive multimedia platform on a significantly massive number of new mobile handsets. This is a significant change, as this would bring about prominent cooperation between an innovative new media cooperation of Mainland China and high-tech companies of Taiwan. This will reach new boundaries in the cooperation between firms in Mainland China and Taiwan.”

Tieto's R&D outsourcing for mobile devices sees growth

    Tieto has been named the fastest growing R&D outsourcing company in the Chinese mobile devices industry in 2009. The award was granted at the Mobile Industry Congress of China, organized by the government organization of the China Institute of Communication, in December 2009. Tieto was awarded for its revenue and headcount, increased number of customers and for services provided to local customers, such as China Mobile. The award was received by Zhao Likang, head of Devices R&D in Tieto China. The number of employees in Tieto China has more than doubled annually since 2003 being about 460 at the end of September 2009.
     Pekka Viljakainen, head of Tieto International, commented, “China is an important market for Tieto, especially in telecom R&D, and the aim is to increase the number of employees to 1 000 by the end of 2010. Tieto China is growing in three dimensions: as a delivery centre for the overseas operations, with existing global customers who have a presence in China, and by new local opportunities, such as with operators.”
     Mika Yletyinen, head of Mobile Devices industry in Tieto, noted, “We are very happy about this recognition in China. In the mobile devices industry, Tieto is the world’s leading R&D provider in the Symbian and Mobile Linux ecosystems. China is a key country for us as we execute further our leading Global Delivery Model concept.”
     The Mobile Industry Congress of China was organized by the Popularization & Education working committee of CIC (China Institute of Communication), which organizes annual events related to mobile technologies and acknowledges outstanding achievements. The congress had around 400 participants, including the government and ministry representatives, as well as top managers of various large companies in the industry.
     This is already the second nomination for Tieto in China during 2009. Earlier in the year, Tieto’s country manager in China was chosen to be one of the Top 100 Influencers in China Mobile Industry, being one of the 5 European nominees. With over 1 300 experts and a 15-year track-record of working in cooperation with the key customers in Mobile Devices, Tieto has extensive experience in developing smartphone platforms and products.
     Tieto is an IT service company providing IT, R&D and consulting services. With approximately 16 000 experts, Tieto is among the leading IT service companies in Northern Europe and the global leader in selected segments. The company specializes in areas where it has the deepest understanding of its customers’ businesses and needs. Tieto’s customer centricity and Nordic expertise sets it apart from its competitors.

SAS software supports efficiency at Amway China

    Using predictive modeling and inventory optimization technologies from SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, Amway China has developed an advanced Inventory Optimization System (IOS) built with SAS Forecast Server, SAS Inventory Optimization and SAS Enterprise Guide that has cut stock levels, balanced product distribution, and boosted customer satisfaction to 97 percent. Launched in June 2009, the system enormously improves Amway China’s operational efficiency and shortens replenishment time from the logistics center to retail outlets by 20 percent.
    China has become Amway’s largest market, with more than a third of Amway Global’s total sales: Amway China’s 2008 sales revenues soared to CNY 17.9 billion (US $2.6 billion). Amway China ships more than 1,000 different products through 229 stores, 29 home delivery centers, 22 warehouses and a 40,000-square-meter logistics center in Guangzhou. Each year, the company transports products more than 13.96 million km, equal to about 349 times around the earth. Amway’s uniquely diversified “store selling + direct selling + distribution” model - plus frequent marketing promotions that react quickly to market changes - make inventory management a particular challenge that demands flexibility in workflow and among workers.
     In order to coordinate fast business growth and adapt information flow to the rapid development of its enterprise supply chain, Amway China decided to expand its current application of business analytics, importing SAS technology into its supply chain management under a new IOS.
     Amway has high praise for both the technology and services from SAS. Raymond Hui, Amway Greater China Distribution Vice President, says, “With SAS predictive analysis and inventory optimization, we can keep inventory at the right level at the right time. When business or customer demands change, we can quickly adjust via the flexible inventory optimization system. With the IOS, Amway China can not only reduce logistics costs, but also enhance customer satisfaction and improve its competitive edge.”
     “It is a shared goal for excellent enterprises to offer superior customer service via optimal inventory level. Amway leads its counterparts,” said Alex Wong, General Manager of SAS Greater China. “SAS will, as always, provide Amway and other clients with quality products and professional services that help them make fact-based decisions.”
    The inventory optimization solution developed by SAS can help companies predict future customer demand and accurately determine optimal inventory, thus lowering inventory costs, shortening response times and promoting customer satisfaction.