Day 6

The team visited the Shanghai World Expo Museum in the morning, before heading to the airport for our flight back home.

Day 5

Meizhen 

1.      The strategy that I have learnt that can help us to present our project to our target audience is to have a good presentation that will illustrate our strength and the features and functions of the product and how we can benefit from it. This will create a good impression of us. We also need to focus on the quality and control cost and have an open-mind and positive mindset to let people know our value and vision. Importantly, we also need to put ourselves in their shoes, to get a sense of how would they feel when they listen to our presentation. Last but not least, we need to discuss it as a team as it is not a one person decision but a team decision.

2.      My most memorable experience on the trip was when we visited ShanTangJie and see how different the place is from Singapore. As Singapore is a modern city but in Suzhou there are still traditional building which reflects the culture of the people. 

Filzah 

1.      One of the strategy that can be used for us to present our project to school leaders and SAC is empathy. This strategy can help us connect with the school leaders and SAC and feel what they feel when they listen to our presentation. One factor on their mind will definitely be cost. Therefore, we need to Ensure that our proposal is cost-effective and can save costs for the school in the Long run. 

2.      Another strategy is being open-minded. This strategy will help us to get buy-in from the audience as they may not agree to all our ideas. So, what we can do is to also listen to their opinions on it and make necessary changes. Therefore,  being open-minded helps us accept people’s opinions/ideas about our ideas before making a collaboration between both parties’ ideas.

3.      Effective communication is key to a buyers’ heart. It will persuade buyers. To be able to persuade, third strategy helps us getting to the right posture and attitude. As we all know, languages spoken may be a barrier at times. However, body language still exist and it is easy to read them. Expression and body language should not look bored or dead. Standing upright will show that we’re serving our customers with pride and when we look confident and present confidently, it will persuade the buyers that our ideas are actually not going to be a waste of money. It will be a bonus if we can speak English fluently as it will assure them and convince them better. Therefore, effective communication is a vital strategy. 

2.      The most memorable memory during this trip is the ‘lecturing sessions’ by the Teachers. Though they were unpleasant experiences, but it definitely did help me understand the big picture and the silliness of our mistakes.

Day 4

Teja

Today, I learnt that in marketing, it is important to be open-minded, to gain knowledge, and to have a high emotional quotient. When one is open-minded, they can find many ways to pitch creatively. It is important to gain knowledge from people you meet at work, and not just from books and studies. With a high emotional quotient, one can empathise, and put ourselves in the consumer’s shoes. In this way, the consumer will be engaged in what the presenter is talking about.

I was surprised to know that Huan Li in Suzhou does not do the marketing. I was also surprised to know that they agree on the price, check with the manufacturing department if the amount needed can be met, and then sign a contract to make sure that the other company does not back out last minute. I would like to learn more about this process and how the marketing process in the other branch works. 

Sahfuan

Today I have learnt about buying raw materials that are of good quality and many more. Through this department, I learnt that they must follow the consumer requirements carefully and only place orders for the raw materials after it has gone through quality testing.

The other thing that I learnt is about the structure planning about Suzhou. Suzhou has many old and new buildings. And the fun fact is Suzhou is divided into three part, traditional, districts and modern. And I learnt that the shopping mall - Suzhou Centre, was developed by a Singapore company, CapitaLand. I would like to learn more about manufacturing a product and quality check process. Also, how can I pitch a product perfectly?

Yen

3 Things I’ve learnt 

When promoting our product, never reveal confidential information such as facts, figures and prices that we have agreed with other companies. Also, never reveal patented technology as other companies may steal our idea.

To prevent customers going back on their words, it is important to have a contract agreement to prevent making losses. 

To convince or persuade other users that our products are good but never pull down other company as customers will then lost trust in us. We have to think from the customer’s point of view and then state the benefits of our product.

2 things I found interesting / like to learn more

Having values is important when marketing our product. We can further attract others’ attention by making our product eco friendly as it can help save the world.

It is important to have the right balance and hire the right amount of people that would the needs for both Low and High sales season. If the sales is low, the workers will have a easier time. However, if the sales is high, the workers have no choice to work overtime.

1 question that I have / would like to clarify

If sales are high and the workers are reluctant to work overtime, what do they do to convince the workers and complete the production by deadline. Do they receive extra salaries as compensation or the workers are willing to work overtime?

Day 3

Zhi Lin

Connect 

The information I have learnt from Huan Li today has connected to what I have learnt about using vernier callipers to measure objects that are less than 10cm to get its exact measurement. The strict checks they do connects to when we have to check our exam or test papers before handing them in to ensure our answers are correct. 

Extend 

What I’ve learnt today has really expanded and deepened my knowledge of what Huan Li does to ensure the products they sell are of good quality and will last in the long run, from checking all the raw materials before they are used to make the water pumps to checking the pumps that they have made to ensure that there are no defects in the products before selling them. 

Challenge 

A challenge that has come up in my mind was what happens if they tested one water pump from a batch they were making and it wasn’t up to standard? Would they test other water pumps from the same batch? 

Victoria:

Connect

The information and ideas I have learnt today helped me connect the knowledge of using the vernier callipers in real life to check various dimensions of the pumps. 

Extend

It has also broadened my knowledge of the stringent quality checks that Huan Li conducts to ensure premium quality of their products. It has also expanded my understanding of how much pride is put in by their staff when manufacturing their products and how they must thoroughly check every single batch of pumps to ensure that there are no defects. 

Challenge

Through today’s learning experience, I also realised that the people doing the quality control must be very dedicated towards their job. A challenge that came up in my mind is how long does it take to check for a batch of pump and remaking the product if it is not up to standard.

Elizabeth: 

Connect

Looking back at all the D&T lessons I have attended, I realised that what we learn in the classroom is definitely less than 20% of the things actually used in real life. From today’s experience, the different equipment used for quality control really opened my eyes to a new perspective and I was indeed fascinated by how everything works. This new experience connects with my prior knowledge on the manufacturing process through showing me a wider range of tools and machinery. 

Extend

What I have learnt about today has definitely deepened the knowledge I already had and gave me a taste of how the real production actually works. Learning in a normal D&T workshop is good in certain aspects but learning in an actual production line can help give off a more realistic approach to what I am learning or what I already am aware of. 

Challenge 

One thing I might want to challenge myself to do is to share what I have learnt today to my fellow D&T classmates. I may not get everything right but I think it is still worth a shot.

Day 2

Ningxin 

Think

I think that Huan Li is a very hardworking company and they do their best for the production of the water pump. From raw materials to final product, they check everything to see that it meets the standards and make sure they produce the best product to their customers and not disappoint them. 

Puzzle

Of course, I wonder roughly how much money the purchasing department spends each year to purchase the materials needed and maintenance of the various machines.

Explore

To answer my question, I will go and ask the workers and the manager about my question and afterwards I will do research and calculations.

Shania

Think 

I have learnt many things about Huan Li today. In Huan Li, there are many different departments such as manufacturing, financial and sales, etc. All of them collectively contributes to the success of the company. Huan Li also ensures the happiness of customers and staff. They do their best to meet the demands of the various water pump components by making sure they colour-code the parts according to the preference of their customer to satisfy them. Huan Li does many things to make sure that the staff members have a loving and conducive work environment by doing small things like providing lunch, sending higher-ranked members for courses to enhance their skills as well as organise outings to have some fun. These are all reasons why Huan Li is very successful. The customers and staff are happy which makes them contribute to the company willingly.

Puzzle 

Despite witnessing the various departments, one question that still remains unanswered is during times of difficulties, how do they stay motivated to continue doing their jobs? 

Explore

The only way I can find out is to personally ask some of the employees here so I can gauge the different difficulties each department faces.

Tian Ci

Think

What I know about Huan Li is they produce various types of water pumps and sell them to the different country for people to use. Huan Li also give all the workers a nice place to work, the environment is very clean and many fruits here let me feel like a home. 

Puzzle 

I am puzzled by a demonstration I saw today regarding the water pump. It has a feature that enables constant supply of water from each tap regardless how many taps are turned on. 

Explore 

About this question maybe I will ask the mentor or the person in charge about the water pump.

Day 1

MTV Tool used - I used to think... now I think... 

Iskanda 

I used to think that Suzhou is a place that is not crowded with vehicles as it is 2-3 hours away from Shanghai. 

Now I think that Suzhou is a well-developed area with a medium density of vehicles. It is also filled with interesting food and places with different history background like the Grand Canal where it stretches from Suzhou to Beijing. I also found out that we should not judge a book by its cover as the food we tasted greatly differs from what we imagine it to be. 

Tinghao 

I used to think that Suzhou is a urbanised and modernised city just like Singapore. The presence of multiple high-rise buildings somehow makes me feel that time flies very fast. 

Now, I think that I am quite wrong. Besides the high rise buildings, I also noticed a lot of charming traditional buildings and houses in Suzhou. This totally changed my perspective of Suzhou. There is a very strong sense of Chinese culture in everything. People don’t rush things and tend to slow down and enjoy their lives.

Junnie 

I used to think that Suzhou was just another ordinary city in China. 

Now I think that Suzhou is amazing. It has a very good scenery and people here are very nice and welcoming especially the guide. The food here in Suzhou is also very delicious, I especially enjoyed the chicken dish during dinner. It’s only the first day in Suzhou and I find it a lovely place to be in. Although we are not able to utilise most of our mobile phone apps here, I feel that this week is a good opportunity to put our phones aside and learn more about the culture of Suzhou.