Conducting business and engaging with locals was enlightening to say the least. In Singapore, APAC Advisors visited us and provided information about our recent election and what that will signal for our country and the rest of the world. Betagro, a food service company, Betagro is one of the leading companies in the food service industry is impressive. Their cycle of converting soil crops from agriculture to goods that we consume is interesting. Their leading factor in revenue is ready made meals which is relevant nowadays due to the work culture of longer days. Although I do disagree with the tactics of creating sausage chips which did not have the best flavor, I do understand that these ways are much healthier than the actual meat. CocaCola ThaiNamthip’s facility was pleasing as it looked modern and newly renovated. We had presentations filled with speakers learning that CocaCola implements various models and supply chain logistics for growth. They use a dual RTM strategy which means they utilize DSD and the Dark space. DSD is direct stream digital that indicates control by combining presale visits with delivery. The Dark space is the influence of the wholesale services and in store execution. Wholesalers in Thailand work in passive mode which means that they don’t have a sales force and around 30% have delivery services. The margins are the lowest in the world and they have loyalty through retailers through relationships. This is different from the US where wholesalers distribute many products nationwide and are mostly delivery service oriented. What surprised me the most was that wholesalers are segmented into local cash and carry which generates the highest revenue because I would have thought that traditional wholesalers would have the highest revenue due to its relevance in Thailand. The last company was Thai Airways. The presentation began with struggles that the airlines had during and post pandemic. Some struggles they faced were corruption, nepotism, mismanagement of money, and loss of assets. They shrunk from 100 planes to 3 planes and decreased their workforce from 30000 to 15000. Budget cuts and layoffs were enforced through salary caps and cuts. I could not imagine getting a pay cut and then getting laid off during or after the pandemic. It’s crucial that we understand what happens to not only Thai Airways but many other companies around the world. Now, they are in the incline toward becoming back to one of the best airlines in the world. At first, our guide was warning us about worst case scenarios in Thailand, however, we did not come across any struggles during our stay. Singapore and Thailand are two very different countries. In fact, Singapore is a very clean, easy to travel around, and developed country while Thailand is slightly dirty, harder to travel around, and a developing country. However, Thailand’s culture and religious aspects speak for itself in its temples and many statues.
