Beautiful Lake...

Singkarak Lake

Between Solok and Batusangkar is Lake Singkarak, which is a little less grand than Lake Maninjau. It marks the gateway to the incredible basin of Solok.

The main road skirts the lake's clean, gently sloping shore for a distance of twenty one kilometers, many lodges and restaurants available along the like shore.

Singkarak Lake is an ideal place for recreation and water sport, 36 km from Bukittinggi. There are several motels and restaurants in the area. Singkarak Lake is located about 10 Km of Solok city and ± 35 Km from Kayu Aro. This lake is located in X Koto district and spread across Solok - Bukit Tinggi way.

The lake is state between two regencies that is Solok regency and Tanah Datar regency with ± 129,70 km2 (± 1.129,29 Ha) width. Singkarak Lake is the widest lake in West Sumatra and the second widest lake in Sumatra Island after Toba Lake. The Lake that located in 362,5 m height from the sea level, has special species of fish that only live in this lake and the only in the world. Society around called as Bilih Fish (Mystacoleuseus Padangensis).

Uniquely, this fish cannot live in other habitat, both in an aquarium and in a pool. The people around are often selling this fish and the visitors can enjoy the specific taste of this fish in the restaurants that located around the lake. The Lake is equipped by some facilities, such as; hotels, motels, restaurants and also water sport facilities. Beside used as tourism objects and the economic source of society around, nowadays, this lake also used as the electric source of Sicincin.

IT Management

Efficient Processes and Appealing to Customers

The retail trade must invest in IT because otherwise it cannot meet customers’ demands, according to Zygmunt Mierdorf, Management Board Member at the METRO Group. The trading concern is a trendsetter for technological innovations in trade, which are tested at the group’s Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany.

Mr. Mierdorf, your Future Store caused a sensation three years ago when it made innovation in the retail trade a focus. What have you learned since then? At the Future Store we want to get a feel for what is possible. In doing so we have found out that customers are much more adventurous than we had expected—even across all age groups. But above all new technology must be user-friendly, like an iPod: It is best to have no more than four buttons. Another very important insight is that we need time to introduce our employees to the new structures because they must change how they work entirely.

What do consumers accept easily? Customers are particularly interested in speeding up the checkout process and in anything that makes it easier for them to find what they are looking for. As a result, self-checkout counters are very well-received, as are intelligent scales that recognize fruits and vegetables automatically through a camera. Also the networked information terminals are so popular that we are implementing them in our other stores in greater numbers.

What is the main driver for the retail industry to invest in IT? Is it to cut costs or to increase innovation, image, customer loyalty? There are two main drivers: On the one hand, there is shopping for supplies. When doing so customers expect to find what they need right away; they want to get through the checkout line and back home as quickly as possible. And then there is experience shopping—for example, when looking for clothes or consumer electronics. Customers talk with a sales associate about things like flat-screen televisions; they research them before buying.

The technology has to give consideration to both shopping situations. For the first one we need a thoroughly structured supply chain and a highly efficient, smooth process at the store. We must use our resources so that they achieve the greatest effect; after all, the retail trade is a low-margin business. So we are automating administrative processes and reallocating our employees to real value-added activities in customer service.

If you find a salesclerk in the department store who will help you, you will gladly pay for your purchase at a self-checkout! We are working on putting more people out on the floor. Automating our processes also makes them more secure, but data quality remains a challenge. Processes sometimes get hung up because they must be reworked to enter missing information manually. Our processes in the retail trade still include a lot of format conversions, and we have to get rid of them.

So gaining productivity is at the forefront of process optimization. We must work in both directions. Efficient processes are a basic requirement for keeping costs under control. The other side is more exciting of course: Investments in appeal, customer loyalty, customer retention. Something like the Smart Mirror: You select a hair color from the shelf, and then the device scans your face and shows you how you would look with it. These are emotional things in which technology is an important factor. If we speak of process optimization, however, we are still talking about the things that do not have to do directly with operational commercial transactions…

Such as? Corporate governance and compliance: How do we make sure that our processes are structured and documented so cleanly that we can prove if necessary that the decision paths have been followed and that there is a documented set of rules that precludes organizational failure and individual error? The management’s responsibility to investors is to plan security structures to provide risk-free processes. To do this we need systematic business process management, which we are now working on with IDS Scheer.

The process is the engine for change The business concept is the engine from which the processes are derived. You have to be constantly screening new technologies—while being aware of the processes: What fits or could fit in the future? There are two things to look at: What helps customers? What annoys them? What perturbs them the most? And: How can I help our employees? Nothing else concerns CIOs these days, because everything is largely standardized. They have experts on their team who negotiate with IT manufacturers and network operators. The crucial added value of CIOs really comes from their knowledge of the processes.

What do you think are today‘s greatest technological challenges? What would you like to see from the IT industry? Two or three years ago that would have been the interoperability between individual manufacturers. In the meantime this has increased a great deal. It is important to us to be able to integrate data from the back-end systems so that employees can access it from their workstations all at once.

Eventually, our employees should be able to handle all necessary work processes via single sign-on without having to think about which applications and systems are behind what they are doing. Your prediction: How will shopping change over the next five years? That is a short period of time. Even the most innovative store has a volume problem: We must equip 2,000 branches. I would be happy if we could roll out all the ideas that we have today within the next five years. •

Hotel toiletries supplier recalls toxic toothpaste

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A leading supplier of toiletries for luxury hotels recalled complimentary tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste worldwide Monday after tests showed some contain a potentially toxic chemical.

It was the latest in a series of recalls of Chinese-made goods — toothpaste, children's toys, tires and pet food — because of shoddy and perhaps dangerous manufacturing methods.

Gilchrist & Soames said it is recalling its 18-milliliter or 0.65-ounce tubes with the name Gilchrist & Soames on it. The company said Monday some samples showed the tubes contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze that can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.

"They're just kind of the little complimentary size you get in the hotels, and it's branded Gilchrist & Soames," said Cindy Duran, a spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Indianapolis.
West Virginia's Greenbrier resort uses Gilchrist & Soames lotion, shampoo, conditioner and bath gel, but not the brand's toothpaste, said spokeswoman Lynn Swann. The White Sulphur Springs resort uses Colgate toothpaste.

travel business in Toba Lake

Toba Lake

World famous is the crater Toba Lake in the Batak highlands; approximately five hours drive from Medan. Toba Lake is the largest lake in South East Asia and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle. If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty.

The Dutch writer Rudy Kousbroek even called Toba Lake, 'the most beautiful place on earth'. Most visitors stay on the peninsula of Tuk Tuk on Samosir, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk. In general people stay several days on Samosir to discover the island, to visit traditional Batak villages, to swim in the lake and go to the hot springs in Pangururan.

The centerpiece of North Sumatra, Lake Toba's bracing climate and magnificent panoramas clear the mind and soothe the soul. For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction.

Formed by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, the 100 km long lake is the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and the highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation.

Telkom Kejar 75 Ribu Pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera

Sabtu , 11/08/2007 13:59 WIB
Telkom Kejar 75 Ribu Pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera

Jakarta, Telkom akan membangun 100 titik hotspot Speedy di Sumatra hingga akhir 2007. Selain memperluas kawasan layanan, tujuannya tak lain demi mendorong pencapaian 75 ribu pelanggan Speedy.

Executive General Manager Telkom Divisi Regional I Sumatera, Muhammad Awaluddin mengatakan, saat ini pelanggan Speedy di Sumatera baru mencapai 25 ribu sambungan, di mana 12 ribu di antaranya berada di Medan."Perluasan layanan Speedy di berbagai kota di Sumatera dan tarifnya yang murah itu mempercepat pertumbuhan jumlah pelanggan Speedy," ujarnya dalam keterangan pers yang dikutip detikINET, Sabtu (11/8/2007).

Menurutnya, sudah ada 10 kota di Sumatera yang sudah bisa mengakses Speedy, yakni, Medan, Pematang Siantar (Sumut) , Padang (Sumbar), Pekanbaru (Riau), Batam (Kepulauan Riau), Palembang dan Baturaja (Sumsel), Jambi, Pangkal Pinang (Bangka Belitung) dan Bandar Lampung.

SMARTBIZ ARTICLES

SMARTBIZ ARTICLES

Negotiating Successfully When You Have A Weak PositionNegotiating really means compromising. Sometimes you get everything you want and more, and therefore you don't have to compromise. But successful negotiators know they have to be ready to give something up--even if they never actually have to do so.
Customers ARE Your BusinessTom Peters, the author of "In Search Of Excellence" and numerous other business books, has developed a formula to figure the true value of a customer.
Developing Win-Win Joint VenturesI prefer to think of joint ventures in terms of what I call a host-beneficiary relationship. In essence, you serve as a "host" introducing someone else's complementary and appropriate products or services to your customers--preferably under your express endorsement.
Developing The Right AttitudesTo be truly effective at delegating, you must have the right attributes and attitudes about delegation. These positive attributes, outlined below, include personal security, risk taking, a trusting nature, task-orientation, and a good degree of patience.
Bruce Fox, founding Editor-in-Chief, RT MagazineWith two decades of experience reporting on the retail industry, Fox has established himself as the leading editorial voice in coverage of today's online retailing boom.

Shopping Centre

Mall Grand Palladium

Jl. Kapten Maulana Lubis No. 8

Medan 20112 North Sumatra

Indonesia

General Information

Open Everyday from 10.00 to 22.00 local time

Shop Directories

Department Store, Computer Store, Cell Phone Store, Hyper Market, Theater, Food Court, Restaurant & Cafe, Bread & Cake, Boutique & etc

Things to Do

Shopping, Watch Movie, Eat & Drink, Chit-Chat & etc

Getting there

Taxi, Trishaw (Beca), Mini Bus (Sudako)

Internet

Hot Spot & Wi-Fi available