Another opportunity for market research in Thailand
This is already the third article, in which a student of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences places a call for contact with a Dutch company that is interested in Thailand. It was actually a cry for help from Josin, because both the RVO and the Chamber of Commerce did not want to help her because of a "privacy policy"(?)
This is how Josin came into contact with MKB Thailand, which is happy to help young students and also wants to offer Dutch entrepreneurs an opportunity to get to know the market in Thailand better. We are happy to accept Josin's request from MKB Thailand; Joshin writes:
“I am Josin Bakker, I am studying International Business and Management Studies and for my minor “Building partnerships in South-East Asia” I have to find a company that wants to collaborate with/work in Thailand, it can also be a Dutch company that is already in Bangkok is established but wants to expand.
The goal is to actually find partners for the company like joint venture, manufacturer, distribution company, etc. For this project, I will be working for 5 months and in between I will go to Bangkok for another month to research the business, such as: preparation , get information, hold business meetings, view repositories and maintain contact on behalf of the organization, etc.
I get help from the local students who help me on my way and show me the way and at the end of the project I will give advice based on my findings in a well-documented report and a presentation. I can say with certainty that this project will have added value for the organization.
Are you interested or do you know someone who is interested, or do you want more information?
Feel free to message me via [email protected] "
Josin writes: “The goal is to actually find partners for the company such as a joint venture, manufacturer, distribution company, etc.”
Without any information about the industry in which that company operates, her question is very vague and difficult to answer. The first information will really have to be what the Dutch company does and what the profile of the Thai partner should be.
But maybe I'm reading this wrong again.
Does the profile matter? It is precisely the challenge to work as a consultant without knowing what is coming at you and after the study you can specialize.
Biggest problem is scale. For example, international relationships for business purposes may be very small. Consider purchasing massage balms, aromas, etc. for a massage institute. Or very large, for example a multinational with the wish to expand to the gateway to Asia. It's unclear to me what the point is. Small scale or large scale. As a study model, the scale should not matter and only the actual model and its implementation should count, but…. I have no idea what the study client thinks about this. I have a small-scale Thai Reflex massage practice and could use solid relationships with purchasing for massage balm and aromas, but these are very small investments that I usually negotiate on the spot. So I don't know if this is interesting enough for such an assignment.
Try the thai-dutch chamber of commerce
https://www.ntccthailand.org/
There is also a job site there. Then you already have a few companies.
http://www.ntccthailand.org/jobs#job-vacancies
In the past, the list was simply available on the embassy's website.
What you can assume is that every multinational has a branch or office in Thailand.
I sometimes marvel at this:
Just write to a number in the Netherlands.
start from this list with the A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Multinational_companies_headquartered_in_the_Netherlands
Aalberts – aircraft interiors
ABN AMRO
Akzo Nobel
Agoda
Iron
Booking
Boskalis
Douwe Egberts
from Melle
Verkade
Philips
SEW Eurodrive
John De Mul
Ballast Nedam
ING
van Oord
NXP
Heineken
Mammoth
DSM
IKEA
fugro
mittal
Shell
Imtech
ING
van der Lande
Vekoma
Biliton
Syral
agrana
Friesland food Campina has the best chance via Leeuwarden.
KLM
Corendon
Greenwood travel
Shell
Biliton
Bruynzeel
SHV (Scholten Honey)
Volker Wessels
Hunter Douglas
the Heur
Heerema
Dura Vermeer
from Lions
Finally this list many companies on this page are all represented in Thailand from their holding structure.
https://www.consultancy.nl/nieuws/12473/de-top-100-grootste-familiebedrijven-van-nederland
Perhaps the description of the mission to Thailand is somewhat brief from the three ladies students, but on the other hand it is also sufficient to encourage a Dutch company to ask for more information.
Earlier on this blog, attention has been paid to the Minor course “Building partnerships in Thailand” of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, see https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezers-inzending/hogeschool-van-amsterdam-minor
The mission is described a bit better in that story, which is further emphasized in a response by Edward Bloembergen, lecturer at the AUAS. I responded to that and offered to spend a few hours telling the students about my experiences with market research, finding and interviewing agents, in short, how do you make a successful attempt to enter the Thai market.
I then had contact about my proposal with a teacher from the AUAS, who supervised the project at the time, a Thai lady married to the aforementioned Edward Bloembergen. She found it interesting and would raise it internally at the AUAS. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm was not rewarded, because I soon received the message that such a lecture by an outsider “did not fit into the program”.
A missed opportunity! I maintain that the relevant Minor program would gain in authority and content if the students would talk to experts by experience. In that sense, I definitely recommend contacting Martien Vlemmix, the chairman of MKB Thailand, who has a wealth of experience with halls in Thailand and can also make contacts with other members of MKB Thailand, depending on the type of company with which the student contact at this stage of the intended mission.
Today I had some contact with Martien Vlemmix, who told me that two of the three female students have messaged him – partly thanks to the call on the Facebook page of MKB Nederland and Thailandblog.nl, to have already found a Dutch company. Discussions are continuing with these companies about how and what can be expected of each other.