Day 3 and 4
25. - 26.03.2019
Shanghai
Monday March 25th, 2019
On Monday, the third day of the trip, we visited the first company of the excursion. Mrs. Gong welcomed us and gave us the first information about the day. Mrs. Gong was our guide during our stay in Shanghai. On Monday, "Böhringer Ingelheim" and "TMXmall" were part of the programme. During the bus trip we heard some interesting facts about Shanghai and its districts. After the company visits, we had the opportunity to go on a boat trip with Mrs. Gong on the Huangpu River. As a big surprise Prof. Dr. Zhang Li from Xi'an visited us. Prof. Dr. Zhang Li teaches at the Xi'an University. Xi’an University and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences have a partnership.
After arrival at Böhringer Ingelheim, there was first a short welcome. Afterwards we were split into two groups for a tour through the factory. We visited the laboratory, the warehouse and the packaging area.
At first, we visited the laboratory department. Here the products are examined and subjected to a quality control. However, before entering the laboratory, we put on a coat and glasses for protection. In the laboratory, there are various devices, which examine and analyse the preparations. The next step was to visit the warehouse. There is a state-of-the-art, automated high-bay warehouse. For example, the employee no longer has to leave the gaps in the high-bay racking. The storage and retrieval of materials and goods is fully automated by the high-bay warehouse system.
The last stop was a visit of the packaging centre. For this area we had to wear special protective clothing and to observe high hygiene regulations. Hands had to be disinfected, feet and head had to be protected. When we arrived in the packaging hall, we found ultra-modern packaging systems. Because there was an employee meeting, the machines unfortunately stood still. During operation, the machines would have packed the medicines at a very high frequency.
After a very interesting insight into the different areas, there was a delicious lunch afterwards. It takes a lot of practice to eat such a big piece of chicken with chopsticks. In addition there were also dumplings to eat. Right after the meal we visited the next company.
Upon arrival at TMXmall there was a greeting from Prof. Dr. Zhang Li. TMXmall is a company that develops translation software. Many companies make use of this service. A special function of the translation tool is that whole documents can be translated. They are translated into the desired language and the layout is retained. Another special feature is that even documents in photo format can be translated. The founder and managing director Jing Zhang, is a former student of Prof. Dr. Zhang Li and also visited the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in 2009 as part of the Summer School programme.
After the end of the company visits, there was now enough time to visit Shanghai. You could either join the boat trip or discover Shanghai on your own. Our group decided to go into the city on our own. We visited the Yu Garden, which is located in the old town of Shanghai. Here we bought many souvenirs and strolled through the different streets. Classical souvenirs like chopsticks, scarves and much more could be bought here.
One could also try a lot of local dishes. Many of them were new for us. Among other things you could try crabs on a skewer.
Towards evening, the old town quarter with its many lights looked even more beautiful. Many trees, roofs, buildings are decorated with chains of lights.
At Roof-Top-Bar of the "Shanghai on The Bund Indigo Hotel" the evening ended with a cocktail.
Shanghai
Tuesday March 26th, 2019
We started the day with our second great breakfast, with whatever our hearts desired, omelettes, bacon, Chinese vegetables, noodles, fruits and some deserts.
We left the hotel at 8 am off to Hermes-OTTO International which was arranged by our personal guide, student Marcel Turhan, who is working for Adler Modemärkte AG. By the way, Marcel flew a few days earlier just to get things done for us. Upon arrival at the office in Pudong we were given a warm welcome by Joanna Qiu.
Marcel Turhan standing in front of the front desk,
to welcome us all.
A one and a half hour, corporate presentation was shown to us in the meeting room. Sounds pretty long, but it was super interesting. They even prepared some snacks and drinks for us.
The group is taking their seats.
H-OI (Hermes-OTTO International) is one of the largest procurement organisations specialised in sourcing and trading services for the European market, headquartered in Hong-Kong. They cover a wide range of product categories with a focus on apparel, accessories, lingerie and shoes as well as home products, exceeding a sourcing volume of EUR 1.2 billion per year, with customers we all know, such as Adler, bon prix, Intersport, Bundesliga, OTTO, and many more.
After the company presentation we got a powerful impression from Nicola who showed us the intercultural differences at work and her own career. There were so many more differences and misunderstandings between the nations then we all had imagined.
Afterwards, we were able to look around the office, the employees took their precious time to show us what they were doing and what it was for. Special notice was taken of green plants between the dummies and material samples, which made a friendly environment in the office.
Joanna took us out to the country where they have one of their factories and a big show room. When we arrived at the factory, we received a buffet of typical Chinese food with soup, rice, chicken and some vegetables.
Students and Mrs. Bopp are hungry and happy to get something to eat.
Fortified we went through the huge showroom. There were many different styles for all seasons in the showroom. Interesting to see, in addition to the Asian style there were many European styles too, which were currently not in the shops.
Afterwards we went into the factory. Contrary to what is often associated with "made in china", the factory was pretty good. Mostly older women and some men were working in a safe environment. The halls were clean and flooded with light. We got to see all the steps which were necessary to sew a dirndl.
The woman is sewing a dirndl for the German market.
These men were sawing “stitching templates”, which are kind of like a manual for the seamstresses.
We finished off with a final group picture taken in front of the management building from the factory and drove back to the hotel.
The way back by bus was used in the most efficient way as usual: sleeping.
Students preparing for night-life.
Not the happiest moment during this trip, luckily some of us couldn`t remember...
