What stood out about the Indonesian market, and what are your key businesses here today?

David Ngalusi SAI Global started its operations in 1992 in Australia, and SAI Global Ltd. came into being in 2002. In 2016, the company was acquired by Baring Asia. SAI Global started its journey in Indonesia in 1996 as part of its expansion into Asia, and Indonesia was SAI’s first investment to grow its business. The first company here was established as PT. QAS Indonesia, which later changed its name to PT. SAI Global Indonesia. We provide audit,certification, and training services from our offices in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan. We have extensive experience, with more than 45 auditors, and execute over 100,000 audits every year across 130 countries for SAI Global. We are proud to be the preferred partner of our customers and achieve consistently great results for them. We are also entering into quick-service restaurants and have performed audits for McDonalds to assist with its quality and sustainability strategy. We also provide advisory services such as establishing standards in food manufacturing. We have a great deal of experience and believe Indonesia is a large market for risk management.

Jochen Sautter My business partner and I set up Prime Consultancy early 2011. At that time, we both saw that challenges for newcomers remained the same even though both of us have over 20 years of experience in Indonesia. We set up Prime Consultancy with a focus on helping investors with the process as well as getting the related conditions and numbers right. We are the helping hands that can prepare the legal establishment together with our partners. We typically start our work with explaining the investment process and execute it thereafter including taking care of finding the best business location and sometimes help recruit the initial staff. Depending on the case, we can also help with financing if there is a need. Most importantly, we are newcomers’ first friend in a country. For instance, the decision of where the company will be located has to be made at the beginning because it has to be listed on the application, and then the approval process is guided into geographical immigration and tax directions.

Where do your clients come from, and what differentiates your service?

DN We serve more than 1,500 clients across various industries, mostly in manufacturing, agriculture, finance, and automotive. Globally, standards in the area of food, such as ISO 22000 as well as a considerable range of other industry specific standards are gaining increasing popularity. Organizations are adopting certifications so they can adopt best practices and have independent validation, ensuring they take the right steps to build trust and deliver. We have many multinational clients in a group where we provide audit and certification, even consulting services for companies such as McDonalds, Burger King, and Coca-Cola, as well as large supermarkets in Australia. We are strong in the food sector, though we also conduct management system audits for certifications such as Quality and Environmental Management System, which is a well-established quality standard here. We audit the food suppliers of quick-service restaurants, and awareness is growing steadily in the focus of food safety. Many franchises that come to Indonesia need to understand the climate and conditions, as Indonesia is humid; they need to understand the importance of food safety in Indonesia.

JS My business partner and I are both from Germany, so naturally there are several German businesses installed via Prime Consultancy. We are also pleased to attract companies from smaller European countries from Scandinavia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and France and from a variety of industries including machinery and automotive. So far we were able to help every client in need of identifying distribution partners via a diligent research structure and approval process. We have to understand what the client needs, and then we find candidates in the market, which seems to differentiate us from other consultants. We are experienced in Indonesia and can communicate well. This is our competitive advantage and our clients are pleased with our communication skills.