APAC recap

Sock doll making in Korea

by Younjung (Lena) Kim

According to the Republic of South Korea National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of patients going to the hospital with major burn injuries is increasing yearly, and children under the age of 9 account for more of these injuries than any other: 17% of all major burn injuries.

The risk of accident is higher for children when compared to adults because they have less control over their bodies, higher levels of curiosity, immature judgement, and slower ability to react when accidents happen. In addition, anatomical and physiological characteristics show thinner skin in children compared to adults.

After work hours on August 29, nine members of the Cook Medical Korea Regulatory, Quality, and Reimbursement teams made sock doll friends to deliver warm encouraging love to the children with skin that is too weak to be hugged and who are living with a broken heart because of their changed appearance. The sock dolls are made with soft material to provide comfort to children during their treatment.

The dolls were sent with a card to a non-governmental organization (NGO) authorized by the government, and they were delivered to children with burns to console them. It was such a meaningful time for the Korea Regulatory, Quality, and Reimbursement teams, and we wish there would be no more sick children in the world.

English salon in Shanghai

by Joy Zhang

On Friday, September 28, the Cook Shanghai office had an English salon session. The session was one of the series of language improvement trainings Cook China provides for all employees based in Beijing and Shanghai who are interested in improving their English.

Employees could choose which platform they wanted to use to learn and practice their English, since the different agencies have different learning plans for the trainees. The common learning model is usually composed of the online one-on-one language tutoring sessions and offline office spaces, which are often given by one assigned professional tutor in a salon-like discussion session.

Different sessions touch upon different topics, and this session was all about a healthy diet. While Steven, the tutor, went through a themed slideshow, he asked different questions to trigger people’s interest. He got people to respond in English to him and with their fellow learners.

Jane Liang and Joe Zou were recognized for successfully finishing up one phase of their online learning and are all set to move up to the next level in their learning! Congratulations to them, and kudos to every learner!

Critical Care distributor meeting

by Louise Ngan

One of the Critical Care (CC) specialty’s goals for 2018 is to enhance and increase its global product trainings. In April, Matt Repasy, global manager, training and clinical support, and Karen Denise, EMEA training and support manager, held product training for CC’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) direct sales team with members from Japan, China, South Korea, and India.

Following the success of this training program, CC held two distributor training sessions for its distributors in China and India. The China distributor training occurred from June 24 to 25 at Cook’s new Beijing office, and the India distributor training occurred on July 24 at Cook’s Delhi office.

The training session for CC’s China distributors was led by Aden Qiang Pei, national sales manager, and Allen Yao Mu, a territory sales manager. This two-day training workshop incorporated product training, hands-on demonstrations, and customer-sales representative role-playing.

“I think the training is a lot different from previous trainings we’ve had,” said Xue He, a distributor representative from Beijing Dacheng Healthcare Medical Instrument Co., Ltd.  “Unlike the typical classroom-style training, this training had a lot of group activities, which then led to great discussions. I think the games were the best part; with the way they are designed, it makes it much easier for us to remember all that we’ve been taught.”

The training session for CC’s India distributors was led by Foon Wah, Asia regional sales manager, and Anuj Kumar Kaushik, North India regional sales manager. This one-day program focused specifically on centesis and drainage products, including the Fuhrman Pleural/Pneumopericardial Drainage Catheter, the Lock Pericardiocentesis Catheter, the Thal-Quick Chest Tube, and the Wayne Pneumothorax Catheter. Pleural drainage and pneumothorax procedures were simulated.

DCM hosts inaugural APAC distributor integration program

by Ross Anderson

Mirroring similar events held in the EMEA, 11 APAC distributors from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, Mongolia, Brunei, and Thailand attended the distributor integration program. The distributors varied from being new to having represented Cook in their countries for many years.

These were the main objectives for each of the events during the week:

• To update the distributors about Cook’s policies and to give the distributors an opportunity to give feedback to Cook in regards to their business.
• To integrate, align, and communicate the roles of the main functional, divisional, and operational units of Cook that play an important part in the relationship with our distributors.
• To make sure all our distributors left the meeting well informed about Cook and with no unanswered questions on how to do business on our behalf.

Each event ran for two days, and the distributors were separated into two groups. This meant the program ran twice during the week. Cook staff from the divisions, functions, and operational units attended to meet and integrate with the distributors.

Day one commenced with overviews of Cook history and culture, transformation, and Distribution Channel Management (DCM) including Governance, Business Development, Customer Experience, Finance, and Regulatory. The second part of the day consisted of one-on-one meetings between a distributor and a Cook specialist from a variety of different teams, such as Operations and Supply Chain, Customer Service & Delivery, Quality Assurance and complaints handling, DCM (Governance and Business Development), Regulatory Affairs, and Finance.

Day two commenced with a South-Asia Delivery Centre (SADC) facility tour and presentations on Ethics & Compliance. Representatives from the Vascular and MedSurg APAC training teams also did a wonderful job of displaying and demonstrating some Cook products.

One consistent message from a post-meeting survey was that the distributors felt the style of meeting was very unique to the industry and that they sincerely felt they were being “listened to” rather than being “talked at.” They believed this was more conducive to a more fruitful business relationship.

Our intention is that by the end of 2020, all distributors and dealers in APAC will have been invited to and participated in a distributor integration program (DIP) relevant to their country. Why is this important? Distribution Channel Management works to establish and maintain alignment and integration between Cook Medical and our many distribution and dealer markets around the world. The DIP is a unique method to not only learn from our distributors but also reinforce the current business requirements and practices, which ultimately is the right thing for patients. The program also is designed to create an environment in which our distributors feel “engaged on multiple levels” in their partnership with Cook and invest in their Cook business to expand.

Vascular division Australia – team business meeting

by Sally Kennedy

The theme for our first ever Vascular Division Australia business meeting held on the Gold Coast of Australia September 9-12, was “One Team!” All members of our Vascular team play a crucial role in determining the future success of this division, so it was incredibly valuable to have everyone from the areas of business, programs, marketing, and training together.

Joining us for this special event were some key leaders from our Vascular division, namely Andy Forester, director global business sales; Neil Whisson, director southeast Asia & Pacific business; Mike Williams, director global vascular programs; Eric Nielson, director global training; and Matt Sheley, manager global brand performance. We also had several guests from William Cook Australia join the meeting.

There were several key objectives, primarily around everyone leaving with a clear understanding of:

1. The seven programs in Vascular (aortic therapies, PAD therapies, venous therapies, embolic therapies, interventional therapies, lead management therapies, and access technologies).
2. The support and the systems in Vascular (Strategic Account Management, Brand Marketing, Training, Finance, Ethics & Compliance, Customer Database, and Business Insights).
3. The division’s mission, vision, and purpose and how we all contribute to these.

At a formal dinner on the final evening, the team recognized some special contributors to our Vascular Business. The following people participated in early cross training of our Vascular products which greatly assisted during the early realignment phase:

Helaya Henderson-Smith, Territory Manager, South Australia

Jennifer Gander, Territory Manager, New South Wales

Pierre Noe, Territory Manager, New South Wales

Sarah Trussell, Territory Manager, South Australia

Nadine MacDougall, Territory Manager, South Australia

Penny Ledner, Field Support Manager, Australia and New Zealand

Vanessa Murrihy, Territory Manager, Victoria

The Vascular business meeting provided the opportunity for everyone to recognize the potential of this division in Australia if we work together to achieve our common mission, vision, and purpose.

Taiwan is (Cook) connected

by Loretta Hsu

This year, Cook Taiwan held its first Cook Connection event in Taipei, led by APAC Human Resources Director Beverley Findlay, Global Divisional Systems and Quality Manager John Smith, and APAC Regional Human Resources Manager Wendy Kwong. Two one-day sessions were held on September 12-13 with 23 people attending each session. The 98% participation rate showed how enthusiastic Cook Taiwan employees are to learn about Cook culture.

The session was divided into three parts.

During the first part, John Smith had everyone introduce themselves and encouraged them to share something about themselves. Next, attendees were shown videos about the history of Cook. Many employees said it was only after seeing the videos that they finally understood how Cook had become such a unique company with such a special culture.

The highlight of the day was “Save Mr. Egg.” Attendees were divided into several smaller groups and each group was given a different collection of materials. Each group then brainstormed how to best use those materials to protect an egg from breaking when it was dropped from a height of two meters (about six and a half feet). A lot of creative and innovative ideas were brought up throughout this activity and the tension among the groups for competition pushed the game to the next level of fun. Even though there was only one group that successfully saved Mr. Egg, the spirit of teamwork and innovation were deeply rooted in every participant’s heart.

The success of this two-day event has empowered Cook Taiwan employees to deal with daily business operations with the same thought in mind across the functions after comprehending the journey Cook has made from its humble beginnings. Even though there are always some challenges ahead, Cook Taiwan has faith in overcoming with team’s concerted efforts. Together, we will win!