As large of an employer as it is, chances are that you already know somebody who works in the Australian packaging industry. Indeed, it is a reasonably sized industry that exerts a massive amount of influence over our daily lives. From recycling to protecting the food that we purchase, packaging is essential.

The Packaging Industry: Value And Employment –

Numbers are among the very best ways to get an idea about the size of something. Consider this: The Australian packaging industry accounts for approximately 1% of the country’s GDP, or Gross Domestic Product. That may sound small, but Australia is a massive country with a very high volume of output. Combine that fact with the fact that approximately 30,000 people are employed by the Australian packaging industry, and it’s easy to see why this industry is so important.

Material Statistics Related To The Packaging Industry –

At 36%, paper and cardboard packaging definitely corner the market when it comes to packaging materials. A simple glance in your pantry or refrigerator will confirm to you that this is the case. However, plastics have reached 30% – a very respectable figure that is easy to confirm, what with the popularity of plastic packaging these days. At 20%, metal packaging has diminished a bit but is still fairly common. Finally, as glass is the most breakable and least practical material, it only accounts for 10% of the total packaging that today is used in Australia.

Recycling And The Packaging Industry –

Considering that the packaging industry only contributes about 10% of urban solid waste, it is remarkable that the industry has, nonetheless, agreed to a National Packaging Covenant that will increase the levels at which it recycles various materials. For example: Plastics, which are currently recycled at a rate of approximately 20%, will now be recycled approximately 30% to 35% of the time. Paper and cardboard, which are currently recycled at a rate of approximately 64%, will now be recycled at a rate of approximately 70% to 80%.

Packaging: An Industry To Watch –

Whether you work in the packaging industry or not, there’s no question that it plays a major role in your life. From the food you buy at the store to the recycling that you do, packaging plays a role in many aspects of your day to day life. As time goes by, the industry itself will be amping up its recycling efforts and will be contributing to the health of the planet. For this reason, consumers can now feel more comfortable about the products that they purchase and can be assured that the food packaging industry is continuously working towards making the world a better place.

Today, it is critical for all businesses to be in compliance with PCI security standards and guidelines, not just in the name of good business, but to protect consumers and avoid significant consequences. Almost every organization that deals with card payments must ensure that it is following the PCI standard for ensuring with the Payment Card Industry compliance. If you go through the current PCI requirements, there are many areas calling for documented PCI policies for a wide variety of I.T. resources that relating to the cardholder data environment. By working with a PCI compliance service provider you can ensure that cardholder account data being processed across your technical environment is protected and thus minimizes the risk to your business. Verifying and authenticating consumer identities before proceeding with a transaction can protect your payment systems from unauthorized access and prevent losses incurred through fraudulent transactions. Consultants in the Payment Card Industry compliance are currently charging organizations high fees for developing PCI policy documentation for purposes of compliance, which is beginning to become a threatening issue for many businesses. To show your compliance as a business, you must possess a secure collection of customer data that is tamper-proof and ready for analysis.

The main benefits of keeping your business PCI compliant is improving organizational security so that you can rest assured that cardholders information is safe from harm. This will help build up your customer base and your overall brand image will be positive, showing your company as a responsible and productive member in the market. Business partners and investors will become confident in your capabilities as a company.

There can be long-term implications because of a non PCI compliant and ultimately a breach in security, like losing your reputation and customer loyalty. The solution is to find a reputable vendor selling PCI policy templates one can use. NSAP IT is the leading provider of on-demand and subscription-based information security and payment card industry compliance management solutions to businesses and government entities throughout the world. Dedicated to building long-term relationships NSAP (IT) put its clients in an excellent position to validate compliance with the PCI DSS and other regulatory standards.

In the last five years, the number of websites and people dedicated to DIY (do it yourself) activities has experimented an unprecedented growth. One of the consequences of internet democratization has been, in fact, the improved accessibility to a large number of people to all types of information, also very specific one that often requires a high level of technical knowledge to be fully understood.

In particular, websites offering instructions on DIY light carpentry have become more frequent, but also websites on how to create furniture for the house and garden, and even boats of relatively large dimensions have made their appearance.

This tendency has lots of people worried, specially the authorities and professionals of the marine industry, concerned by the number of boats under no regulation and unregistered that can be seen in Italian lakes and rivers.

Designers and naval engineers do in fact lots of planning and evaluating before even starting to think of a boats design. After a previous feasibility study, there is the difficult job of defining the geometrical parameters required to obtain not only the stability of the shape and of the boats barycentre position but also to acquire the turnbuckles, insulators, chains, hoists and other stainless marine accessories that will give the embarkation strength and lightness.

One of the greater risks of people deciding to assemble a boat of medium or large dimensions themselves by getting the resources, pieces and materials from different providers, is that of creating incompatibilities between the elements as a consequence of their limited knowledge and their short experience in the industry. An example of this problem is the purchase of safety protective steel safety items and electric enclosures and cabinets. In the marine industry, professionals take as given that a good electric cabinet ought to have an hydraulic magnetic switch or circuit breaker and that it should be kept in order and with cable-free access in case some fast intervention were to be required , especially in adverse weather conditions. An individual whose only competence is that of uniting the parts of the boat without a project specifics definition and without an inventory based on deep knowledge of the particularities of the marine industry, may choose materials and applications not suited for this kind of transport.

Professionals that will be able to help in building your boat are identified by the Italian legislation under the 275th article of the Regulation for the execution of the Code of Navigation based on de Ministerial decree of the merchant marine and in agreement with the Ministry of transport. Such individuals can sign boat construction projects since they have acquired an accreditation by public exams.

Remember that in order to conform to current regulation, a person signing the project and taking responsibility for the quality and safety of the boat is strictly necessary.

The advice is therefore that of seeking a design study and/or boatyard to get information on the services they are able to offer in terms of boat design consulting and also in terms of the infrastructures and skilled man-power they can provide in order to build a safe boat in which you will be able to enjoy your rides.

The demand is on the raise for the hospitality industry to generate new business and outsourcing a sales team looks very promising. The cost of hiring, training and retention of a single inside sales manager outweighs the cost of outsourcing the hotels sales effort 3 to 1. New Generation Sales, LLC. has become the front line in the hotels latest sales efforts, making New Generation Sales the key factor to generate new revenue for the hotel industry.

With the latest down turn in the economy, the hospitality industry has struggled to keep its doors open and fill their meeting spaces. Hotels are being forced to cut back their payroll expenses laying off more then 1,100 sales managers across the country. Hotel sales managers are in the slumps trying to turn every lead into revenue. “Hotels are going outside the box to find new business and fill their empty meeting spaces” Says Michael Miller of NGS. “We are providing a service that most inside sales members struggle with due to the endless distractions and in some cases lack of experience.

Finally a new generation of hotel sales tactics has arrived. New Generation Sales is a team of outside sales professionals working with the hotels existing staff helping them generate new revenue. New Generation Sales is leading the industry with its first class cold calling. Their sales team is devoting much of their efforts cold calling, speaking with various event planners helping to divert their next meeting to their clients hotel. “We dont believe in long term contract” says Michael Miller, “Are services are month to month and our clients can cancel at anytime no questions asked, but most of our clients see great value within four weeks, they end up resigning every month.”

For inside sales to be effective, the telephone prospecting function must be run with the discipline of a military boot camp. Are your inside sales employees able to engage your prospects in 30 seconds or less? Do your telesales employees average 100 calls per day, the standard for building a successful lead generation pipeline? Are the volume and quality of leads sufficient to meet your sales forecast? Are your inside sales representatives continually trained on your value proposition and how that relates to your prospects pain points?

Producing quality, actionable leads for a robust sales pipeline on a daily basis is an all encompassing function. The discipline of prospecting requires a unique set of attributes and skills for both managers and the telesales employees. The difficulty of communicating complex value propositions in the hostile climate of a cold call demands ongoing training. A managerial laser focus on recruiting, screening, hiring, training, and performance monitoring is essential. Early identification and termination of employees mismatched for telesales is crucial. Verify that your managers are prepared to execute on this key responsibility. To achieve optimal results, your managers should maintain ongoing training and education programs that prepare your telesales employees to maintain a peak performance level and continually produce quality leads

Your inside sales team must have the same unremitting focus on volume and quality results as would a lead generation outsourcer. The outsourcers sole responsibilities are producing quality, actionable leads for your sales pipeline. Period. The outsourcers managers are singularly focused on building and improving the processes required to deliver quality consistently. Ensure that your internal managers do not have multiple operational responsibilities.

New Generation Sales service cost a fraction of just one sales manager. No distractions, no excuses, just results and new life to a much needed industry. With new ideas, new selling techniques and years of experience they are an unmatched sales team. To find out more information visit http://www.newgenerationsales.com

Emerging Markets Direct (EMD) released their latest Indonesia Insurance Industry Report 2H10. The report says that Indonesia insurance industry is a very attractive and largely untapped market. As of 2008, the country was home to more than 210mn people while the number of insured people was 16.48mn, which implied that only less than 10% had life insurance. Seen in this light, foreign insurance companies had entered into joint ventures with local companies due to the low market penetration rate and the policies set by the Indonesia government.

Next to India and China, Indonesia is definitely one of the insurance markets in Asia with huge growth potential. The Indonesia insurance sector consists of a number of players. As of end 2009, there were 283 companies in Indonesia owning insurance business licenses. There were no much changes made to the number of life, non-life, reinsurance, social insurance program and workers social security, and insurance for civil servants and armed forced companies as compared with 2008. There were even no new insurance companies over the past 5 years due to the relatively high minimum equity of IDR100bn set by the government.

Over the past 5 years, total assets and total investments of the insurance industry as a whole have risen, especially for the reinsurance sector which saw the highest growth rate y-o-y of 21.79% for total investments and total assets. Net premium for non-life insurance and reinsurance has been rising since 2006, from IDR 8,147bn to IDR11,810bn in 2008.

Despite the vulnerability of the Indonesia Insurance industry to natural disaster, the overall industry ratio of gross claims to gross premiums was still manageable. It was recorded that the ratio varied from 48% to 61% in 2008. Whats more, a major part of risks covered by local insurers was ceded to offshore reinsurance company. In recent years, the retention ratio (measured by net written premium to gross written premium) was very conservative and ranged from 34% to 54%. Indonesias insurance industry suffered from deficit transaction, in this regard, our analyst thought that consolidation was vital for insurance companies to strengthen their capital base in order to stay competitive.

What are the market trends and outlook of the Indonesia Insurance Industry? How did the issuance of Indonesian Insurance Architecture (Roadmap) affect the industry? How many insurers licenses were revoked as a result of the minimum solvency requirement specified by the Ministry of Finance? What are the prospects of Takaful (Islamic insurance) in Indonesia? What were the requirements set by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for foreign insurers to enter the Indonesian market?

Want to have an overview and competitive analysis(SWOT) of the major industry players?
-PT Asuransi Allianz Utama Indonesia(Allianz)
-PT Asuransi Sinar Mas (Sinar Mas)
-PT Panin Life Tbk(Panin)

Check our pages to see more details about our latest Indonesia Insurance Industry Report:
http://www.emergingmarketsdirect.com/products/Indonesia-Insurance-Industry.html

Table of Content
1. Industry Profile
1.1 Sector Overview
1.2 Sector Size and Value
1.2.1 Insurance Companies
1.2.2 Total Assets and Investments
1.3 Sector Performance
1.3.1 Gross Premiums and Claims
1.3.2 Non-Life Insurance and Reinsurance Net Premium
1.3.3 Industry Retention Rate
2. Market Trends and Outlook
2.1 Regulatory Issues
2.2 Sharia Products
2.3 Foreign insurers
3. Leading Players and Comparative Matrix
3.1 Leading Players
3.1.1 PT. Asuransi Allianz Utama Indonesia
3.1.2 PT. Asuransi Sinar Mas
3.1.3 PT. Panin Life Tbk
3.2 Comparative Matrix
3.3 SWOT Analysis

4. Tables and Charts
Table 1: Life Insurance No. of Insured People 1998 2008
Table 2: Insurers Licenses Revoked 2005
Table 3: Financial Summary 2007 – 2009
Table 4: Financial Highlights FY09
Chart 1: Inflation Trend of Indonesia Oct 2008 Oct 2010
Chart 2: Number of Insurance Companies 2004 – 2008
Chart 3: Growth of Total Assets According to Line of Business 2004 – 2008
Chart 4: Total Assets for the Year 2008
Chart 5: Growth of Total Investments According to Line of Business 2004 2008
Chart 6: Total Investments for the Year 2008
Chart 7: Growth of Total Assets Compared to Total Investment 2004 – 2008
Chart 8: Types of Investments
Chart 9: Growth of Gross Premiums According to Line of Business 2004 – 2008
Chart 10: Percentage of Gross Premiums for the Year 2008
Chart 11: Growth of Gross Claims According to Line of Business 2004 2008
Chart 12: Percentage of Gross Claims According to Line of Business
Chart 13: Growth of Gross Claims and Gross Premiums 2004 – 2008
Chart 14: Non-Life Insurance and Reinsurance Net Premium 2006 – 2008
Chart 15: Retention Rate 1996 – 2008
Chart 16: Sinar Mas – Total Shareholders Equity 2005 – 2009
Chart 17: Sinar Mas – Surplus Solvency Margin 2005 – 2009
Chart 18: Gross Premium Income 2005 – 2009
Chart 19: Total Investments Income 2005 2009

About Emerging Markets Direct

Emerging Markets Direct is the online research store from ISI Emerging Markets, a Euromoney Institutional Investor Company. We deliver in-house industry research report, industry analysis and data vital to support all kinds of business decision, academic and research purposes. Our flagship product Emerging Markets Direct Report covers the top 20 industry sectors of India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Indonesia. ISI Emerging Markets in-house analysts crunch the numbers from our proprietary CEIC databases and combine the results with on-the ground industry insight. The result is reliable, hard-to-get industry data, analysis and insight. Previously available only to subscribers of the ISI Emerging Markets Information Service, Emerging Market Direct reports are available now at our online research store. Our Other products are: CEIC snapshots, CEIC datatalk, Intellinews. To view our full catalogue of products, please visit http://www.emergingmarketsdirect.com

Call it the alchemist, technology has virtually transformed every industry it has come into contact with. And with the advent of digital menu or digital menu board, the miracle of technology has seeped in to the hospitality industry as well. Unsurprisingly, it is all set to take the industry by storm by offering highly interactive services, and an absolutely new dining experience.

In a way, menu is the first and the most important point of contact with the customers. So, it holds great potential to be the prime and most decisive tool for the success of any hospitality industry, where quality of services translates into satisfaction. But traditional menu had managed to do it to a certain extent only. Digital menu boards are the state-of-the-art technology for hospitality industry which brings in great value to the business operation by expanding every limit and possibility. It has in fact redefined the meaning of menu altogether.

With this novel and interactive innovation, menu will now serve as the perfect appetizer for every diner. The high definition board of the digital menu allows showcasing of delicious visuals in a much more exotic way that it tickles the mind of every food lover. It has become the perfect medium to make every diner relish with their eyes, and eventually helps them indulge a little more. So, this can mean more impulsive indulgence as well.

Digital menu also allows endless customization that suits every need of both hotelier and diners alike. From the customer’s perspective, digital menu board offers all diners an easy and exciting experience of placing order. It gives every customer the leverage to know the exact ingredients as well as the recipe of the food they are ordering. And single touch order has only made it easier and exciting for them. Just a tap on the digital menu board and the order goes directly to the kitchen. What this means is that, understanding the order becomes easier, not for the waiter, but for the chef who gets to know the exact taste that his customer is craving for. On the other side, this also helps every waiter focus on serving better and attending more tables.

Waiting for the order is now made so entertaining with emenu. Every interactive menu can be so easily customized with endless features like music and video for those who love to catch up with the latest or their favourite numbers and clips. And for the little one and game lovers, all the popular games can keep them deeply engaged until the order is served. eMenu also ensures that youth do not miss out on the current trend of 24X7 social networking updates with its features like facebook and other social networking integration. Other features like writing notes about the favourite dishes and moments at the place only helps in making the experience all the more personal for the diner, and hence make them developed a bond with the particular place. This surely will be a delight to the hoteliers who are fond of developing more patrons.

When choosing a superannuation fund, a lot of people want to choose the one that charges them the lowest in management and investment fees and gives them the best investment return. Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) shows that over the past decade industry super funds have consistently outperformed retail funds by giving its members higher returns*: thats more money for your retirement.

What is the difference between an industry super and a retail super fund? Retail super funds are retirement funds established by financial institutions and insurance companies that were initially for white collar workers. As one may assume, these companies established retail funds with the intent that they generate profit for shareholders. The competing goals of profit and security for its members retirement funds are seen by some as problematic.

Retail funds tend to have a lot of added bells and whistles, for example advice. The chief executive of the Industry Super Network, David Whiteley, said this in an interview with the ABC in March 2010″For every 1 per cent extra paid in fees to a super fund, members are receiving one-and-a-half per cent less in returns,” and that the average retail fund “is an underperforming and expensive fund.”

Industry super funds are non-for-profit organizations that were started by unions and other industrial organizations for workers in the industries they represented. An industry super does not have shareholders to please. Industry super funds dont pay commission to financial advisers and planners or to insurance companies, which are costs that eat into the value of your super.

The figures in recent years paint a clear picture. A 30 June 2009 SuperRatings study compared the net benefit of one of Australias most popular industry super funds to that of the average retail fund over a period of five years. The difference was staggering: the industry super out-performed the average retail fund by a difference of approximately $4000.Another SuperRatings study showed that another leading industry super fund on average returned $4.30 for every dollar deducted in fees over a five year period ending on 30 September 2010; the average retail super on the other hand returned only $1.70.

In March 2010, research by the Industry Super Network found that retail funds delivered 1.8% weaker annual returns on average when compared to their industry competitors. The Australian reported in December 2010 that industry super funds took all top 10 places in industry researcher Chant Wests ranking. These funds on average had an annual return thats 4.3 per cent above the inflation rate over the past seven years.

Industry superannuation has consistently outperformed its retail counterparts over the past decade for another reason. Industry super funds generally invest in unlisted assets like infrastructure, private equity, and direct property. Retail funds, however, tend to invest in liquid assets, like shares, property, and bonds, all of which are tied to credit. This is especially worrisome after the global financial crisis that began in 2008.

Industry supers are a wise option for those who are concerned and cautious about their post-retirement financial security. While industry super funds were previously open solely to those within the industry the fund was started for, industry super funds are generally open for anyone to join regardless of their occupation since 2005.

Five Emerging Trends for the Insurance Industry
Over the past few months, I have delivered a number of insurance oriented keynotes and, later this week, Ill be addressing a conference on Emerging Technologies for the insurance industry. While I cover a wide variety of trends in the information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology sectors, here are five trends already impacting the insurance industry and which will only grow more prevalant over the coming years:

1. Genomics: Since 1998, the price of sequencing a base pair of genes has plummeted 100 million-fold. An individual can now have his or her genome sequenced for about $10,000. Obviosly, this still isnt practical or affordable for the average person but the price will soon decrease to $1000 and then $100and eventually even lower. The impact on human health will be profound and the implications for the insurance insurancein terms of life expectancy alonewill be immense.

2. Gaming Dynamics: The ability for smartphones to monitor everything from a persons heart rate and blood pressure to their glucose levels is impressive. To date, however, most of this data was just collected and then transferred wirelessly to healthcare providers who helped the patient make sense of it. This is about to change and gaming dynamics will lead the way by providing users new ways to engage, interact and, ultimately, control their own healthcare. Imagine, for example, receiving a lower insurance rate because you could verify that you exercised for 40 minutes and burned 400 calories. The potential for gaming dynamics to unleash new, innovative business models for the insurance industry is real.

3. Locational Intelligence & Pervasive Connectivity: Due to the exponential advancement of GPS technology and sensors, it is now possible to know a persons location to within a few feet. While this has made it easier for the “directional-challenged” to find their friends house a little quick, the technology is poised to revolutionize the insurance industry by making it feasible to monitor a persons driving habits. For instance, if a person is going too fast, braking too suddenly or driving or parking in a crime-ridden area, itll be possible to adjust that persons insurance rates accordingly. Undoubtedly this raises significant privacy concerns which might ultimately doom the technology, but it is just as feasible that cost-conscious consumers will be willing to provide access to such information in return for lower rates.

4. Computational Analytics and Data Mining: When a mild earthquake hit Washington, DC this past August, the first Twitter report reached New York 40 seconds ahead of the quakes shock waves. An impressive feat to be sure but itll pale in comparison to the type of information that will soon be delivered by data-mining Twitter and numerous other social networking sites. Officials at Southeastern Louisiana University recently reported they could track influenza outbreaks by collating the rise of Twitter texts from people complaining about flu symptoms. Other researchers have discovered there is a strong correlation between a persons physical health and the health of their friends. One future possibility is that publically-available social network data can be data-mined by insurance companies to offer discounted rates to individuals who travel in healthier social circles. (Again privacy concerns and regulations may prevent such uses but, then again, maybe not.)

5. Hyper-Personalization: The foundation of the insurance industry is based on the idea of pooling risk. This strategy has worked well for centuries but in the not-to-distant future it is entirely possible that many individuals will prefer to be insured based on their individual actionsand not the statistical average of a large group. This is especially true if the person in question is healthier, a better and safer driver, and cost-conscious to the point that they arent concerned with sharing certain data with the insurance provider in return for securing a lower premium for themselves.
This future is coming. The only question is whether you, your business, your association or your industry is ready.

His latest book is Higher Unlearning: 39 Post-Requisite Lessons for Achieving a Successful Future.

The rising gas prices, continuing federal and government support, decreasing dependency on imported crude, recharging infrastructure, upcoming cost-effective hybrid batteries and the change in consumer perspectives to drive the US hybrid vehicles market in the future

Hybrid vehicles market has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the US, due to the incorporation of the green technology concept. Additionally, higher fuel economy standards, increasing growth in per capita income, increasing battery life, durability, safety and hybrids economies of scale is also expected to further strengthen the hybrid vehicles market in the country. The US hybrid vehicles market has experienced CAGR of 7.6% over the period 2007-2013.

The full/mild hybrids have driven the hybrid vehicles market significantly in the US. However, plug-in hybrids represent an emerging hybrid market in the US with a strong rate. California, New York, Florida, Texas and New Jersey were few leading states in the US hybrid vehicles market. The issues related to the battery development process, potential challenges and pricing of the hybrid vehicles has been discussed.

The leading automobile companies dominating the US hybrid vehicles market include Toyota, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Honda. The major hybrid vehicle models which were sold by these companies include four models of the Toyota Prius Family, Lexus ES, Ford Fusion, GM Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Honda Civic.

-Hybrid vehicles market is in the process of mass adoption and is gradually moving towards being a major market in the US automobile based economy. As a result of the government regulations, environmental regulations, rising gas prices, increase in per capita income and recharging infrastructure over the past few years, with the implementation of stringent environmental norms, there has been a remarkable increase in the hybrid vehicles market in the country. This has resulted in increased awareness among the consumers towards eco-friendly hybrid vehicles.– According to the Research Analyst, Ken Research.

The report titled -The US Hybrid Vehicles Market Outlook to 2018 – Government Strategy and Cost-effective Hybrids to Escalate Demand- provides detailed overview on hybrid vehicles market in the US and helps reader to identify the ongoing trends and developments in the hybrid vehicles industry and anticipated growth in future depending upon changing industry dynamics in coming years. The report will aid industry consultants, hybrid vehicle manufacturing companies, marketing companies and other stakeholders and consumers to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in future.