On November 3, lecturers and students of Vietnam Japan University’s MBA and MPP Programs had an exciting and fruitful field trip to Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Hung Yen branch.
Here, participants listened to the enterprises’ representatives sharing about the operation process of Acecook in general and the Hung Yen branch in particular. Up to now, Acecook Vietnam has officially been operating for 27 years, with a headquarter in Ho Chi Minh and six branches nationwide. With the slogan “Cook happiness” and the philosophy of 3H (Three Happiness), Acecook always wants to bring satisfaction, Happiness, and a sense of safety to their customers and their employees, and society. Acecook still pursues the building of sustainable human resources by creating a fair workplace with good welfare policies to commit and contribute in the long term. Imbued with that motto, Acecook Vietnam has been in the top 60 best workplaces in Vietnam for many years. Among Acecook’s brands of products, the “Hao Hao” brand is the best-selling instant noodles in Vietnam, and this brand is also in the top 1000 best products in Asia.
After introducing the company, all the participants were invited to try the company’s new noodle products. These products range from instant photo noodles with different levels of spiciness. The company is very interested in the customer trial experience, which can have some business implications for continuously improving its quality.
During the factory tour at Acecook Hung Yen, participants had a chance to observe the strictly-controlled cleaning process before, during, and after manufacturing products. After entering the manufacturing area, all the factory employees must step to the “Clean Area” to change clean shoes, remove hair from clothing, perform antiseptic hand wash, and go through the automatic door to remove all the dirt on the body. Employees at Acecook are required to wear white uniforms, shoes, headwear, and masks.
The factory’s operating process consists of many stages. The first stage is to mix the solution and powder. The mixed dough will be cut into strands and steamed with saturated steam. After that, the noodles are seasoned and put into cutting molds. Depending on the product is instant noodles or cup noodles, different molds will be used. The next stage is to add the steamed noodles to the frying oil. In Acecook, the oil used is palm oil and heated by steam. The fried oil is continuously renewed with a stable temperature at 100 oC, and the noodles are always filtered so that the quality of the noodles is not changed. When the frying process is completed, the fried noodles will be cooled down before being packed. Then, during the machine’s packaging stage, the products will be checked for foreign objects or metal contamination. In each step of the process, the operators always monitor the effects so that the final users (customers) will receive the products with the best quality.
After observing the instant noodle production process, there was a Q&A session where participants asked many questions to understand the manufacturing process better. Through it, participants can better understand the business and compare the theory learned and the method in reality. At the end of the field trip, all the participants of Vietnam-Japan University felt much more secure when using Acecook’s instant noodle products thanks to “high quality,” “hygiene,” and “safety” in the production process.
How do participants feel about the factory tour?
“Talking about instant noodles, everyone will probably think that eating a lot of instant noodles causes acne or that instant noodles negatively affect the digestive system. I also had that thought. However, after the field trip to Acecook, I understood that even though a package of noodles is produced at a low price, there is a strictly controlled production process. I am particularly impressed with the oil frying technology, which helps me eliminate doubts about using oil many times, like the way we usually do at home. Thanks to that, I feel more secure when using instant noodles”– Dang Minh Anh.
“The 3H (Three happiness) philosophy – happy employees, happy customers, and happy society, was introduced by Acecook through their videos, and our students also felt a happy and joyful atmosphere that Acecook staff gave us during the company’s presentation. The company is also very thoughtful when preparing each participant with a wet towel and a water bottle because they know that we will probably need them after experiencing instant noodles. A preparation that seems rather simple but very important in improving the customer experience. I am very impressed with this.” – Nguyen Nhu Nam Anh.
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