Reflection 2: Professional Practice within intercultural and global contexts

Risland often needs to communicate with building material suppliers from different countries as a mature listed company. During my internship, I had the opportunity to participate in an information exchange meeting with a Chinese building materials supplier. Although, as an intern, I could not express any opinions during the meeting, I still benefited a lot from observing it, especially about cross-cultural and cross-background professional exchanges.

Firstly, this exchange allowed me to gain an in-depth understanding of the international construction materials supply market. I met face-to-face with vendor representatives and learned about their products and services, how they operate and their benefits. By sitting in on interactions between company leaders and suppliers, I gained a more comprehensive understanding of the latest building material trends and innovations on the market. This is very important to my job because I can apply this information to projects to provide better construction solutions.

Secondly, this exchange also gave me a better understanding of the importance of supply chain management. Conversations with suppliers taught me about their concerns about product quality, delivery time and after-sales service. This made me realize that when choosing a supplier, we should consider the quality and cost of the product itself and the supplier's reliability and willingness to cooperate. I apply this understanding to my daily work to better manage the supply chain and ensure the smooth progress of projects.

In addition, this exchange also exposed some challenges and opportunities for improvement. For example, language and cultural differences can lead to communication barriers, requiring better cross-cultural communication skills and problem-solving abilities. In addition, understanding the background and reputation of the supplier also requires more due diligence and investigation to ensure that the right partner is selected. These challenges remind me to pay more attention to detail and preparation in future communications and to seek ways to solve problems.

To sum up, this exchange experience with international building material suppliers brought me valuable experience and reflection. Through conversations with suppliers, I deepened my understanding of the market, enhanced my understanding of supply chain management, and discovered some areas for improvement. I will use this experience and feedback to continuously improve my capabilities in supply chain management and working with suppliers to better contribute to the project's success.