Nantes, France – From November 25 to 28, 2024, Divani Amara Rosida, one of the awardees of the 2024 Indonesia International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) from the Logistics Management and Administration program at UNDIP, had the valuable opportunity to visit five leading companies in the wood industry in the Normandy region of France. This visit was part of the Major Trip organized and fully funded by Ecole Supérieure du Bois (ESB) as a component of the Industrial Exposure Challenge within the IISMA program. ESB itself is a prestigious technical school dedicated to wood and bio-based materials, founded in 1934 by the French Ministry in Paris. The main idea behind its establishment was to honor and make better use of wood resources through improved knowledge and innovation.
Divani, currently studying at ESB and enrolled in the International Timber Trade (ITT) class, had the opportunity to explore various aspects of the wood industry in France. During this trip, she visited several local companies, including Peltier Bois, Fibois Caen, SFM, ISB, and Gilbert Construction. Each company offered Divani deep insights into how the wood industry operates both locally and internationally.
Throughout the visit, Divani gained hands-on knowledge of the wood processing process, from raw materials to finished products ready for consumer use. This process includes various stages such as wood selection, cutting, drying, processing, and distribution of the final products. She also had the chance to visit storage warehouses and ports where raw timber is stored and shipped to various countries. This experience provided her with a valuable overview of the production and distribution flow of wood at the global level.
Although logistics was not the primary focus of the company visits, Divani still acquired a deeper understanding of logistics management and supply chain operations. Through presentations by ISB’s purchasing manager, she was able to learn how companies in the wood industry manage their supply chains and organize the procurement of raw materials from different sources. A visit to Gilbert Construction’s site also gave her a perspective on how wood products are utilized in construction projects across Europe.