NRI Singapore | Giving our column both rigour and authenticity

｜Introduction

In “Speeda User’s Voice,” we share client stories on how they utilize Speeda to enhance research efficiency and drive business growth.
In today’s round, we invited Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Singapore, a leading global research firm, to experience our Expert Research Services (FLASH Opinion & EXPERT Interview) while co-authoring a collaboration article with us.

Explore their experience to see how these insights shaped the narrative and hear their candid perspective on the process.

🔗 [Read the NRI × Speeda Collaboration Article (English) Here]

– What was the background and primary objective for using Uzabase’s services when crafting this collaborative article?

We were co-authoring an industry column with Speeda on how Japanese FMCG brands can build fan loyalty in Southeast Asia — covering Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore simultaneously. The challenge was that our internal research covered the strategic and analytical layer well, but we needed practitioner validation from people with direct on-the-ground experience in these markets. We used Uzabase’s services specifically to stress-test our framework and enrich the recommendations with real execution insight that consulting analysis alone cannot provide.

The Two Key Features of “Expert Research (ER)” Used in This Project

The FLASH Opinion (FO) Experience

– How user-friendly was the Speeda platform interface when submitting your query, and what was your impression of receiving responses within 24 hours?

The platform was straightforward to use — submitting the query took minimal effort and the structured format helped us frame the question clearly. Receiving diverse expert responses within 24 hours was genuinely useful given our project timeline. What impressed me was not just the speed but the fact that the responses were substantive and varied enough to surface perspectives we had not anticipated, rather than converging on the same generic answers.

– What was your assessment regarding the quality and relevance of the written insights provided by the experts?

The quality was consistently high and market-specific. Experts did not give textbook answers — they shared observations grounded in direct experience, which gave us material we could actually use in the column.

The EXPERT Interview (EI) Experience

– How smooth was the communication and scheduling process with the dedicated Speeda staff leading up to the interview?

The Speeda team was responsive and well-organized throughout. Scheduling coordination was handled smoothly and communication ahead of the interview was clear.

– How satisfied were you with the initial shortlist of experts, and what was your impression of the depth of knowledge demonstrated by the expert during the 1-hour interview?

The initial shortlist was well-targeted to the profile we specified — a senior practitioner with direct SEA market experience across multiple markets simultaneously. The expert we interviewed demonstrated exactly the kind of depth we were looking for: not just strategic familiarity with the markets but specific, named observations from campaigns and brands they had worked with directly.

– How did navigating the entire journey—from scoping broadly with FO to diving deep with EI—contribute to the final collaborative article? 

The two services worked as a genuine funnel. FLASH Opinion gave us breadth – a range of practitioner views across markets that helped us identify which themes were consistent and which were contested. The EXPERT Interview then gave us depth on the most important themes: the execution model, the in-house versus outsource decision, how to recruit and retain local talent, and what Japanese FMCG brands consistently get wrong market by market.

– Looking at your overall experience, how valuable was this process, and to whom would you recommend this powerful combination of FO and EI?

The combination of FLASH Opinion and EXPERT Interview is genuinely more valuable than either service alone. FO is fast and broad — ideal for validating a framework or stress-testing assumptions across multiple perspectives quickly. EI is deep and specific — ideal for generating the kind of practitioner insight that makes analysis credible and actionable rather than theoretical. Together they gave our column both rigour and authenticity. I would recommend this combination to any consulting team producing thought leadership that needs to be grounded in market reality, particularly for cross-country research where internal expertise is inevitably thinner in some markets than others.

Interview Date: July 27, 2026
The content of the interview article, as well as the affiliations and titles of the individuals mentioned, are based on information as of the time of the interview.