G Link Express Logistics (Singapore) Pte Ltd

To say it hasn't always been smooth sailing for G Link is somewhat of an understatement. But this locally based logistics company has weathered the storm and grown to become a formidable player in the 3PL business, with 20 offices in nine countries. Its secret? People always come first.

G Link's decisions have always been based on people, whether it is its customers, business partners or its staff. Mr Daniel Lim, Group MD, explains its policy towards customer service, "We started off small, and that allowed us to build close relationships with customers, find out their needs and cater to them. This hasn't changed as we have grown." In fact, the expansions the company has made globally have very much been customer-driven as Mr Lim explains, "On the occasions we have entered other countries, it hasn't been an opportunistic business decision for growth, but rather by request of our existing customers. Wherever they go, we follow."

Entering stormy waters
Founded in Singapore in 1994 to focus on trans-Pacific trade to the US, the company branched out in the Asia Pacific region in 1997 to Cambodia, Bangkok and Myanmar. The first storm hit during the civil war in Cambodia, which badly impacted business. Undeterred, the company entered Malaysia in 1999 and China two years later. Five offices were sold in 2003 to an American company with plans for this company to buy out the entire operation. However, before this could happen, the US recession hit and the American Company filed Chapter 11. G Link bought everything back from the company, and set about building this section up again as it had not grown during its years under American ownership. The SARS epidemic and the impact of the global economic downturn at all its business locations had also taken its toll.

No one gets left behind
So what gave G Link the drive to continue despite the hurdles it faced? The four directors put it partly down to the energy they had when they started out, the quality of G Link's business partners and overseas expatriates, and the support of their staff. "We have always placed a great importance on our staff, recognising their value as our greatest asset," says Mr Lim. "In fact, when the credit crunch hit and other companies started laying off staff, we adopted a different philosophy. Rather than reducing pay during the recession or making people redundant, we decided we simply had to look at other ways to increase our revenue and cut costs." In fact, G Link was one of the few companies that have not retrench staff during the crisis.

"Instead we actually took on more staff," laughs Mr Lim. The company took the quiet period in the downturn to bring on more sales staff primed specifically to ramp up business in targeted areas such as Oil & Gas.

Securing a competitive advantage
The sales team was supported by the company's recent move towards certification initiated by David Hia, Deputy MD, which has given G Link a decided competitive edge in the international market. Being a certified logistics provider brings advantages, especially in an era where customers are now making decisions based not simply on price but on safety and security. The company is in the pioneer batch of Secure Trade Partnership (STP) certification holders. The benefits of the certification include being able to meet US trade requirements, increased confidence in the end user, easier customs clearance for the customer, and reduced insurance costs for the logistics company.

G Link will now seek to secure ISO 28000 and GDPMDS certification to strengthen its capabilities further. With this first step behind it, the group will concentrate on building up its hardware through its four verticals: Freight Forwarding, Warehousing, Oil & Gas, and Exhibitions, with the support, of course, of its people and her valued carriers' partners that stood by the company through all these years.

Positioned for growth
G Link has weathered the recession by cutting costs where it could from the top down and by improving its sales revenue with investment in new sales staff set to focus on the Oil & Gas and Energy industries. It is now set to improve operational efficiency to be lean and mean at the upturn. Whichever route it takes moving forward, one thing is for certain, its people will always come first.

Management Team of G Link