| Bernard Fung, chief operating officer of Digital Trade and Transportation Network (DTTN), the government-endorsed e-platform that allows companies to interconnect with trade, logistics and financial partners worldwide, has a unique track record spanning different industries that helped enrich his career, and at the same time, prepare him to meet the everyday challenges of his profession.
Bernard held a variety of different jobs, having spent time in the information technology, telecom, e-commerce and corporate financial management industries. The different experiences accumulated in these industries, along with his current job where his company's goal is to improve trade and logistics in Hong Kong, has allowed Bernard to gain a good perspective on things, both professionally and personally.
The Logic of Logistics
The trade and logistics industry is one of four economic pillars in Hong Kong (tourism, financial services, and professional and other producer services, are the three other pillars) and is key to keeping the economy going strong.
Of the four pillars, the trade and logistics industry accounted for over a quarter of Hong Kong's total GDP in terms of value added in 2005. This year, GDP growth is expected to slow somewhat, moderating at 4-5 percent increase. "While the trade and logistics industry has been one of Hong Kong's strengths, there's always room for improvement. If companies can be more flexible and be open to new ideas and adapt to the ever-changing business environment, Hong Kong's trade and logistics industry can be raised to another level," Bernard says.
For example, according to a research report released by Accenture in 2001, there were more than 200 million trade-related documents processed annually in Hong Kong, as such, there was an increasingly urgent need for companies to migrate from paper-based documents to electronic-based documents in order to enhance operational efficiency.
Despite the convenience and costs savings that electronic documents provide, the current practice among the logistics companies today is that they still tend to print every document, such as purchase orders, invoices, letters of agreement, etc., for further action, namely to get a signature, and then faxing the paper document to their business partners.
"While there are some benefits to companies retaining the use of paper documents for some tasks or processes, there is a need to be flexible and explore other ways to improve efficiencies and reduce costs for other processes." Bernard says, "Going digital and using an electronic document exchange system will optimize a company's logistics processes and see operating costs fall as they reduce delays and double handling, and cut data entry time and errors. For example, if companies integrate with bank payment systems so payments can be received and issued electronically, companies will be able to save time and money on document deliveries and enjoy tighter credit control as well as improved cash flow."
Companies shouldn't be worried about needing to overhaul their IT infrastructure when migrating toward an electronic exchange system. Bernard says, "Companies can save IT integration and maintenance costs by having a single low cost connection to an open and neutral platform, no matter what system your partners are using. There's no need to change your system to suit each of your trading partners, and there's no need to change your system when they change their IT systems."
By not needing to overhaul IT infrastructure related to migrating to an electronic trading system, companies can concentrate their resources and budgets on other priorities, such as improving security, network performance, upgrading software and hardware, and IT maintenance.
Ask, and You Shall Receive
Just as Bernard advocates an open and flexible environment for trade and logistics companies, he believes the same can be done on a personal level where people should be flexible and be able to adapt to changing environments. He believes that people should always keep an open, quick-to-learn mindset to quickly adapt to the methodology, knowledge, and culture of each new challenge. "For example, people in the telecom industry use a lot of professional jargon and hard-to-remember terminology. I remember during my first meeting at the telecom company there was so much jargon in the conversation that I barely understood what the meeting was all about. So I kept asking questions and learning from others. Later, I had the opportunity to work on major M&A deals and realized the same things happened – lawyers think differently. So again, I asked many questions. To me, it was a good learning opportunity."
Bernard also tries to learn about the latest trends and issues in technology and e-commerce and as much as possible, so that he keeps informed of what may affect him at work, and also at home. In general, the aim of IT is to help people improve the way things are done, such as consider the option of using faster computers with the latest processors, system and memory components that allow computing intensive tasks to be completed more quickly. Or, keep an open mind and understand how technologies such as RFID, peer-to-peer networking, Web 2.0 or IPTV may affect our lives positively or negatively.
Bernard maintains a similar open attitude when managing his teams. He emphasizes, "I do not need a yes-man." He welcomes new ideas and suggestions from colleagues of all levels on a face-to-face basis. Bernard believes that there are always different approaches to take to achieve the same result. Even if a manager's approach is flawless, Bernard believes that he or she may still gain new ideas through open discussion with colleagues.
"All a manager needs to do is ask the right questions to stimulate creativity and new input from his staff, letting them think and suggest solutions to address an issue. I do not insist on using my ideas; I actually welcome new ideas from my team as long as it achieves the result," Bernard says.
Despite working through different jobs and transitioning from one industry into another, Bernard has maintained his original open approach: maintaining direct dialogue with colleagues to come up with the best decisions to achieve results. He added, "Many colleagues have had different personal and professional experiences than I have, with a different, if not better, grasp of the industry and the business with their own views and suggestions. Instead of ignoring their thoughts and ideas, I should keep an open mind and learn. It's the logical thing to do."
(Last updated: 1st June, 2006)
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