TNT aims to be Asia’s market leader in global express, logistics and mail by 2005

TNT has marked the 55th anniversary of its presence in the Asia Pacific by unveiling its vision to be the market leader in express, logistics and mail in Asia by the year 2005, and to achieve, overall, a three-fold growth in its business within this period. Ken McCall, chief executive officer of TNT Asia also gave details of the company’s business strategies and plans for Asia.

McCall said, “Our vision is a lofty one, optimistic of realizing our goals. From 1998 to 2001 alone, we more than doubled our business. We are on track to grow to meet our aspirations and we have been steadily gaining market share. We are the longest established and the most experienced global operator in Asia Pacific. Our growth in this region has closely traced Asia’s developmental milestones. Hence, we are well-positioned to leverage new opportunities for continued growth in Asia.”

McCall also said that TNT has in place long-term and concerted strategies to expand in the region. He said, “We bring to Asia our truly global reach to over 200 countries and our expertise as Europe’s market leaser in integrated express and logistics. We have 55 years of experience in providing business logistics solutions to our global customers and we are confident that these solutions add value to Asia.”

The company offers a complete range of business solutions - from global express services to easy-to-implement business logistics solutions, and customized supply chain management solutions for vertical markets such as automotives, electronics and chemicals. With these total business solutions, TNT is planning to become the partner of choice businesses in Asia ranging from MNCs to vertical markets and local SMEs.

The company also aggressively explores and pursues strategic merger, acquisition and alliance opportunities that collectively strengthen its total service offer to customers. For instance, TNT recently announced a billion dollar alliance between its International Mail division, Singapore Post and British Post Office - this alliance offers greater operational flexibility through a combined world-wide network, the collaboration of expertise to develop specialist products and services, and more pricing options. It has also signed strategic alliance agreements with global players such as China Post and Kintetsu World Express - these alliances offer one-stop business logistics solutions to customers in Asia.

TNT also invests in market-leading technology as a business driver to make it the partner of choice by bringing the benefits of speed, reliability, information visibility, flexibility, scalability and customization to customers. TNT’s world-class global IT infrastructure is capable of processing 130 million instructions and 30 million transactions per week and has been recognized as “Best in Class” for the industry in a recent Gartner report. Through the strategic use of technology TNT customers are able to trace the shipping details of their consignments anywhere in the world, and whilst they are on the move using their e-mail, TNT’s website, their mobile phone (SMS tracking) or through the company’s customer service representatives.

McCall said, “What drives TNT is the imperative for continual improvement.” This is best reflected through the company’s commitment to quality, world-class customer service standards and business excellence. TNT is the first company in the world to be accredited with the “Investors in People” accolade and in Singapore it has been awarded the “People Developer Standard” award. This service philosophy is further communicated through TNT’s brand campaign which has the slogan, “We know your business backwards”. For instance, TNT Asia’s 250 dedicated customer service staffs are empowered to make service recovery decisions - each customer service officer is authorized to pro-actively rectify service problems.

Despite a softening economic climate, McCall said that the company remains confident in its long-term prognosis for Asia. He added that the overall operating environment in Asia, “Points unequivocally to more business opportunities”.

Currently, TNT’s year-on-year growth for 2001 is on track at 20% for Express and at 34% for Logistics. In terms of market share, TNT is number one when measured for the Asia Pacific in the international and domestic express business and second in terms of intra-Asia volume. In 2000, it grew its express and logistics businesses in Asia by 28%. In addition, the company has made significant inroads into new markets - it recorded growth rates in excess of 30% over the past three years for China. At the same time, TNT continues to expand its presence in key growth markets, such as China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

According to industry sources, overall air cargo volumes in Asia are expected to grow 8% per year and demand for integrated express services in Asia is likely to grow annually by 20% over the next few years. These trends are brisk growth in intra-Asia trade as more sophisticated and high-tech products are manufactured, assembled and distributed in Asia. The growth trend is expected to pick up further with China’s imminent entry into the WTO.

In addition, logistics outsourcing is increasingly becoming a key business trend in an economic downturn such as the present situation confronting post-crisis Asia. As product life cycles and time-to-market become shorter, supply chain management is becoming more complex and costly. For instance, in-house supply chain management for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) could cost up to 60% to 70% of product costs. As such, companies are taking decisive steps to shed costly in-house expenses. McCall said, “As the world’s second largest logistics company, TNT Logistics is best-placed to lead the trend in outsourcing by offering best-of-class third party logistics.”

McCall concluded, “We’re well-positioned to face challenges of globalization, deregulation, outsourcing and the advent of the Internet. I am confident that we will stay competitive by being at the forefront of value creation by remaining totally focused on the dynamic business requirements of our customers as well as our customers’ customers.”

Phallop Thaiarry (seated third row, fifth left), managing director of Avis Rent A Car Thailand recently organized an “Avis Staff Seminar” at the Dusit Resort Pattaya. Sixty Avis people from all branches throughout Thailand participated in the seminar.