February 2012 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Business
How does cargo-partner Logistics distinguish itself from
its competitors?
From experience I can say that being a midsized, family
owned company, this brings lots of advantage such as
hands on, entrepreneurial, personal involvement and
having a quicker decision making process than most
corporate, listed companies.
In terms of our network we are the “first movers”
on the Eastern European market. In addition we have
successful offices in a/o Netherlands (Amsterdam/Schiphol,
Rotterdam, Tilburg ) and Belgium, (Brussel, Antwerp).
Being Dutch, and understanding the logistics situations
in Singapore and Asia as well as in the Benelux this gives
us competitive advantages. With our experienced and
motivated staff in Singapore, together with our long
history, network, quality focus and IT tools we are able to
provide competitive solutions. Our corporate values are
very important to us in doing business:
Any advise for newcomers to Singapore?
Try to explore the city by foot. China Town, Little India,
Arab Street and Fort Canning. Enjoy the convenience of the
city and what it has to offer in terms of entertainment and
leisure; we are busy enough during the week, so enjoy the
weekend.
Be patient and take things with a smile; you will not
(and we shouldn’t) change the mentality and culture of
people when things do not work out the way you expect
to work out or how they would work out in Europe. That
is sometimes a challenge but isn’t that one of the reasons
that we moved overseas?
‘the passion for excellence’ - be passionate
Passion for solving problems, delight in efficient results and
with the success achieved together with our customer.
‘we take it personally‘ - be partner
We view cooperation as lived partnership which implies
reliability and search for “win/win” situation on both sides.
‘better than others’ - be better
Our employees challenge themselves in order to be one
step ahead of our competitors at all times
What have you found the main challenges while doing
business in Singapore, and how are you dealing with
them?
Honestly I haven’t experienced any major challenges. Be
honest and be open to other cultures. A little patience
comes in handy sometimes as own initiatives might be
lacking or the outcome of a request might be different than
expected even if you went through it together already
2 times. Then again, I have been here before already for
5 years and knew what I’m getting into.
How has Singapore been treating you so far, what are
your experiences?
So far Singapore has been good to us and we have great
experiences. I started to live together with my girlfriend,
now my wife, in Singapore. We got married here and our
children are both born in Singapore. Looking on our shared
experiences as a family, Singapore is home.
In addition Singapore has a lot to offer in terms of Arts,
Musicals, Concerts and a mix of different cultures and
traditions. Good transportation and healthcare system.
Great “hub” for intra-ASPAC travels and a good stop-over
for friends visiting the region.
How important will Singapore be to cargo-partner
Logistics in the future?
Very important. We will continue to grow our LCL hub
function and Air-to-Ocean/Ocean-to-Air products. With
Singapore being a big hub for Oil & Gas as well as Marine
Parts we will see further developments in those areas as
well as in the Pharma/Healthcare industry.