Business

Saturday October 3, 2009

Up close with FedEx Malaysia MD Ramesh Kumar

By THEAN LEE CHENG


WHEN Ramesh Kumar Singam joined Federal Express Services (M) Sdn Bhd, something told him before the first week was over that he was going to stay. He has been there 16 years, rising from the rank of trainer to managing director for Malaysia and Brunei for the world’s largest transportation company.

Prior to his return to Malaysia, he was in Singapore for six years as managing director for Singapore and Indonesia.

Like the president for Asia Pacific David L. Cunningham, Jr who started out as a handler lifting packages from containers to sorting belts, and vice-president Dennice Wilson who began as a courier, Ramesh felt empowered in an environment where staff were valued and respected.

It is this single factor, coupled with his inner resources and capabilities, that has enabled him to rise up the ranks.

But Ramesh, 46, has not always been a corporate man. Like others before him, and after him, he says with FedEx, he feels inspired and motivated.

He did a short spell of social voluntary work in Karachi, Pakistan and Europe after graduating at 24 before duty calls for his return after the passing of his father.

That stint was invaluable. It helped him to live the life he is today living. After graduation in the mid-1980s, he helped minority groups in Europe and Pakistan to kick drugs. He figured that once he joins the job market, it will be difficult to take time off. But Karachi was not a place he would have chosen.

“I went where I was needed. Because I went with a purpose, the landscape of my thoughts shifted. It was what I could give back rather than what I could receive.”

He had, prior to this, travelled in Europe and Asia, to the developed or fairly developed parts of the world. With Pakistan, it was different. There was the difficult culture and even more challenging environment.

“You see how most people live. The majority of people in this world do not live with air-conditioning or cable TV, or good public transport system, with sufficient food and job security. We are very fortunate compared to many people who live in this world. It was an eye opener and I am thankful for that opportunity.”

He came home in 1987 and found the country in recession and had difficulties finding work. Within a span of six years, other than his social work, he did a myriad of jobs – a bit of sales, taught a bit, flew with an airline, helped managed a golf course, did some human resources consultancy work, and used his training as a research scientist.

Between 1988 and 1997, Ramesh’s volunteering spirit came to the fore, as he mentored one to two struggling SPM students, each year, in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Among his former students are a pilot, a CEO, a doctor and a lawyer. Work demands, however, put paid to this altruistic pursuit. But once in a while, like that afternoon after the little chat with him, Ramesh and his staff put on their T-shirts and painted the external facade of the Malaysian Association for the Blind administrative block. “Last year over 3,000 employees were involved in the world in various social work,” he says.

Ramesh says when he joined FedEx at 30, six years after his graduation, he found his roots. “It is different here. There is a lot of respect for each other, regardless of rank. People are valued here. There is a sense of mission, so you want to work extra hard. You are allowed to grow and to make mistakes.”

“It is not about me alone but the team. Bosses come and go, but what is the flavour of the team? To me, working is fantastic when you can do with friends. As a boss, I demand those who report to me that they perform to expectations. If they can’t, for whatever reason, I am here to help and equip them. I can be still their friend but I have no qualms to do what I need to do, but that does not diminish my respect for them as friends.”

His philosophy is simple; integrity is premium. He has to be true to himself and his family.

“Whatever you do, do it well. I never worked with the intention of acquiring the next promotion, or getting the next position. I am paid for my work and I need to do my best. I want my family to be proud of the work I do. If they (promotions and positions) come along, they are just the icing on the cake. So I work honourably,” says Ramesh who looks forward to the weekend and when Monday comes, he looks forward to the week ahead with equal fervour.

He says some aspire their children to be doctors and engineers but he has realised that people can do well in life regardless of what they do as long as they choose to give their best. Work hard but enjoy it.

The second thing he has learned is that life is always about relationships – at work and at home.

“When the sun sets and I retire, what do I have but relationships,” says Ramesh, the second of four children, two boys and two girls. He has four children aged 10 to 15.

Because he puts a premium on work, Ramesh is proud that the company he heads is once again on the Top 10 list of Hewitt’s Best Employers in Malaysia this year. They have been on that list since 2001. The award is given out once every two years.

“This company has a policy – PSP – which stands for people, services and profitability. When you take care of your people, they will deliver impeccable services which will result in profit.”

Like other airlines, the recession of the past year has affected them. The American logistics company has one of the largest fleet in the world with 675 craft. Its main competitors are Germany’s DHL, Dutch TNT and US-based UPS.

He says in Malaysia, like other economies around the region, it is the small and medium-scale enterprises which are driving the economy. While the multi-national companies are important, it is the SMEs that provide the linkages, he says. Because they need to source globally and the head office is aware of the importance of small businesses, in February of this year, the logistics company open a hub in Guangzhou, China, to give better connectivity.

In January, cargo throughput at Guangdong provincial capital’s airport suffered a 34.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop as a result of the global crisis, while its mail throughput rose 41.4% y-o-y.

In February, when the logistics giant started operating its Asia-Pacific hub, Baiyun Airport’s mail handling shot up 482% y-o-y to 16,915 tonnes, while cargo exhibited 0.9% growth. Since then, both numbers have been rising steadily.

In July, mail going though Baiyun Airport soared 917% to 26,136 tonnes, while cargo grew 5.3% to 56,796 tonnes from a year ago. Every week, 136 flights land at Baiyun Airport to serve the transportation giant.

The system works like the spokes of a wheel with the hub in the centre. It is based in China because it is considered as the manufacturing house for the Asia Pacific. Ramesh says FedEx has also started an economy service for items which is not so time sensitive, which was available only to certain destinations prior to this.

“We have enlarged our portfolio services, introduced last year to cater for specific customer requirements which includes duties and taxes, custom and clearance procedures.”

He says the company is concentrating on the emerging markets in Asia, and has improved inroads into Vietnam, while not taking their eyes of China. We have a full suite of services for cross border work that goes beyond just logistics, he says.

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