WINNING The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) has raised PKT’s profile within the Malaysian corporate scene.
Its unique and innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are well recognised and endorsed through SOBA’s stringent judging process.
PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Michael Tio strongly believes in getting small and medium enterprises recognised for their efforts and has seen the value of such recognition in PKT.
“Back in the days when PKT was doing very well as an SME, I thought it was time for PKT to go public. However, my management team and I noticed that financially we were on track but in terms of branding, there was still a lot to be done and we did not have a good asset-based business as PKT Logistics is service-based oriented. So, we had a discussion and decided that we needed to make PKT a better known brand and the best medium to go for branding was to compete in the SOBA awards,” said Tio.
PKT won awards in three categories at SOBA 2011 and five awards at SOBA 2012, including Malaysian Business of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year.
As a long-time supporter of SOBA, the logistics company came on board as a sponsor for 2014 and 2015.
Tio had also shared tips with budding entrepreneurs, as well as small and medium enterprise owners, during the SOBA 2015 Learning Series workshop in Penang.
Today, PKT is a leading niche logistics service provider in Malaysia with a strong presence in South Korea, Taiwan and most of the Asean countries.
It is also an active proponent of unique and innovative CSR initiatives.
“Winning SOBA has given PKT a lot of publicity and media coverage, which also adds value to PKT as a whole and reinforces the trust gained from our clients. We received calls from media agencies who would like to interview us for our success story and also be featured on various TV and radio programmes as a result of SOBA,” said Tio.
SOBA is an excellent platform for PKT and other small and medium enterprises to evoke the mass for change.
“People have benefited from SOBA and I think they will come back. We will continue to support SOBA,” said Tio, adding that the awards sit well with PKT’s philosophy – CSR is not about how you spend your profits but rather how responsible you are in making your profits.
PKT has also carried out various community development programmes such as the “Anak Belajar Ibu Bekerja” (ABIB), which provides employment opportunities for mothers who live in the villages surrounding its premises.
The women are given the option to work the morning shift, which runs from 8.30am to 12.30pm, or the afternoon session from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, to accommodate their children’s schooling hours.
PKT’s One Logistics Hub offers many amenities and benefits for its employees’ enjoyment, including a Skydeck, Skygym and Skyspa, besides having incentive programmes in place.
For example, employees who clock in 12 hours a month in the gym would be eligible for a day off on Saturday to encourage a healthy workforce.
At PKT’s One Logistics Hub, the company made an unprecedented move to integrate its fully owned ALC college campus into The Lighthouse, placing students within its workplace to close the divide between academia and industry.
With “Jom Bekerja Sambil Belajar” (JBSB) in place, ALC students are given the opportunity to sign up for part-time work at PKT’s Warehouse, Finance, HR and IT departments during non-contact hours.
Students will earn supplementary income while gaining relevant, real-life experiences.
According to Tio, small and medium enterprises need success stories to help inspire them.
He hopes that PKT will continue to share more success stories on future developments such as the One Auto Hub in Batu Kawan, which was built on three components – The 12 Waves (longest warehouse in Malaysia), The Ship Campus and The Lighthouse Lodge, changing the face of warehouses.
About PKT Logistic
As a leading logistics company, PKT Logistic Group Sdn Bhd is recognised for its superior supply chain management processes that make its business excel.
With a strong commitment to the success of its customers, PKT focuses on a diverse range of market sectors, including automotive, food and beverage (F&B), fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), e-Commerce and renewable energy.
PKT offers its customers increased efficiency and reduced transit time, thanks to its ongoing focus on operations excellence as well as the visibility and control that it created in the supply chain.
It provides end-to-end design, implementation and operation of logistics solutions in freight forwarding, customs brokering, haulage, contract logistics and distribution management for large and medium-sized national and multinational companies.