5 - Dagang Net

Yo u ca m e i n t o t h e co m p a n y w i t h a d i s t i n g u i s h e d a n d h i g h - p r o f i l e a ca d e m i c
ba ckground. D i d t hi s b a ckgro und h el p yo u w i th yo ur wor k a t D ag an g Net ?
Generally in any organization, you need someone who is competent in
m an agem ent . I t hink I have an advantage b ec au se o f my tra ining. While i n
IN TA N, I was tea chin g t he s ub j ec t.
In a dd itio n, w hen I was at th e M ini st r y o f Edu c at io n, I h ad to
interac t with t he intellec t ual s in th e u niversi tie s and as s uch
I h ad to k eep ab re ast with t hem. At th e M i nist r y of Fi nance,
as Deputy Secretary in charge of loans and debt
m a n a g e m e n t , I d e a l t w i t h n u m e r o u s m u l t i n a t i o n a l b a n k s,
whic h co nt r ib utes to my p r ivate s ec tor exp er ien ce.
A t t h e A D B, I w a s d e a l i n g w i t h p e o p l e f r o m d i f f e r e n t
c o u n t r i e s . A t t h e Ta x D i v i s i o n , I w a s d e a l i n g w i t h t a x
co nsu ltants fro m t he p r ivate sec to rs, and at the M ini st r y of
Human Resources, I was exposed to trade unions and
emp loyers fed erat io n.
W h e n y o u a r e r u n n i n g a n o r g a n i s a t i o n , y o u m u s t k n o w i t s a c t i v i t i e s i n - d e p t h . W i t h t h i s k n o w l e d g e, a n d w i t h
inter nal tec hnic al ex p er ti se, yo u wo u ld b e ab le to st rate gis e t he n eeds o f th e o rg a nisatio n.
I b eli eve I wa s fo r t u nate to have ha d a wid e ex p os ure o f wor k ex p er ience, that now I k now a re a sset s that I c an
leverag e o n in p roviding advice a nd g uid an ce to t he ma nag eme nt o f Dag a ng Net .
H a s D a ga ng Net undergo ne a ny c ha ng es si nce yo u ca m e o n b oa rd ?
15 yea rs ag o th e G over nment g ave Da ga ng Net t he op p o r t unit y to p ro m ote trad e fa c ilitat io n w ith the view t hat all
d o cu m entat io n p er t aini ng to i m p or t a nd ex p o r t of go o d s c a n b e p a p er -les s. I t is a lso the d esire o f the G over nm ent
t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n e - c o m m e r c e t o p r o m o t e t h e u s e o f I T i n t h e t r a d e i n d u s t r y fo r t h e b e n e f i t o f t h e b u s i n e s s
co m m u nit y.
When t he 1 5-year co ncess io n end ed las t year in S ep te m b er 2 004 , we wor k ed ver y ha rd to co nvince the va r io us
G over nm ent dep ar t m ents to g et i t renewe d. Th is new ag re em ent w ill exp ire in S ep tem b er 20 09. And fo r this, we a re
ind eed ver y g rateful to t he G over nm ent for havin g t he trust a nd con fi dence in us to co ntinu e to o p erate this
ser vi ce.
Statement
We have al so invested heavily o n inf ras truc t ure, whic h in clud es u p g ra ding of ou r tech nic a l infrast ruc tu re ( hardwa re
and so f t ware) and re lo c at io n o f o u r d ata center. Th is is to fu r th er b o o st ser vice resilience a nd ava ila b ilit y, ta rg eted
to at t ain wo r ld - cla ss c ap ab ilit y and re liab ili t y an d to prov ide a level o f ser vice that is a im ed to exceed c usto m ers
ex p ec t at ion s.
We must also n ot fo rg et t hat Da ga ng Net is d ep end ent on o ther ent ities- R oya l M a laysia n Cu sto ms, Lo gisti cs p layers
( suc h a s fo r ward ing ag ent s, ship p ing ag ent s and freight fo r wa rder s), a nd o ther related a g enci es. B ec a use of the
d eg ree o f interd ep end ence, o ur p ace mu st b e hig hly rel ated to w hat o t hers a re d o ing in o rder to a chi eve o ur f ull
p o tenti al, a nd we a re wo r k ing on th is co ntin uo us ly.
H ow do you see D agang Net in five years time i.e. at the end of its agreement p erio d?
Well, in 5 years time, Dagang Net may have to face the realit y of op en comp etition in the global mar k et. Cur rently,
there are a lot of inter national e-commerce ser vice provider already mak ing their moves into this region.
Dagang Net has changed its strategic profile from b eing a distr ibution metho d-dr iven to a mar k et and user classdr iven. This means that we are now more customer-fo cused in our decision mak ings. We should create a situation
where our users and the relevant author ities are dep endent on us. We have wor k ed hard and will continue to do so
to ensure we are the b est.
The other thing is that trade infor mation or data is cur rently highly fragmented, so we would have to wor k with all
agencies to centralise this. O ver the past 15 years, Dagang Net has b een wor k ing with the var ious agencies in the
G over nment to develop and promote the Sistem M ak lumat K astam (SMK)-Dagang*Net projec t. We b elieve we have
accumulated the r ight exp er ience, exp er tise and k nowledge to b e the par t y to manage this mammoth task of
centralising infor mation for the countr y.
We want to b e reco gnised as the national institution for trade facilitation and e-commerce.
O n a p ersonal level, you ha ve recentl y received your la w degree. With this invol vement and your serious business
at D agang Net, are you doing justice to yourself?
5
O h yes, I'm human enough to have a hobby. I play golf at Kelab Negara Subang or S aujana G olf Club and regular ly
go to the gymnasium to k eep fit. I play to a handic ap 15, so my golf is not to o bad either!
Our CEO
Saifol Bahri Mohd Shamlan loves military history. This passion has
interest him since childhood. Words like flank ing attacks and supply lines
movement come easily to him. According to him, lessons from the military can be
made examples of and applied to in business.
In essence, affable, amiable, resolute and profound were some words that came to
mind when describing Saifol. There were no traces of any association with ruthless
strategy to debilitate the enemy but when we inter viewed him recently, we
discovered an unconventional man with a focused mission and a target towards
per formance and excellence. Not unlike his passion.
Saifol is confident there's a vivid future for Dagang Net and in this interview, we get
some insights on his thoughts, strategy and vision for Dagang Net, and on the man
himself. Here are some excerpts from the interview :
What can we look forward to with Dagang Net?
Five years until the end of our agreement is not a long time, hence we have to
continue to be extremely competitive. We will develop a wider range of products
and ser vices, establish more value-added products and ser vices, and we will expand
our domestic and foreign partnerships.
CEO
We are looking at new business opportunities, by pursuing new target audience
such as multinationals and small medium enterprises, and at expanding
internationally to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many other West Asian
countries through joint ventures.
Strategy
In addition, we will look into acquiring new markets via nontraditional growth and diversification, build and maintain business
relations with strategic customers and numerous government
agencies locally and overseas.
What preparations are you making to be extremely competitive?
We have been competitive from day one and we intend to continue
and enhance our competitiveness to becoming a serious global player
in this industry.
Some of the areas that we are look ing at to improve our
competitiveness are:
1. We continously upgrade and update ourselves with the latest
technology issues and trends such as broadband, 3G, RFID and wireless
becoming hot topics.
2. Furthermore, to be able to deliver the best of value-added services
to our users, we have to be familiar in areas of bank ing (includes
knowledge of payment ser vices), insurance, transpor tation, haulage,
supply chain, freight for warding, e-commerce and corresponding
standards, various applications of outsourcing, Customs procedures,
inland taxes, and most importantly, knowledge of vertical industries.
We are focusing on fast moving consumer goods and electronics and
engineering companies as a near-future potential, so knowledge in
these areas are essential.
3. Our internal resources are crucial players, so we're building internal
competencies in sales and marketing and look ing at per formancebased rewards for their competencies.
What do you find most rewarding?
Being a CEO in a company such as
Dagang Net has various challenges.
Essentially I find work ing with my
team to build bigger and more
exciting plans for the future of
Dagang Net, and making it happen
extremely rewarding. Dagang Net is
set to play a bigger role in the
national trade value chain, we have
the oppor tunity and we definitely
have the potential.
What do you think are the key
attributes of a CEO?
Good values, integrit y, abilit y to
communicate, knowledge, big ideas
and most importantly believe firmly
in these attributes and lots of
practice!
Do you have other hobbies?
Digital photography and digital
video editing are my other hobbies.
I t's great to be able to create
wonder ful images from ordinar y
subjec ts. S ome of my p or trait
subjects have been members of the
Dagang Net management team.
6
Applying for impor t and expor t permits and obtaining approvals from Other
G over nme nt Agencie s ( OGA ) have never b ee n ea s ier si nce the int ro duc tio n of ePer mit.
Th is we b- ba sed va lue ad de d ser v ice was sp ec iall y d evelo p ed fo r imp o r ters, exp or te rs
and for ward ing agents. An en or mo us a mou nt of leg wor k, pa p er wo r k, gett ing fa milia r
wit h var io us for ms and p ro cedu res are par t o f the da ily ha ssles fo r imp o r ters, exp or te rs
and for ward ing age nt s.
Approved permits from OGA will be transmitted to Sistem Maklumat Kastam
e l e c t r o n i c a l l y, fo r va l i d a t i o n a n d c r o s s - r e fe r e n c e a g a i n s t Cu s t o m s d e c l a r a t i o n . W i t h
e Pe r m i t, yo u o n l y h ave to f i l l i n t h e p ro p e r e l e c t ro n i c fo r m s o n ce a n d w a i t fo r t h e
ap prova l to b e se nt to you v ia t h e I nte r n et .
ePermit is accessible from any computer that is connec ted to
the Internet. I t is a user-friendly b enefit with multi-task ing
access to our various other value-added ser vices such as tariff
co des and lo c ation co des. The access comes in hand y when
applying for p ermits.
ePermit is also designed to accommo date all the sp ecific
requirements of each OGA. These include consignment
details, quota details, grading summar y, and pro duc t
database.
e Pe r m i t i s c u r r e n t l y i m p l e m e n t e d a s a c o l l a b o r a t i v e e f f o r t w i t h t h e M i n i s t r y o f
A g r i c u l t u r e a n d A g r o - b a s e d I n d u s t r y. e Pe r m i t p r o c e s s i n g w e n t ' l i v e ' a t Le m b a g a
Pe mas a ran Pe r t ania n Per se k u t uan ( FA MA ) in J anu ar y 2005 an d is cu r rent ly link ed to its
150 im p or ters. Pest ici de B oa rd o f t he D ep ar tm ent o f Agr icu lture went 'live' in Februa r y
2005 wi th its 60 im p or te rs now co nne c ted to them.
O ther age ncies u nd er t he M ini str y o f Agr icu lture a nd Agro -b ased I ndus t r y c ur rently
un de rgoin g t he va r i ous st ages of imple mentat io n are: a.
b.
c.
d.
D ep ar t me nt
D ep ar tm ent
D epar t me nt
D ep ar tme nt
of
of
of
of
Ve ter inar y S e r vice s
Plant Cont rol and Q u aranti ne
R ice a nd Pad i In du str y an d
Fis he r i es.
Th is e -init iati ve e ffor t is also cur rently in it s p ilo t run at
t he D e pa r tm ent of E nv ironm ent (D OE). I t is e nvis io ned t hat
all 19 p er mit -i ssuing agen cies in M a laysia wil l imp lement
ePer mit wh ich is ex p ec ted to b enefi t 5, 000 imp o r ters a nd
exp o r ter s in th e cou nt r y.
S amsu di n Su ngip is t he e Per mit Pro je c t D irec to r and he ha s b een wo r k ing w ith ma ny
gover nm ent agen c ies in imple mentin g t hi s p ro jec t.
7
MANAGEMENT
TEAM
Directions and Responsibilities
Saifol Bahri Mohd Shamlan
Chief Executive Officer
Zaharin Haji Ali
Senior General Manager
Yo n g Vo o n C h o o n
General Manager
R. Murugappan
Chief Technical Officer
Zulina Mohammed Salleh
Chief Financial Officer
Siti Norlida Abdur Rahman
Director of Resource Management
Norlida Osman
Director of Corporate Information
Standing left to right : Mr. Yong, Muru, Zaharin , Saifol
Sitting left to right : Norlida, Siti, Zulina
This is reflected in the dove-tailing of the
old and new leadership which is crucial for
Dagang Net in order to achieve its future
objectives. There is common and shared
enthusiasm and spirit of confidence among
members of the Senior Management team.
The list of members of the management
team is very impressive. It includes the
Chairman,
Executive
D i re c to r,
Chief
E xe c u t i v e O f f i c e r, S e n i o r G e n e r a l M a n a g e r,
C h i e f Fi n a n c i a l O f f i c e r, G e n e r a l M a n a g e r,
Chief
Te c h n o l o g y
O f f i c e r,
Director
of
Resources Management and Director of
Corporate Information.
Each of the members has either a varied
experienced working background or a solid
t e c h n i c a l d i s c i p l i n e. Fo r t h e c o m p a ny, t h e
asset is almost immeasurable. They bring
the experience and best practices from
employment at senior management levels in
multinationals, major local companies and
also government agencies.
A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e y a l s o b r i n g t h e e x p e r i e n c e
and disciplines gained as result-driven
strategic management consultants within
local
conglomerates
and
multinational
corporations.
The combined experience of the team will
enable them to appreciate the crucial
understanding of the company's current
situation and clear identification of the
fundamental problems to address based on
a prior "outside looking in" advantage,
together with the ability to benchmark key
performance
indicators
(KPIs)
against
contemporary standards, and exemplary
organizations and companies.
A s t h e y s ay, " U n e a s y l i e s t h e h e a d t h a t
wears the crown". This is so because when
you are the head, it's not the power that
counts but the responsibility that matters.
The new management team is given the task
to oversee the prioritization and to ensure
smooth transition into the new agreement
occurs after the end of the 15-year
concession. The result was tremendous with
achievement of the new five-year agreement
this year combined with a whole new
direction and new revenue opportunities.
Besides that, there must be closer rapport
and good understanding of the company's
role and the wider objectives of the parent
c o m p a ny, n a m e l y T I M E E n g i n e e r i n g B e r h a d, a
Government-linked
co m p a ny,
the
ICT
flagship of the UEM Group. But, happily
enough, the new management of Dagang Net
is made up of an ideal mix of experienced
and new experts who share a common
passion and focused vision.
As they say,
"Uneasy lies the
head that wears
the crown"
9
What is Careline?
Careline, Dagang Net Customer Interaction
Centre, was set up to ensure that all of its valued
customers are given first class support. It is in
reality a one-stop agency. Equipped with one of
the most advanced Call Management System, it
also boasts of being staffed by professionally
trained personnel.
Careline's key responsibility is to respond
promptly to all enquiries and problems faced by
our customers either in terms of products or
services.
Careline is part of Customer Relationship Management division headed by its Director, Encik
Mustapha Albakri bin Mohamad. The Careline team is lead by Cik Norazah Mustapha.
Services and Commitment
Beginning March 2004, the 1300 133 133 number was introduced to Dagang Net's customers to
enable easy access and cost savings when they contact Careline. Contacts can also be established by
fax, pager, emails, hand phones and Web Careline.
But the single, most important advantage of Careline is its accessibility to the Sistem Maklumat
Kastam. This collaboration between Customs and Dagang Net is basically part and parcel of our ongoing effort to provide the best possible customer support by Dagang Net.
Looking forward
Our customers are our main focus. To ensure first class customer service, we are continuously looking
at ways to improve Careline. This includes installation and implementation of the Integrated Voice
Response software.
Longest Serving Employee
Meet Miss Chong Yoke Ching, our longest service staff (Staff no: 007). Happily
married, Miss Chong as she is popularly known, hails from Pahang. She
commenced work with Dagang Net at the end of 1990 - some 15 years ago.
Starting modestly as a Trainer Consultant, she is now a Business Development
Manager. Currently, she oversees projects under MyPorts and ePermit.
Miss Chong has a degree in Business Administration from Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is zesty, entertaining and resourceful - as described
by herself! She is also keen on sporting activities and enjoys travelling.
Dagang Net is the only company she has worked for, and she survived five
CEOs! She said each of them has different characteristics and management
style of setting and meeting our corporate objectives and goals. All the CEOs
are her mentors and sifus, and with a positive opinion like that she is definitely
going to stay longer at Dagang Net.
She also attributes her long service record to her boss, friends, colleagues, and customers, who have been
great inspiration to her over the years. They are caring, loving, and challenging. Just knowing they are there
for her motivates and inspires her to work harder to achieve greater success in her work and in life.
10
11
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
5
§ Introduce
Aligned
Documentation
System, a system
based on plastic
overlays to make
trade
documentation
simpler and more
efficient
4
3
§ Formation of
Malaysia
EDIFACT
Committee
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
§ Grant
exclusive
electronic
connection to
Customs to
enable adoption
of modern trade
initiatives
§ Establish
Dagang Net (then
EDIM) as the
private sector
vehicle to promote
United Nations-led
initiatives to
overcome world
trade
documentationrelated issues
§ Signing of
Concession
Agreement with
Government &
National Chamber
of Commerce and
Industries of
Malaysia (NCCIM),
and back-to-back
Agreement
between NCCIM &
Dagang Net
§ Formation of
EDI
Implementation
Central
Committee
§ Launch of
Dagang*Net,
EDI Clearing
Centre
§ Malaysia's
first e-business
project - the
Port Klang
Community
System (PKCS)
begins pilot
testing
1994
1995
§ PKCS goes 'live'
and Port Klang
takes the first step
towards an efficient
paperless
environment
1996
1997
1998
§ The Jabatan
Telekomunikasi
Malaysia-EDI system for
telecommunications
equipment
licence/permits goes
'live'
§ Establish the first
Dagang Net onestop service
center, Kedai EDI,
in Port Klang
§ The Malaysian
Timber Industry BoardEDI system for timber
export goes 'live'
§ The Department
of Veterinary
Services (DVS)-EDI
system for
import/export of
livestock goes 'live'
§ Roll-out of various
non-trade services:
Ringgit*Net,
Supply*Net, EDI Payroll
§ Launch of
Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT)
service for payment
of Customs duties,
the first successful
commercial
implementation of
an electronic
payment system in
Malaysia
§ Launch of
Malaysia's first
electronic retail
community, the
Jaya Jusco Electronic
Retail Community
§ Launch of
SOCSO-EDI, part
of Dagang Net
Electronic Payroll
system
§ 100%
electronic
submission of
K1s to Sistem
Maklumat
Kastam (SMK)
2000
2001
2002
years of
excellence
§ Subang Airport
Community System
(SACS), the air cargo
equivalent of PKCS, goes
'live'
§ The Ministry of
International Trade
and Industry's MITIEDI system for
textile import and
export goes 'live'
1999
§ Joint venture with
Jasra Sdn Bhd,
Brunei, to establish
the national
electronic
commerce for
Brunei's principal
sea port
§ Dagang Net
Managed Network
Services establish
the X.25 Wide Area
Network in eight
nodes nationwide
§ Launch of
corporate website,
www.edim.com.my
.
§ Live
implementation
of SMKDagang*Net in
Port Tanjung
Pelepas (PTP)
Johor, the first
state outside the
Klang Valley
§ The Port Klang
Free Commercial
Zone (FCZ)-EDI
system goes 'live'
§ Implementation
of Total Islamic
Banking Solutions,
the first of its kind
in the world, for
Bank Islam Malaysia
Berhad
§ Launch of
Dagang*Net
Online service for
PKCS users
§ Introduce KLIA
Community
System for Free
Commercial Zone
at KLIA, Sepang
§ Migration of the
SACS to KLIA, the
nation's newest and
biggest
international
airport in Sepang;
thereby, equipping
it with a world class
electronic trade
documentation
system
§ Launch the EFT
service for walk-in
customers at Kedai
EDI
§ Introduce the
Dangerous Goods
EDl electronic
documentation
system at Port
Klang, another
value-added
service for PKCS
members
§ Launch of
Electronic Excise
System, the first
e-commerce tool
for the motor
industry in
Malaysia
§ Launch of
Dagang Net New
Corporate
Identity
§ Rangkaian
Segar appoints
Dagang Net as
outsource partner
to facilitate and
manage its
electronic
settlement
transactions with
five participating
banks
§ Launch of
National Ports
Exchange, an einfrastructure
incorporating
various solutions
that complete the
business value
chain in a
maritime
environment
§ Launch of
eDeclare, an
Internet-based
application to
facilitate
preparation and
submission of
trade documents
to SMK
§ The expansion
of SMKDagang*Net to
Johor, which
includes Senai
Airport, Pasir
Gudang and
Linkedua
§ Implementation
of SMKDagang*Net in
East Coast
(Pahang &
Terengganu)
§ Launch of
eLogistics (Phase
I - RosettaNet)
§ Dagang Net
became a member
of the Pan Asian
e-Commerce
Alliance (PAA)
2003
§ Implementation of
SMK-Dagang*Net in
Kemaman and
Kuantan
§ SMK-Dagang*Net
implementation was
further expanded to
Causeway (Johor),
Penang and the
other ports
§ Launch of MyPorts
Information Services,
a one-stop trade
exchange Internet
portal
§ Launch of Vessel
Information System,
a system to enable
port users to request
for shipping
information from the
port operator
electronically
2004
§ Unveiling of the
entire range of
MyPorts value-added
services that
complements its
SMK-Dagang*Net
§ Introduction of
Cross Border
Extension, the first
web-indigenous
application that allows
seamless cross border
trade facilitation
information exchange
between importers and
exporters of different
economies
§ Sign MoA with
KTNET, Korea, to
collaborate cross
border electronic trade
facilitation between
Malaysia and South
Korea
§ Expand SMKDagang*Net to Sabah
and Sarawak Ports
§ Regional alliance
with PT EDI Indonesia
to speed up trade
facilitation between
Malaysia and Indonesia
§ Collaboration with
CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd
of Singapore to
develop Cross-border
Data Clearance
between Malaysia and
Singapore
§ Online Fulfillment
Exchange (OFX) for
RosettaNet
Procurement Module,
an online portal for
Small Medium
Industries (SMIs) to
market their products
and services to
multinational
corporations
§ Revitalization of
ePermit, an online
import / export permit
applications to relevant
Government Agencies