The biggest challenge for his company is to build a supplier base that can deliver consistent service over multiple countries, says Raphael, who is head of supply chain management and procurement for Asia Pacific. "We operate in 14 countries in Asia that range from very developed economies like Australia and Japan to countries that are moving through the development process, such as India and Vietnam," he says, noting that service standards often are lacking in less developed nations. As a result, "we do a lot of work to develop suppliers," he says.
"We identify suppliers that have above-average service in one or more geographic regions, perhaps India and Singapore, and then we partner with them to expand their services in other countries," he says.
Another strategy that the company employs is to partner with either NGOs or small-profit companies to bring in uneducated workers from the countryside to train in low-skill jobs like cleaning. "We give them health insurance and a bank account and train them how to work in a modern office," Raphael says. "These are people who may never have been in an elevator or used a swipe card, so we train them for three months, help them find accommodations. This enables us to help people who want to work and to provide our clients with the services they need," he says.
