Dextrans Worldwide

DEXTRANS WORLDWIDE is a group of logistics companies that does more than move cargo to international destinations for its customers. It also helps them to manage the procurement of materials and provides value-added inventory management solutions.

"We operate across the entire supply chain pipeline," says Dextrans' Singaporean founder and chief executive officer Jeffrey Heng.

The name Dextrans is derived from dexterity and transboundary. This reflects Mr Heng's aim of providing efficient borderless integrated logistics solutions through outlets in Asia when he started the company in 2003. He used his savings to be an entrepreneur after spending 16 years working for multinational corporations (MNCs) in the freight forwarding business. He wanted to serve small and medium-sized MNCs, especially American and European manufacturers who shift their operations to Asia.

These firms needed logistical support to tackle operational challenges in new geographically and culturally diverse locations. But they could not find an Asian company capable of providing the full suite of services they required.

Mr Heng filled the gap and he worked with three partners, who joined him after 2003. They built seven firms with 180 staff in 16 offices and warehouse hubs in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China.

The Dextrans group can move cargo to some 1,200 destinations through its global network of agencies. It is different from its Asian competitors because it does not compete purely on the basis of its charges and costs.

"Our focus is always on the value we provide to customers," Mr Heng says.

The group, based in a centre of excellence in Toh Tuck Link, tries to continually raise standards for its services. By June next year, all the 16 Dextrans operating sites will have a common software which allows customers to track cargo movements at any time.

The group's warehouse hubs are strategically located close to production facilities. Inventories are managed efficiently to ensure that "just in time" production at the facilities nearby are not disrupted.

Customers and suppliers can monitor and top up their stocks. Goods, parts and components stored in the warehouse hubs can be packaged and delivered according to the quantity, mix and time set by customers and suppliers.

Dextrans has a management culture that encourages its employees to make decisions and come up with innovative ideas.

The operating sites outside Singapore generate 50 per cent of its business and this is expected to grow to 80 per cent in the years ahead.

In the next two years, the group will consolidate its operating sites and continue to look for joint ventures. It will also strengthen its procurement arm, develop its corporate brand and recruit key people to carry out its expansion. Winning the e50.startup award raises Dextrans' image, Mr Heng says.

"This will certainly help us to recruit the key people for our expansion," he says. "Our people are our greatest asset. We spend a lot of time to put the right people in the right jobs. The capabilities of the people in our team will determine how far we can grow.

"We must have the right ratio of top leaders and managers."

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