Growth requires nurturing
Jonson Yue, director of business development for the RFID (radio frequency identification) division of Avery Dennison Asia-Pacific, has attended and spoken at more than 40 industry seminars, trade shows and conferences worldwide.
When he is not taking part in these educational forums, he spends most of his time managing a dynamic, cross-functional team and strategising comprehensive and industry-specific business programmes for present and prospective clients.
While the RFID industry is growing at an astonishing pace, it is a development that requires constant attention and nurturing, especially when properly addressing clients' demands.
Mr Yue said: 'To customers, we need to translate our knowledge of new technology values into real and accountable benefits. These advantages need to be relayed in fiscal and productive gains across their entire operation as the client wants to realise a return on investment of the technology across different functions. It is important to support our customers in manifesting these gains in real terms.'
Mr Yue said that because RFID technology was still relatively new and gradually moving into different industries requiring different applications, one of the primary challenges was 'to promote the use of the technology and its benefits, which requires a solid structure of communication for conveying this message internally, from sales and marketing through to customer services support'.
The division he oversees is modelled as a cross-organisational body because RFID is related to a variety of business divisions, client functions and regional requirements.
His team and associated departments are scattered across the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and India.
A honed range of effective management and interpersonal skills is essential for everyone to be on the same page. 'Problem solving and communications are probably the most important skills to manage this business,' Mr Yue said.
