Small companies, big goals
Special prize recognises the value placed on people by two SMEs
Two outstanding companies have taken the Quality Award's newly introduced special prize for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for their quality management achievements.
Objective Solutions and Prince of Peace (Hong Kong) owe their success to the pledge of focusing on core business development, ensuring quick and precise market response and maintaining good communication between management and employees.
Objective Solutions prides itself on its strategy of focusing on enterprise resource planning (ERP) development and working closely with strategic partners in information technology.
'In today's fast-changing environment, no business can succeed alone. That's why it is vital for us to establish strategic partnerships to secure a competitive edge. We take the initiative to present new business opportunities to the partners to create a win-win solution,' managing director Oliver Yau said.
'We deliver a unique ERP solution to our customers through collaborative alliances. The software is aimed at the trading and manufacturing industry.'
The company's main solutions products can help manufacturers build a link between the administration office in Hong Kong and factory on the mainland.
Dr Yau attributed the company's success to its forward-looking policy, high product quality and ability to meet niche market needs.
Objective Solutions always puts people first. 'Knowledgeable people are our asset as they are the mainstay of our system development division, which is the pillar of our business,' he said.
The HKMA Quality Award helped the company to identify areas for improvement and clearly define the corporate vision, core values and strategies for future development, Dr Yau said.
Prince of Peace (Hong Kong) also puts a high value on staff, stressing that good people management contributed to quality business management.
General manager for Asia-Pacific Joey Wan said the company had initiated an active reporting scheme, an important tool to enhance the company's work on quality management.
'Under the scheme, staff have to report five problems with solutions to their immediate boss every day. This is inclusive of identifying business opportunities and providing action plans,' Mr Wan said. 'The scheme helps the company closely monitor market changes and enhance effectiveness and efficiency.'
Having devoted massive resources in management, Prince of Peace is keen to train its staff to become specialists as well as having all-round talent.
'With a limited budget, we rely heavily on teamwork and creativity of staff to stand out from the crowd, so it is reasonable and sensible to deploy as much resources as possible to train our staff,' he said.
Prince of Peace was established in the United States 20 years ago and specialises in the import, distribution and marketing of brand-name health food and confectionery.
Its Hong Kong office was set up five years ago, carrying products such as American ginseng tea and Jelly Belly candy from the US.
When it opened, the Hong Kong office had just two people; it has since expanded to 35. There are now now 20 outlets in Hong Kong and Macau.
'The Quality Award is recognition of our commitment in quality management. Our next target is to become a winner in other categories,' said Mr Wan.