Vix Technology - Case Study
Mark Messenger, General Manager - Asia
From the Asialink Business Malaysia Country Starter Pack
A focus on developing awareness amongst customers in the Asian market, along with building awareness within the global network of consultants in the fare collection industry helped Vix Technology secure its first contract in Malaysia. This effort in building market awareness ensured Vix was part of the panel of suppliers considered in a tender process which eventually resulted in their first contract award in Malaysia – a contract to implement a new Integrated Cashless Payments System on all of Malaysia’s bus, rail, metro and monorail networks.
“A lot of the effort in these initial sales was around ensuring we understood the customers’ needs and demonstrating how our solutions would address the business needs of our customers. As part of this process there was a focus on building relationships with the customer to ensure if we were successful in the tender, we started the project on a sound footing, as we have found that in Asia more so than many other markets, success or failure of projects depends on the strength of the partnership with the customer” says Mark Messenger, General Manager, Asia at Vix Technology.
While it was important to build strong relationships with their customers, Messenger and his team generally use industry accepted models for their contracts, which he explains, leads to less ambiguity, as it is important to ensure there are comprehensive provisions outlining the procedure to settle any disputes that may arise and under which jurisdiction this will take place.
To ensure the success of this first contract, a project office was initially set up in Kuala Lumpur. However, the company’s market analysis and pipeline of potential local contracts in the region gave them the impetus to establish a more permanent presence in the city. Tapping into their network of local expertise as well as the accounting firm they contracted to assist with the initial contract, Vix gained a trusted source of advice to navigate local company registration procedures.
“The bureaucracy around setting up the office was [more difficult] than we expected; as with many other countries around the world, there are subtleties in local processes that foreign organisations are not aware of. This can cause frustration and unnecessary effort without appropriate local advice, making finding trusted local advisors critical to ensuring efficient operations.”
Vix is also looking to capitalise on recently introduced regulatory and tax incentives for information and communications technologies companies. Messenger explained that although these incentives do not define or drive decisionmaking in the company, they are definitely a factor in deciding where to set up the office and other less significant considerations.
Messenger explains that a particular challenge in the Malaysian market is attracting and retaining talented local staff. There is a high attrition rate at the more junior level in many companies and the problem is not sector-specific
“One thing we wish we’d focused on earlier is hiring key local staff, including project delivery and support staff. This would have reduced the burden on the project team working on the project,” says Messenger.
Messenger advises that the best way to hire more senior talent in Malaysia is to use a specialist recruiter. It is a costlier option than managing the process internally but tends to produce much better results with a longer term fit for both the company and the employee.
He acknowledges that these aspects of the business require an advanced level of cultural understanding and localised knowledge of the operating environment, something that may only come from decades of experience and that is worth investing in.
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www.vixtechnology.com