THE COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the way businesses operate and how talent is managed.
At British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd (BAT Malaysia), cleverly managing people as well as its supply chain became a factor that drove performance growth amidst a challenging operating landscape.
“Throughout the various movement control orders (MCO) of 2020 and 2021, BAT Malaysia was able to maintain high levels of customer service quality while recording minimal disruptions to our supply chain,” BAT Malaysia operations director Remeena Prabhakaran told FocusM.
“We achieved this by anticipating potential interruptions to our supply chain and preparing back-up plans using new technologies. Responsibility is key to us, so we also work closely with relevant authorities to ensure our operations conform to regulations and standard operating procedures (SOPs),” she added.
BAT Malaysia’s supply chain strategy proved to be effective as the company recorded quarter-on-quarter growth in the three closing quarters of its FY2020.
For its 1H FY2021, the group’s net profit climbed 27.86% year-on-year (yoy) to RM134.73 mil (1H FY2020: RM105.38 mil) while its revenue grew 13.1% yoy to RM1.16 bil (IH FY2020: RM1.03 bil).
“Just like in any business operations, talent with the right skill-set and mindset has been critical in safeguarding and innovating our organisation’s supply chain,” opined Remeena who first joined BAT in June 2012 as the head of category and sourcing within the Asia Pacific Middle East Regional Procurement team in Singapore.
“With work-from-home protocols being activated across the country, we have to find new ways of communicating and getting our work done while actively keeping an eye out for any problems that can hinder our supply chain process.”
On the top of the list is laying out the right operational framework and assigning responsibilities. So too is empowering our team to be bold with new ideas and encouraging them to be fast with deployment so as to be effective.
Diversity and inclusivity
Importantly, BAT Malaysia’s effort to prioritise the physical and mental health of its people during this challenging period has also played a role in sustaining its supply chain excellence, according to Rameena.
“We introduced a new digital wellness programme, We Care, that provided support on a wide range of health and wellness-related issues and this was well received by our team,” she enthused.
Personally, Remeena credits BAT Malaysia’s commitment towards fostering a culture of diversity and inclusivity at the workplace – something that has enabled her to build a strong and success-oriented supply chain management team.
“I am truly appreciative of BAT Malaysia’s progressive policies that have nurtured me to become not only a female leader in the organisation, but also one who is able to deploy creative ideas and cultivate a team who can contribute significantly to the company’s performance.”
Respecting and fostering a culture of diversity and inclusivity in its workforce has been part and parcel of BAT Malaysia’s commitment towards sustainability which underpins the company’s A Better Tomorrow ambition to deliver a positive impact on the environment, society and employees.
For the record, BAT Malaysia’s focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace has been well-established.
In 2020, the company announced that it has achieved the Best International Organisation and Outstanding Practice: Initiative for Women Workforce at the Life at Work Awards organised by TalentCorp.
Other accolades won by BAT Malaysia in recent times include Top Employers Malaysia, Top Employers Asia Pacific, Top Employers Global (2020 and 2021), Best Companies to Work for In Asia 2020 and the HR Excellence Awards 2019.
“It is great to see a company walk the talk when it comes to inclusion and diversity in the workplace. Our workplace is like a second home to all of us and it is important to be always accepted and able to embrace open and honest communications,” enthused Remeena.
“Moving forward, we have bigger ambitions on how we can continue driving a positive impact not just for our employees but within the environment that we operate in.
“Our plan is to integrate environmentally-friendly best practices across all areas of BAT Malaysia’s supply chain with focus on eliminating unnecessary single use plastic packaging, increasing the utilisation of renewable energy sources and to become nett zero carbon.” – Aug 9, 2021
