OOCL prides itself on being customer driven, which is why customers are at the top of our list of core values. OOCL offers an extensive network of services with complete coverage of east-west corridors and some of the fastest and most reliable transit times in the industry. OOCL provides transportation solutions for international customers as well as catering for small- and medium-sized customers. OOCL has one of the youngest reefer fleets in the industry, and subsidiary company Cargo System provides solutions to the most complex supply chain problems. We are a major carrier for US, European and Japanese motor manufacturers; Asian and US electronics companies; leading garment and furniture manufacturers and retailers; fresh produce wholesalers; and countless others. We like to give our customers added value, creating what we call a win-win situation, which is a mutually beneficial business relationship that delivers value to both sides of the equation.

We recognize that, to stand apart from our competition, we must deliver what the customer wants and anticipate what the customer needs. In 1997, we broke through the complex and fragmented European rail scene to establish the first customer-dedicated block trains for Chrysler. In Japan, very expensive overland freight transportation adds significant costs to our customers’ supply chains. So we established a unique niche port feeder service covering over 24 ports that achieves considerable saving for our customers. In the USA, we learned of a meat exporter with special requirements that its regular carrier could not fulfill. We designed a new reefer unit for the exporter, and now OOCL is its regular line.

We strive to be known by customers as their solution provider. Whether it is simple transportation solutions or complex logistics packages, we make innovation our driving force. We conducted a flow mapping process with Kodak for its inbound container freight to the USA and together managed to improve cycle-times by over 30 per cent. A top UK clothing retailer used to have 15 distribution centers in the country. Cargo System worked with the customer and, by employing a technique called snake loading, managed to reduce the number of distribution centers to just five.

OOCL is an Asian-based carrier with the vast market of Mainland China at its doorstep. We have long been renowned as a specialist for China, backed up by a comprehensive network and local insight. When a customer had a large shipment of chemicals to transport from Miami to Uzbekistan, OOCL was able to use its knowledge of, and connections in, China to facilitate the passage of the shipment, when no one else could.

OOCL recognizes that in today’s competitive environment superior customer service is a critical factor in the customer’s choice of carrier. Our ‘take it personally’ attitude is an integral part of our culture. Each year we recognize hundreds of employees around the world for displaying initiative and going beyond the call of duty to resolve a customer’s concern, adhere to a customer’s special request or to pre-empt a problem. At a recent awards ceremony, where OOCL was voted Shipping Line of the Year, the judges mentioned that the ‘take it personally’ program had struck a chord with them. Our investment in new equipment and the latest technology not only empowers employees but also makes it easier to do business with us.

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Excellence through Quality

OOCL’s quality journey began in 1991 when the company first introduced quality awareness training for all employees. Driving this quality push was the recognition that to be a customer-driven company and to deliver superior customer service, OOCL had to be committed to quality in everything it did. The company has come a long way since 1991, and quality is now a part of daily life at OOCL.

Across our business we believe in doing things right the first time and using benchmarking techniques to measure our progress, and so avoid the unnecessary costs of non-conformance. Quality at OOCL has migrated from a specialist to a total involvement approach. Quality is no longer the exclusive domain of a Quality department but has been integrated into the daily business and goals of every department in the company.

OOCL believes that adopting quality as a mindset is not just the fashionable thing to do but delivers real results. Between the years of 1991 and 1997, the volume of liftings carried by OOCL increased by nearly 80 per cent, yet head count remains broadly the same. This is a tangible benefit of quality. By analyzing the processes used in our business—using cross-functional process improvement teams—we continuously find better and more efficient ways of doing things. Our investment in information technology complements this and similarly assists us to achieve much more using the same manpower.

OOCL was one of the first container lines to be awarded ISO9002 certification, a control and compliance system that has been introduced to virtually all our offices and vessels around the globe.

OOCL is recognized in the industry as being a quality carrier with superior schedule integrity and an impeccable safety record. OOCL is the first Hong Kong-based container line to comply with the International Marine Organization’s new safety and pollution requirements that become mandatory for dry cargo vessels in 2002.

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People, People, People

OOCL firmly believes its success depends on the skills, dedication and teamwork of all employees, which is why focusing on people is one of the company’s four core values. People development is one of the key functions within the human resources organization.

A flat organization structure is encouraged throughout the company to reduce bureaucracy and to give people the opportunity to achieve a high standard of performance by empowering them. Through education and training, OOCL encourages its people to take the initiative and demonstrate innovation. Training and development programs are extensive and at every level. Throughout the organization, learning is encouraged and educational programs—both job-related and of general business knowledge—are subsidized by the company.

Setting goals and objectives helps everyone perform to the best of their ability and in line with corporate objectives. Each employee’s goals are reviewed twice yearly under our Success Management System that also identifies training and development needs and plans career development.

OOCL sees itself as a global family that inspires loyalty among employees. Many employees have been with the Group for over 20 years. OOCL offices around the world sponsor recreational and sporting activities for employees. This builds a sense of teamwork and engenders a feeling of belonging to the OOCL family. Soccer, baseball, badminton and dragon boat teams compete in local competitions and family members join in hiking trips, golf tournaments and fishing expeditions.

OOCL is people-oriented and seeks to keep staff as well as customers and partners at the center of its attention. We aim to provide opportunities both for professional growth and for adding value to the business, in an environment of the highest business ethics, integrity and respect for individuals. OOCL is an equal opportunities employer and values both cultural and intellectual diversity.

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Community Involvement

One of OOCL’s key values is being involved in the community. The company believes in giving back to the communities where its employees live and work. Much of this support centers on youth and education and welfare donations in the form of transportation assistance.

For over a decade, OOCL and the Tung Foundation have spent over a million US dollars a year on educational scholarships, to students in China and Hong Kong and for children of employees. The foundation has been for years a generous supporter of Zhoushan Navigational School in China and OOCL is an active participant in Partnerships in Education, a forum that promotes co-operation between business and education in the USA.

OOCL believes in bringing a variety of arts and sports to the community and regularly supports events, in particular theatrical productions and sailing competitions.

Assistance in the form of free transportation is regularly given to a number of charitable projects. This year, OOCL is helping Project Hope by transporting 40 forty-foot containers of the latest medical diagnostic equipment from the US to Shanghai. The beneficiary is the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. The first container in the series arrived in Shanghai at the end of May. Other beneficiaries of welfare donations made by the company and its employees include cancer, diabetes and leukemia funds in Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and the USA, children’s homes in Hong Kong and France, food banks in the USA and countless others.

OOCL believes in supporting the efforts of its employees in their fundraising activities by contributing additional funds to a chosen charity. Many OOCL employees give up their spare time to help the disadvantaged, by either raising money or offering other assistance. Youth baseball teams, scout teams, adult literacy groups, food banks and numerous other charities benefit from the generosity of OOCL employees. The company is proud of the beneficence of its employees who extend their ‘take it personally’ attitude to the community.