Colin Moran: Best Teacher is Experience and Extensive Travel

DEVELOPING a new brand is certainly no easy fete. However, Colin Moran has had 12 years’ experience in the courier business working for TNT for the Asian region.   

TNT Logistics has changed its name to CEVA and remains one of the leading logistics and global chain supply companies. This company designs, applies and operates solutions for complex supply chains on a domestic, regional and global scale for multinational companies and large local ones.   

Currently, CEVA has about 50,000 employees with an extensive global network comprising 1,000 offices in 100 countries. Globally, the company controls 614 warehouses with a total area of 88 million square meters. CEVA’s sales in 2006 totaled US$8 billion. “So CEVA has made good use of the business network that TNT built over a long period of time,” said Moran.   

With more than 20 years’ experience in international transportation and logistics, Moran is not unfamiliar with customs clearance, air freight and sea freight forwarding, international and domestic express distribution, as well as regional supply chain management. His extensive experience is supported and strengthened by his studies at Cranfield, Insead and Windsor University as well as the NUS in Singapore. He also is a qualified Commonwealth customs broker.   

Moran says his best teacher is having lived and gained experience in many countries. “I have learned so much from working in numerous countries and having traveled so extensively. You can’t get this from any university degree,” he asserted.   

In January 2006, Moran was moved to Singapore after having held the position of TNT country general manager in Indonesia for a couple of years. In November 2006, TNT Logistics was purchased by Apollo Management Ltd., which is one the world’s leading investment companies, for 1.48 billion euros.   

The name was changed from TNT Logistics to CEVA Logistics, which also implemented a merger with Eagle Global Logistics in August 2007, and Moran was named the managing director for Asia.   

The challenge to the Australian is to maintain CEVA as one of the largest global supply chain companies. To maintain such a position he applies four main strategies. First is personal commitment, which is an appreciation for the relations that have been developed with customers. CEVA employees are empowered in various levels of the organization so that they can provide the best service and solution for customers.

“Relations with our 10 major customers span 15 years or more,” said the man who was born on April 12, 1962 in London.  

Second is superior operational features. The policies, decision-making process and other performances ensure that CEVA’s operations standards remain high.   

Next is the company’s expertise or speciality. CEVA focuses on a number of sectors, such as automotive, tires, electronics, telecommunications, hi-tech industrial items, fast moving consumer goods, health care, energy, publications and media.

“This is to make the best use of our manpower and facilities and to provide excellent service in related fields,” said Moran, who currently lives in Singapore.   

The final strategy is supervision of supply chain and actual work. CEVA continuously strives to be more efficient, effective and accurate, says Moran. CEVA applies a special technology to supervise the flow of goods and information for an integrated result and to reduce inventory and make the arrival time of goods more timely and effective while cutting unnecessary costs.  

CEVA uses Matrix technology, which connects CEVA with its entire customer network and supply chain vendors. This includes support for inbound, outbound work, including the logistics process, integrated transportation, inventory management, the filling of orders, financial settlement and the application of e-commerce. 

With a new name and logo, CEVA expresses its new spirit with three basic strategies: innovation, superiority and proactiveness. “In building our good reputation, especially for our operational excellence, these are the principles that connect us with our clients,” explained Moran, who loves golf, fishing, scuba diving and chilling out at a peaceful resort by the ocean.   

Moran says that Asia is a unique market.one wants to succeed in the Asian market, then one has to understand the business culture here, including the character of the people,” said Moran, whose wife Rini is Indonesian.   

Indonesia made a deep impression on him, especially during the financial crisis 10 years ago. “During the dramatic 1998 financial crisis, we were evacuating staff, the currency was plunging, interest rates were at 50 percent and our charter freighter aircraft was the busiest it had ever been due to the fact that many commercial airlines had stopped flying … an amazing and crazy time to be in business,” he said.   

Another unforgetable experience was being directly involved in helping Mohammed Saleheen of the World Food Program Indonesia deliver and distribute food supplies to Aceh to feed over 400,000 people who had lost everything in the tsunami.was an amazing time and one which makes you realize how fortunate you are. I was proud to have been able to contribute to the recovery after this tragic disaster.”   

For Moran, Indonesia is like a second home and working at CEVA Indonesia fills him with pride. This company, which started off as TNT Logistics, was established in 1995.  

In Indonesia, CEVA has offices in Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Yogyakarta and controls 11 warehouses with a total area of 1.3 million square meters. It operates more than 150 trucks that delivers more than 900,000 tons of goods annually.   

Asia, including Indonesia, according to Moran, is an emerging market. The market is growing and becoming larger every year. The growth of industries here and an awareness of the need for supply chain management to make businesses more efficient make it necessary for logistics companies to be present in the area.   

Such businesses have to rely on flawless logistics processes, services that many companies can provide. However, CEVA offers more than the dispatching of goods on time. CEVA has made itself highly flexible and innovative to match customers’ requirements.  

“Our expertise spans the entire supply chain. We provide transportation, distribution and facility-based solutions, and we manage the sophisticated information flows that support clients’ needs. We provide end-to-end logistics solutions for our customers that include our entire supply chain logistics management,” said Moran. (Burhan Abe)  

The Jakarta Post, March 02, 2008