EPISODEINTERVIEW
12

While working to create management with roots in the local community, we want to disseminate the Konoike DNA.

Konoike Logistics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Konoike Asia (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
Director General Manager

XU LEI

LEI

Drawing on Konoike's Japanese DNA, we want to further penetrate the Chinese market

We are involved in many activities centered around the integrated operations of our business centers in Shanghai and Changshu in eastern China. We want to further expand our business in the country, drawing on the opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to international forwarding, domestic trucking and the Konoike Group's first warehouse in China, set in our temperature controlled distribution center, we are developing state-of-the art equipment and systems to provide high-value-added services. I was born in Wuxi, near Shanghai, and, with the help of my uncle, went to Japan in 1992, when I was 18 years old. There were days when I went to Japanese language schools and cried because I didn't understand the words at all, but I was interested in Japanese electrical products, which were really becoming popular at the time. So I studied hard, went to university in Kobe, became an employee of Konoike and returned to China in 2006. Since then, I have been involved in the development of our business in China, and I am now in a position to shape the organization here.

LEI

I'm not just about moving forward. It's more about finding the path I think is right and proceeding thoughtfully.

For example, when I'm mountain climbing, which I enjoy, it's not always about climbing right to the summit. There are times when you purposely descend. My work and my growth are the same. It's not just about going upward. If I encounter failure, I can always go back to the starting point and find what is needed to achieve the dream of reaching the summit. While I'm working to find the path that I think is correct, I believe that it's important to move one step at a time. Based on a bond of trust with the local staff, and, while working to create management that has its roots in the local community, we want to provide high quality service and disseminate the Konoike DNA.

LEI

The Konoike DNA: Safety and new value-added initiatives.

The idea of providing added value. This is a key part of the Konoike DNA, which has been passed down through the years. Fully accomplishing our logistics work is a given. It's about then moving beyond logistics, to predict the future concerns of customers, and shape and provide new solutions. I think it means exceeding expectations. Customers face a variety of challenges: rationalizing logistics, reducing costs, improving productivity and more. That means that it is important to be close to the customer, and to resolve the issues that come up. Another part of our DNA is to provide reliable site safety. So there is a common phrase I use with my friends: "An quan hao". It has the same meaning as the Japanese phrase "Safety first", which we always use, but 3 years ago when one of the directors came to China, we said, "Let's greet the local staff in the local language." So after some thought, it was decided to use "An quan hao". Using this as a greeting helped to shorten the distance between us. We move ahead while improving small things at the workplace. I want to keep on holding to my dreams and contribute to society.