Gothong partners with Japan firm, eyes Asean market

A Gothong Southern cargo ship ferries cargo to a port in the country. (gothongsouthern.com).

The Gothong Southern Group of Companies is primed to capitalize on the Asean integration after its recent partnership with a Japanese logistics firm. Alessandro Lampayan, Gothong’s logistics unit’s chief operations officer, said their joint venture with Suzue Corp. would help them access a solid network of international markets as well as expand their services abroad.

“In 2014, we tried to include in our strategic plan how to go international and capitalize on the Asean integration the following year. At that time, we were still trying to find the best strategy to do it. We were conscious that if we do it on our own, it will incur a lot of capital expense,” he told Cebu Daily News in an interview.

Lampayan concurrently sits as the interim president of Gothong-Suzue Philippines, Inc. (GSPI) until they hire an official executive to take his place before the end of February this year.

Suzue Philippines

Suzue offers services in terminal operations and logistics and is present in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, and even Mexico in North America.

Lampayan said that in all these places, Suzue also has partnerships with local companies.

He said the partnership with Suzue would help Gothong move toward the direction it intended to go two years ago.

“We will have access to markets within their network. If you’re operating as an international freight forwarder, you are not limited, although it is easier to do business with agent networks. There are significant opportunities if you really look at it,” said Lampayan.

At the same time, Suzue will have access to the services Gothong offers, especially within the domestic market across its business units including shipping, logistics, transport, ports, and properties.

He said the joint venture would allow Gothong to expand outside the Philippines while still focusing on the domestic market, especially in its growing logistics business.

Partnering with Suzue would expose Gothong’s logistics operations to international practices, facilitating benchmarking and knowledge transfer, he added.

“It was so timely when they initiated, we can leverage on each other’s strengths,” he said.

Deal signed

The ceremonial signing of the joint venture agreement between the two firms was held in Makati last December 2016.

GSPI will specialize in general forwarding, warehousing, land transport, and other logistics-related services.

On its first year of business, Lampayan said the company would focus on serving a niche market, which includes Japanese firms already established here.

He said these would also include Japanese companies intending to put up operations here and those within the export industry.

Lampayan, however, declined to divulge the company’s investment for year one of operations.

The challenge for the joint venture company is how to start being profitable the soonest, considering the number of players already established in the industry, Lampayan added.

“Having a niche market would also be a challenge in the initial operations, but we will hurdle these challenges if we effectively execute the business plan we agreed on,” he said.