Keeping in mind that physical interactions are less feasible in this time period, we worked with our long-time channel partner PT Arianto Darmawan in Indonesia to organise a successful online training on Air Compressors to ensure that we continue to deliver our values in empowering our customers with beneficial know-how despite the challenges brought upon by the pandemic. The fruitful seminar was presented by Mr. Chong Boon Leong from Klüber Lubrication South East Asia and was attended by a total of six companies. The online setting provided ample of time for participants to effectively absorb the training modules and are able to engage in constructive discussions to thoroughly address all the questions raised by one another. The interactive session was an eventful accomplishment with our channel partner PT Arianto Darmawan, which showcases our determination in continuing to work closely with all our customers in order to bring forth our customer oriented values in spite of the current state of the industries.
Similarly, in the Philippines, with Metro Manila and other parts of Philippines under community quarantine, physical meetings with customers have been replaced by virtual meetings. Leveraging virtual meeting platforms such as Cisco WebEx, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, we are able to continue engaging with our customers through online trainings and webinars. Such is a safe and cost-efficient way of generating new sales under the present situation.
Singapore exited from the first phase of the local circuit breaker on June 1st and began phase two on June 19th. Personal hygiene and safety remain our top priority. In order to eliminate the risk of community spread, we have continued the working from home arrangement. We are all equipped with essentials such as masks and sanitisers. While companies remain very stringent with vendor visits which require health declaration and temperature screening, customer meetings are taken place with not more than three persons in a meeting room and seated at least one-metre apart from one another.
Over in Vietnam, since the second wave of Covid-19 took place, our representative offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City ensured that we complied to the safety protocols by the local government, in addition to the 10 Golden rules set by Freudenberg:
- Practise good hygiene habits
- Wash your hands frequently
- Cough and sneeze properly
- Keep at least a distance of one-metre from people who are suspected of infections
- Wear a face mask
- If you return from travelling, practise self-quarantine and seek medical help if you feel unwell
- If you came in touch with an infected person, practise self-quarantine and seek medical attention if needed
- Refrain from travelling
- Ensure compliance with protocols from local authorities when planning meetings
- Stay updated via reputable sources such as World Health Organization (WHO)
We also requested our colleagues to ensure that mask and sanitisers are available to them in their respective cities, otherwise support can be raised from Singapore to provide them with the necessary items. Customer visits, at this point, are largely cancelled or postponed, or if urgent, customer would request for on-site meetings, taking all necessary precautions. Regular meetings are less encouraged until further notice.
In addition, the situation in Cambodia is similar to that of other countries in ASEAN. The government also circulated strict regulations on Covid-19: Protection and Prevention. Hence, our channel partner Risco Limited has implemented a good hygiene and healthy business environment within their office. A mask must be worn by employees based in the office premises. Temperature checks and hand sanitiser application are compulsory upon arrival of staff and clients. Social distancing is practised with seating distance of 1.5-metre from each another.
Sales operations at Risco Limited as well as other businesses have been modified into online meetings and phone calls for product enquiries, quotations and purchase order closing. Physical sales activities are still conducted in small and controllable number within strict Covid-19 prevention guidelines, emphasising on social distancing in a large meeting room for a maximum of three persons. Currently our Chinese clients are not open to host face-to-face discussions, thus most of our business transactions with them are simply made online and via phone calls.
