As the world’s leading provider of secure logistics for valuable commodities, Brink’s’ success in the Southeast Asian region would seem something of a formality, but via a core philosophy of continuous improvement and a dedication to providing multi-sector solutions, the Company refuses to rest on its laurels as it embarks on its latest diversification.
CASHING IN ON SECURE DIVERSIFICATION
Established in the region in 1989, Brink’s has developed a proud heritage of service, offering integrated secure solutions at every level within its customers’ value chain process, across six highly secure storage facilities. These services span inventory management – such as storage, sortation, and pick & pack operations – to complex domestic and international distribution services.
Subsequently, Brink’s has been rewarded with responsibilities including the role of approved vault operator for SGX (Singapore Exchange) and ICE (International Commodities Exchange) Precious Metals trading inventories.
By blending more than 155 years of global risk management experience with new technologies and operating systems, Brink’s can offer market-leading solutions to drive efficiency while enhancing safety and security within every client’s business.
Many Singapore-based corporations operating within the valuable sectors have benefited from Brink’s renowned ability to provide the most innovative and efficient end-to-end logistics solutions spanning such a vast range of markets.
“In terms of our recent business expansion, we have been looking extensively into the cash processing services and the ATM cash management sectors,” explains Baskaran Narayanan, the Company’s Country Manager for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. “These types of services were already in the marketplace, however the banks were looking for an enhanced service levels and that’s where we came in.
“Our technological expertise means we can provide additional asset management services while increasing operational efficiencies across our customers’ ATM network.”
As a result, Brinks has increased the number of ATM machines under its management three-fold in 2015, with a further doubling, year-on-year expected by the end of 2016.
Narayanan adds: “We have grown quite significantly in both the ATM and end-to-end cash management areas, which includes picking up branch and retail cash, and integrating that into our overall cash solutions portfolio.”
MARKET LEADER
The wider Group’s ability to provide market-leading innovative solutions to diverse multi-market environments, while constantly looking to enhance both reporting and security within their respective supply chains, has been a leading factor in its successful expansion to more than 100 countries. This has seen Brink’s secure a market-leading position within the region for currency movements.
“We are the market leader across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia leveraging our international knowledge and experience, and delivering the highest levels of customer service for valuable storage, cash processing and distribution both domestically and across the region,” Narayanan says.
Complementing the rapidly rising financial operation, other sectors falling under Brink’s’ remit – both globally and, by proxy, in Southeast Asia – include mining, diamond dealers, jewellery, manufacturing, printing, government operations, airlines, technology and precious metals.
Across each of these sectors, Brink’s’ renowned portfolio of services are available, spanning secure logistics, walk-in service centres, trade show services, evaluation centres, storage services, inventory management, customs clearance, brokerage, currency processing and warehousing to name just a select few.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Brink’s’ competitive advantage is understanding the unique local and regional challenges and how they impact global market product offerings to ensure the most robust and secure value-add services are delivered to the total satisfaction of its customers. Furthermore, utilising its existing facilities across Singapore enables local teams to meet and fulfil all customer requirements.
“Our main office, Enterprise One, is in a self contained secure area and looks after the entire domestic and global service side,” Narayanan notes. “Our second facility, Northstar, looks to support storage and cash services. Finally, our state-of-the-art facility at Le FreePort in Singapore is used for the storage of precious metals and has industry-leading levels of security.
“While we leverage from the wider Brink’s Group, we have robust domestic operations here in Singapore to ensure we have both the global expertise and the local competitive advantage.”
Other market differentiators come in abundance, both as a consequence of the Company’s international reputation and its clear local capabilities, stemming all the way from pricing, to compliance levels, to customer collaboration.
Narayanan adds: “As an international Company we are able to bring in our technical knowhow and introduce technologies, while our experience in being a market leader is applied very well in the Singapore market. Beyond that, the brand name alone carries so much weight for us in the industry.”
Sustainable future
Brink’s’ goals for the next stage of its regional development will once again see a vigilant assessment of new potential market sectors making their mark across Southeast Asia.
Much in the same way that ATM solutions and financial management services have taken precedence in 2015, it is pharmaceuticals that Narayanan expects to take-off for the Company moving into 2016.
The Country Manager says: “We are always looking to diversify and expand in new areas and having seen the movements of pharmaceuticals across Europe and North America, we see Singapore as a hub for the sector, and an area we can really have a positive influence on.
“Similarly, in Malaysia and Indonesia, we will be looking into more security solutions; leveraging the good work we have done in addressing this big issue in Singapore to meet the same demand in these two countries.”
To facilitate such expansions, the Company will also embark upon a series of investments in its fleet of vehicles, as well as into its premises to ensure it can meet the demands put upon Brink’s, both internally and by its customers; all of which will gear the business up for further sustained success in the future.
Narayanan concludes: “We are fully committed to keep this region sustainable in terms of its growth. As a niche player we have many, many future opportunities to realise, and the foundations are in place to build a long-term, sustainable future.”
