Add CategoryEarlier this year, we launched our first Rising Stars of Retail report in the May issue of Inside Retail Australia’s quarterly magazine, a special feature highlighting some of the great under-the-radar talent in the industry from a wide range of departments. Each week, we will publish interviews with the inspiring people listed in the feature, where they reveal what motivates them, the work that they’re most proud of and the challenges that they’ve overcome. This week, we chat wi
with Szemei Ng, senior product manager for fulfilment at Amazon Australia. Inside Retail: What was it like making the leap from law to retail and why did you decide to make that change? Szemei Ng: The biggest reason for switching from law to retail was that I wanted a role that would involve direct contact and impact on the end customer. Every person can relate to retail. I wanted to do something business related and work in a more customer orientated space that delivered something tangible to the daily lives of people. It was a tough decision and even harder to convince new employers without previous experience in the industry. However, as I transferred over, I soon learnt how key skills I had learnt as a lawyer carried over. IR: What are some of the initiatives in your company that you’ve led that you’re most proud of? SN: One of the key initiatives that I have led and that I am most proud of would have to be launching the Fulfilment by Amazon exports program last year. It allowed our New Zealand customers to purchase products sold by third-party selling partners directly from the Australian website. If a seller has inventory in our fulfilment centre, Amazon delivers those orders to customers in NZ in the same way as they do to an Australian customer, with no additional costs to the seller. Amazon takes care of the sellers’ customs clearance, customer service and returns, which is often the biggest pain point for our sellers who are international. This was a huge and complex undertaking which was really rewarding when we saw it come to fruition. I’ve also rolled out a number of inventory health related features on our seller portal including the Inventory Performance Index, which is a metric that helps our selling partners manage their overall inventory management and efficiency over time. Another product is the Manage Inventory Health dashboard and report, which helps our selling partners manage their stock levels, identifies aged and excess inventory, as well as provides recommendations to guide our sellers on what actions they can take to optimise their inventory levels. These types of features have become more important to selling partners in the past couple of years, given the supply chain disruption due to COVID-19. IR: As you would know, there have been a lot of major supply chain issues lately. What’s it been like to solve those problems and what are some of the skills that you’ve developed as a result? SN: It has been a challenging time for a lot of companies and individuals and has raised interesting logistics problems, including how to manage the unexpected surge in demand from customers moving online, the increased cost of shipping, in addition to the constraints on logistics networks due to isolation protocols. These were all unforeseen problems a few years ago and all businesses were in uncharted territory in dealing with these. Over this period, I have honed my ability to deal with ambiguity and make quick decisions. I had to become more flexible, adaptable, and creative during this period to produce out-of-the-box solutions to address business issues and respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. IR: What are some of the interesting challenges that you’ve overcome during your career and what were the lessons you learnt from them? SN: From a personal perspective, it has been a tough journey moving from law into business development and strategy, and then into product. Although it was a steep learning curve as I took on each new role, I’m grateful for every opportunity as I discovered the value of learning on the job. This mentality helped me to quickly upskill in the areas I needed to so that I could get the job done. I also learnt how important it is to keep asking questions and not be afraid of appearing not smart enough for the job, because you only learn by asking those questions. For me, it has continued the cycle of learning which has been crucial, as I’ve found that all the insights and knowledge that I gained in one role have helped me in future roles even if I didn’t realise it at the time. IR: Fulfilment is not always seen as the most sexy side of retail, but what are some of the things about your role/sector that people don’t realise? SN: Fulfilment isn’t typically seen as the most glamorous side of retail, however it is really one of the most critical. It’s at the heart of every business selling physical products, as being able to effectively manage the supply chain and get products to a physical store, or to the end customer buying online, is pivotal. My role touches upon so many different facets of fulfilment, covering transportation, logistics, streamlining supply chain workflows, capacity planning, inventory management, health for our selling partners and defect reduction. Not only does it have a far-reaching scope, it’s also an interesting space to learn about and be a part of because it’s constantly changing. The fulfilment space is getting ‘sexier’ with the amazing tech developments we’re seeing. I’m fascinated to watch the Auto SLAM machines at our fulfilment centres. These machines instantly scan packages and measure their weight to ensure the correct items are within the package and simultaneously identifies and labels where it is to be shipped to. More recently at our new fulfilment centre in Western Sydney, we have enabled robotics technology to move products across the floor with such efficiency. I think it is incredible and exciting to see that sort of innovation in this space and I don’t think we would have necessarily seen that 10 to 15 years ago. IR: What is the best career advice that you’ve ever received? SN: Take risks and fail fast. It’s advice I received later in my career, but one I wish I had received earlier. It’s important to know that when taking risks, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll turn out well, or how you might want or expect. The first job I took after leaving law was at a U.S. start-up, which was launching in Asia Pacific. I was only in that role for a few months before they had to shut down their entire Australian operations. At the time it was a huge blow. However, I learnt so much in my short time there and it acted as a steppingstone to take on all my subsequent roles. That is why I stand by the ‘take risks and fail fast’ mentality because even though it might not feel good at the time, looking back you’ll see how those experiences have shaped, grown and developed you, as well as taught you resilience, which is essential in today’s climate. Never stop learning, is another piece of advice I would give. As I’ve moved from to job to job, I have found that in every role I have constantly been learning new skills, and industry expertise. Each time you learn something, it will carry through to all your roles. To get ahead and succeed, we can’t become complacent. It’s important that we continue the quest for being curious, learning and developing existing skills.