Small, Medium or Large… size doesn’t matter at Swift Relo Hong Kong!
We caught up with Piya Narang, Managing Director (right), and Jon Boag, Sales Director (left) to find out the latest from this Hong Kong based moving business.
June 2021
Tell me about the company’s history and the key people in your organisation
This year, we’re celebrating our 11th year in business, and we’ve come a long way since 2010. When we started the business it was just the two of us, but today we have a team of 19 people, working across customer services, sales staff and operations. The two of us worked together in a previous company and so we have known each other for a lot longer, and many of the members of our team are also former colleagues so we have strong bonds, on both a professional and a personal level.
We’re a smaller company, and as co-owners, we’re both involved on a full-time basis in the day to day running of the business. The size of our operations means that we are agile and able to offer flexibility in the range of our services. We can make immediate decisions to support the needs of our clients and we offer a top quality, tailored service to each and every one of them.
We joined the Harmony Relocation in 2016 which has had a really positive effect on the business and we have formed close working bonds with other Harmony members. We’re also members of IAM.
What services does your organisation offer?
Our key focus is on the international moving market, providing household goods moves into and out of Hong Kong. What makes us different is that we don’t offer a single solution that clients have to ‘fit in to’. We offer full container loads (FCL), less than container loads (LCL) for clients with a smaller shipments, groupage, and baggage shipments, so we really can provide exactly what our clients need. We can ship anywhere but our key destinations are Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, the USA, and mainland Europe.
In addition, we offer domestic moves, and we have a climate controlled secure warehouse facility for storage of household goods.
We do a lot of work within the Harmony network. We work with many of the major RMCs, with direct corporate clients, but the bulk of the work we do is with private clients which is really important to us as we are able to establish direct, long lasting relationships with our clients, many of who move multiple times with us and recommend us to their friends and colleagues. The personal touch is still what is important in the moving business here in Hong Kong.
How has the Covid-19 situation affected your organisation?
We had big expectations for 2020. The ongoing protests that had blighted Hong Kong life during the previous year were slowing up. With some recent additions in our sales and customer services areas, we had a great team and it was also to be our 10-year anniversary. But then late January, COVID 19 happened! In the beginning, it was just mainland China and Hong Kong affected, and despite very low infection levels, 16 months later, our kids have only just gone back to full time school. Home schooling in a Hong Kong size apartment is not easy. Yet, from a business perspective it has actually been a strong time. The protests in Hong Kong and COVID 19 meant that a lot of expats decided that January 2020 was the time to move. This changed by the middle of 2020 as COVID 19 was out of control in many other countries whilst infection levels remained very low in Hong Kong, probably due to our more recent experience with managing SARS less than 20 years before (to date there have only been 11,833 cases of COVID and 210 deaths with a population of 7.5 million). This meant some clients held off moving as Hong Kong seemed a safer place to be. This didn’t last for long though, and the world is learning to live with COVID 19 and people are moving again, meaning that the last year has actually been a very busy time for us.
What is the household goods removals and relocation market like in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong has a population of around 350,000 expats, and many of them move in and out on two or three-year work contracts. In addition, since last year we have managed many moves from local residents relocating to the UK under the Hong Kong British National Overseas immigration route and this is expected to continue as the UK government estimates that around a quarter of a million visas will be granted under the scheme over the next five years. This has meant that the number of shipments we are managing going to the UK has increased dramatically in the last year, but this has been complicated by the global container shortage of course.
What makes you different from your competitors?
The size of our company means we can offer flexibility and a personalised service to each and every one of our clients and that makes a huge difference to their moving experience.
Is technology important in your business?
Yes. We’re currently investing in a new IT solution, Moveware. The system will enable us to better track and coordinate moves to enhance operations and deliver higher quality customer service. It will allow us to link in with other agents and Harmony members using the same system to manage moves more efficiently. We’re also implementing the Moby survey app to complement this. If the last year has proven anything, it’s that being able to work remotely is critical to the success of a business and we’re excited to be enhancing our digital capabilities in this way.
What is Swift Relo doing in terms of sustainability initiatives?
We’re really proud to be associated with a programme called EcoMatcher. For every client move, we offset some of the associated carbon emissions by planting a tree. It’s a really special programme where clients are able to track their tree using digital satellite maps, learn who is taking care of their tree in order for it to grow and survive, and they are informed of the benefits of the project to the surrounding community.
Of course, we also reuse or recycle all of the used packing material.
Tell me about some unusual moves that you have managed.
One of the biggest and most interesting moving projects that we have been involved in was supporting a British International School to set up here in Hong Kong. It was really important for the school that everything was truly British, so they shipped absolutely everything here from the UK… including classroom furniture, dustbins, and pencils! All together, we moved 20 x 40ft containers for the school, which involved bringing everything into our warehouse, cataloguing and storing, and then delivering each item as it was needed. Many of the larger relocation companies put in bids to support the school with the project, but the school chose us because they felt so comfortable with the personalised service that a smaller company could provide and we were really proud to be able to help them to make such a success of the project.
Does your company get involved in any charities?
In 2018, the sales team went on a 50km sponsored hike, setting off at 4am and finally reaching the end of the route, somewhat exhausted, at 5.30pm. They were really proud to have raised over HK$10,000 for the Samaritans.
We also get involved with other local events providing support and logistics where needed, and we have set up a number of ‘box mazes’ (mazes made out of used cartons!) for school and charity events which the kids have loved!
What do the team like to do in their free time?
We’re actually quite a talented team! Saini who is part of our customer services team is an aspiring singer and has filmed music videos in India and Hong Kong. Another member of the team, Christian, is a keen trail runner, and Loy is a piano player and composer!
Do the team like to socialise together?
Last year was the company’s 10th anniversary. Of course, the protests and COVID meant that we couldn’t have too lavish a celebration, but we hired a function room in a hotel, played socially distanced games together, and had a cake with ‘fragile’ boxes on it!
Contact- Swift Relo
T: + (852) 2363 4008 || E: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/swiftrelo-limited/
https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jon-boag-27474417/
https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/piya-narang-narang-978b2752/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwiftRelo-125327697511888
?Contact - Harmony Relocation Network
W: www.harmonyrelo.com || #harmonyrelo