Zheng Shiping on growth
“Our challenge here is not that there are not enough customers. Our challenge is staying ahead of our customers’ needs. With TNT, we can do that now.”
“Embrace change”
Zheng Shiping is a man of contrasts. A former employee of a state-run enterprise, Shiping made a fairly seamless transition to the market economy, joining private transportation company Hoau and just a few years later achieving an impressive turnaround in the profitability of one of its business units. He describes himself as “a person of principle” who “respects authority, but also insists on independent thinking.”
As the fifth of eight children growing up in the northern China countryside, Shiping enjoyed the closeness of his big family. “My brothers and sisters and I all helped one another grow up,” he recalls. But after completing his university education, Shiping struck out on his own. He moved to [XX] province, some [XX] kilometres from his hometown to begin his career, a fairly uncommon practice at the time.
Over the years his work took him to several cities across China, and he rose through the ranks to the prestigious position of secretary. Then, in 1997, Shiping made the move to a private company, joining two-year-old Hoau as general manager of its Shanghai business unit. While he enjoyed his work in the crown jewel of the business—the unit accounted for about 25% of the company’s revenue at the time—he realised he could have a bigger impact someplace else, so he made an unprecedented move: He asked to be transferred to a smaller business unit.
He got the transfer, and management soon recognised his capacity to create change. In fact, that reputation won him the assignment to lead the company’s North China region, then its poorest performing unit, in 2005. In less than two years, Shiping turned the business around. In 2006, the unit ranked number one within Hoau both in terms of monthly revenue and the company’s annual performance review. In an economy that’s growing at near double-digit rates, achieving revenue targets is not the challenge, says Shiping. “Making sure the business runs well and that the growth is profitable is the challenge.”
Shiping believes joining TNT was right for Hoau and its employees. “TNT brings sophisticated technology support and international management expertise,” he says. And the move has given the people of Hoau a lot of confidence for the future. “They see there are more opportunities for them now. It was the right step in the right direction.”
As his own career has followed the evolution of the Chinese market from planned economy, to more open market, to global juggernaut, he’s also witnessed changes in the Chinese people. “Twenty years before Hoau was founded, people like me were very proud to work for state-owned enterprises,” he says. “When the market began opening, it became a source of pride to work for a multinational.” Today, says Shiping, all of Hoau’s 12,000 people are proud to be part of TNT. No two ways about it.