JOHOR PORT BERHAD WINS APQO INNOVATION CLASS AWARD 2019 – STAR CLASS

JOHOR BAHRU, 1 November 2019 – Johor Port Berhad (JPB), a member of MMC Group marked another milestone in its journey towards accelerating Innovation Excellence by earning the Star Class – the highest award tier – at the APQO Innovation Class Award (AIC) 2019 in Bali, Indonesia recently.

The highest accolade, the Star Class Award is awarded to Johor Port Berhad, the operator of Johor Port, an integrated multi-purpose facility in Pasir Gudang, Johor in recognition of its commitment to Innovation Excellence. To be even considered for an Award, stringent criteria must be met namely in the areas of Innovation Leadership / Innovation Strategy / Knowledge, Talent and Competency, Innovation Processes / Work Systems and Partners, Customer Co Creation and Engagement and Innovation Enabling and Success Measures and Outcome in which Johor Port Berhad has successfully demonstrated.

The Award is administered by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO) to recognise organisations who achieve a score of more than 60% and has KPIs and good performance reported with the APQO Innovation Class Award commencing 2019. The AIC award will be valid for three years after which a renewal process kicks in. APQO is an autonomous, scientific and technical organisation that brings together professional quality organisations from countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Malaysia.

“We are pleased to announce that nine role model organisations from five countries are being recognised for adopting a holistic approach in steering the organisation and making significant progress towards achieving key milestones on their innovation excellence journey. These organisations have demonstrated performance levels expected of the three categories of the APQO Innovation Class Awards namely Star, Gold and Silver,” said Harnek Singh, President, APQO and Chairman of Global Performance Excellence Award Governing Council.

The APQO Innovation Class Award 2019 was presented to KC Low, Head of Corporate Strategy and Business Development Division, Johor Port at the function held at Stones Hotel, Legian at Bali, Indonesia on behalf of Shahrull Allam Shah Abdul Halim, Chief Executive Officer of Johor Port Berhad. The award presentation was in conjunction with the 25th APQO International Conference.

JPB’s strengths in innovation excellence are highlighted by a systematic approach towards its Innovative Redevelopment Strategy. JPB has also rolled out several strategic approaches to ensure the sustainable development of the Port, innovative growth in new business markets and transform JPB into a highly motivated and financially strong organisation; with strategic approaches such as Growth Strategy, Infrastructure Strategy, Port Expansion Strategy, Business Expansion Strategy and Subsidiary Growth Strategy.

To demonstrate innovation excellence, JPB has taken the strategy to increase the Port’s throughput (volume) by capitalising on the continuous growth of Container traffic in South Johor especially from the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area and by positioning and promoting JPB as the “Load Centre” for cargo to/from East Malaysia. This strategy will strengthen JPB’s position as the Preferred Gateway for the south of Peninsular Malaysia and enhance JPB’s capabilities as a Regional Distribution Hub for global shippers – with a focus on Metals as well as Soft Commodities.

In addition to increase the Port’s throughput and to further sustain the business, JPB has expanded its business portfolio by diversifying from the traditional port business and ventured into areas to increase market presence, spread business risks and strengthen revenue. JPB is also expanding by leveraging on its existing expertise and experience through the establishment of Johor Port Skills Centre (JPSC) – a HRDF Approved Training Provider – in providing accredited (in-house and public) port related training, courses, workshops as well as consultancy services to the other Ports or Terminals around the region such as PELINDO IV (Indonesia) and PELINDO III (Indonesia).

“Today, innovation is a lifeline for almost every organisation to remain competitive. As the Premier Southern Gateway Multi-Purpose Port, JPB is the first Malaysian Port to win top honours for its commitment to Innovation Excellence at the internationallyrecognised awards event of its kind. This recognition proves the Port’s ability to demonstrate outstanding management capabilities while delivering innovation excellence,” said YBhg Dato’ Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, Chairman of Johor Port Berhad and Group Managing Director of MMC Corporation Berhad.

“This award is an honour for all of us at JPB and is a testament of our commitment to high standards of service quality to meet our customers’ needs. While the team is very encouraged by this, we continue to strengthen our innovation capabilities and create best solutions for our customers across the globe, consistently and relentlessly while striving to be among the top ports in the highly competitive ports and logistics sector.” he added.

Johor Port Berhad has garnered number of business awards including the Industry Excellence Award for service sector during the 2016 Anugerah Kecemerlangan Industri (AKI) Award Presentation Ceremony for industry excellence in applying the Malaysia’s Business Excellence Framework.

Johor Port Berhad has also recently clinched the Global Business Leadership Awards 2019 for Excellence in Port Facilities Management from the Asia Pacific Business Council for Sustainability and Institute of Sustainability and Excellence in Ports and Terminal Training/Education from the 2019 Global Ports Forum Awards. In 2018, Johor Port Berhad was awarded with Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA) – World Class from APQO and the Bulk Liquid Port/Terminal of The Year from the 2018 Global Ports Forum Awards. In 2017, Johor Port Berhad received the Bulk Liquid Port/Terminal of The Year from Global Ports Forum Awards and the Multi-Purpose Terminal Operator of the Year Award from the Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Best Practices Awards.