This year, we’re running a series of profiles on Cathay Cargo team members who epitomise the We Know How ethos. To start things off, we spoke to Cherry Wong, Cargo Operations Centre (COC) Manager Services, Planning and Development, about how she helped introduce the Air-Land Fresh Lane, and how past experience as cabin crew sharpens her desire to meet and exceed customer expectations.

How long have you worked for Cathay Cargo?

Since May 2019. At that time, I was on the Operational Leadership Training programme, but I’d already spent two and a half years as Cathay cabin crew. So I was already familiar with the operations stream. This programme gave me the chance to rotate through different operational departments, and eventually I had the opportunity to join Cathay Cargo.

Being ex-cabin crew you understand customer expectations – how do you bring that to your role?

Even though cabin crew are more B2C, and cargo is more B2B, these days we’re becoming more B2C. We don’t always have the chance to talk to customers directly, but working in the Cargo Operations Centre at the Cathay Cargo Terminal in Hong Kong gives me the chance to liaise with agents. Sometimes they contact us directly, as well as the Hong Kong sales team. Cathay Pacific’s cabin crew are professional and caring, and we bring the same level of care and professionalism to our cargo operations, which is our We Know How philosophy.

Tell me about your roles and responsibilities

As my title suggests, I focus on planning and development. Day to day, that means resource planning – what our operations team needs tomorrow or for the year ahead – while considering how new processes and projects can improve efficiency. I also look at how to manage the team as we implement new strategies or solutions. In the past few years, that’s meant working on digitalisation projects such as the Cargo Connect app, which has unified many operational processes and simplified them into a single hand-held device for our frontline teams. We see our frontline people as customers too. The app was designed with usability in mind, and we collect feedback so that we can continuously improve it new in each new iteration.

You were also instrumental in the roll-out of the Air-Land Fresh Lane (ALFL)

The Air-Land Fresh Lane (ALFL) is a scheme established with the local government in Guangdong and the Hong Kong SAR. For us it’s part of CBX, our cross-border trucking service, and part of our wider intermodal connectivity with the Greater Bay Area (GBA). It’s the biggest project I’ve worked on recently. We’re also partnering with Customs authorities across the GBA to increase the number of entry points for perishables using the ALFL, while reducing administrative requirements for customers, as we’ve done with the through air waybill, transhipment certificate to get to the cold-chain customs inspection facility in Zhuhai. The motive very much has the customer in mind. Time is critical with perishables, and we want to ensure that cherries, for example, arrive as fresh and crunchy as they leave the tree. The ALFL minimises delays where quality could be affected, so that the producer’s work and the buyer’s efforts are rewarded. At the same time, we’re exploring ways to expand the types of cargo we can accept from the GBA for transit through Hong Kong. At present, we only accept general cargo, but we’re working on broadening that scope.

What do you like most about the job?

It’s dynamic and challenging, with so many things happening. Every day is different. We’ve had numerous projects, and now we’re focusing on AI and digitalisation to see how they can support our operations. Basically, it never stops.

What attracted you to work in cargo?

Before I joined Cathay Cargo, people told me it would be a male world. But if you can show that you have the ability, that you’re competent and that you can support the team, then it works out well. There’s this perception that working in Cargo is physical, but actually we’re the brains of the operation, designing projects or solutions for the warehouse team to execute. Having men and women on the team also brings fresh perceptions and enables us to be more empathetic and think more from a customer standpoint.

Walk us through a typical day in Cargo

There aren’t many, but each morning I check resourcing to ensure we have enough people. We also receive a daily operations report, and even though I’m in the development team, I need to see if anything affects my team because I also oversee IT-related issues. If there’s a system, customer or compliance issue, then I follow up with the relevant parties. These checks are built into my daily routine.

What compliance issues might there be?

Last year, we worked on a project called Enhanced Lithium Battery Screening, so we need to ensure agents are complying. Safety is at the heart of what we do, and we don’t want any undeclared, misdeclared or mislabelled dangerous goods (DG) shipments to slip through. As an industry leader in this regard, we have to consider safety first but at the same time, we need to consider the customer perspective, to enure the restrictions are reasonable, because compliance must be achievable, and we want to work together with customers on this issue.

What part of the job do you find most rewarding?

It’s rewarding whenever a new initiative that I’ve worked on is introduced smoothly, and when the team or customers are happy with it. There’s nothing more satisfying than your hard work being recognised.