Wah Sheng Motor Supply Co Pte Ltd (“Wah Sheng”) has been in the automotive industry for over 40 years, since 1977. It had recently undergone a business transformation under the stewardship of second-generation owner, Mr Kenny Pang. After garnering a decade of working experience, Kenny left the corporate world in 2021 with the intention to assist and take over the family business.
When Mr Kenny Pang joined the company in 2021, the business was still operating in a very conventional manner, unchanged, over the last 40 years. He knew that Wah Sheng needed to innovate and digitalise to keep up with the changing demands of the digital era, to improve business efficiency and most importantly, remain relevant and expand in an ever-evolving market.
Reflecting on the wisdom inherited from the first generation, Mr Kenny Pang acknowledges the invaluable expertise passed down through experience. However, such experience lacks formal documentation, leading to key man risks. He therefore introduced structured workflows, comprehensive documentation to preserve institutional knowledge to pave way for sustainable growth.
“The automative industry has its challenges, and it is even more challenging for Wah Sheng as the company’s job nature is relatively niche.”
Mr Kenny Pang further explained that many were unaware or simply couldn’t understand the nature of Wah Sheng’s business. He shared that,
“Whenever I try to explain that we do refurbishment for buses, I would always receive blank stares and I would need to take a long time explaining what it is we do here in Wah Sheng. In the end, I would just use phases like – instead of renovating a house, we renovate a bus. Many seem to understand this explanation much easily”.
As the work involved is very labour intensive, Mr Kenny Pang identified labour shortages and difficulties in attracting new and young talents to join as the key challenges faced. He shared that many still perceive this as a sunset industry with limited growth prospects and many local Singaporeans are not willing to the risk joining a small company, thinking there is no future growth within the company.
Despite the challenges and struggles, he remains positive and hopeful about Wah Sheng’s future and remains vested in leading the business into the future. He is therefore thrilled that he managed to clinch Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) first tender of refurbishment works. Out of 629 buses, Wah Sheng will be in charge of refurbishing 364 buses. The tender award showcased Wah Sheng’s potential and ability to remain competitive despite being a small company.
Looking ahead, Mr Kenny Pang wishes to expand and build the company’s credentials by expanding its services.
“We have been in the same field of work for the last 40 over years with the focus on the manufacturing and refurbishment of buses. Moving forward, we hope to continue to stay relevant and competitive. To innovate, to contribute creatively, to bring a more refreshing experience to commuters’ transportation journey.”
As the company embarks on an exhilarating new phase of success, Mr Kenny Pang extends a compelling invitation to ambitious professionals eager to contribute to Wah Sheng’s dynamic exploration and market expansion initiatives.