A Woman’s Driving Force
MeGroup’s Carol Wong is staking her rightful claim in Malaysian automotive enterprise
One may find it hard to believe that Carol Wong was once disinterested in anything automobile-related when she was growing up, especially since she’s the daughter of Cheong Chee Wong, the co-founder of car carpet giant, Paragon Union Berhad. The current Executive Director of Malaysia-based automotive company MeGroup is now pushing her 20th year in the industry. She credits her father’s sage advice that drew her into the game.
“My father told me that the automotive trade is one of the most stable sectors in the world, let alone in Malaysia,” Wong recalls. “He also taught me how to lead and manage the business well so I could harness its limitless growth potential.”
Wong never looked back since then. Today, she supervises MeGroup’s overall manufacturing business operations, including overseeing the Group’s human resources, purchasing, and procurement departments. On top of those, Wong is responsible for its supply chain strategy.
“Manufacturing and dealership are our primary segments, and they cater to both carmakers and retail consumers,” Wong explains of MeGroup’s business model. “On the manufacturing side, we focus on producing products with better noise, vibration, and harshness via innovation and our internal research and development testing.” She adds that these initiatives improve enduser experience because they increase cabin comfort to the driver and passengers.
Wong says that they provide quality services to their customers on the dealership front, from assisting them in car selection or bringing their vehicles in for after-sales servicing. “Customers all want the same things: Quality products, cost savings, prompt delivery, and top-notch services,” Wong says.
Into the Future
If there’s anything that Wong learned about the automotive industry in the past decade, it’s to learn and explore continuously. With new production methods being innovated, she believes that the trade’s ever-evolving technological advances have made the automobile sector still an exciting scene to be in. “Never be afraid to consult and ask,” Wong advises. “It is the reason why we constantly keep ourselves updated with the industry’s latest trends.”
When Wong started at MeGroup, she felt that the manufacturing processes were too labor-intensive and not cost-efficient. “These observations led me to introduce machinery automation in our manufacturing lines, thereby increasing product quality and cost efficiencies,” she shares.
Currently, the Group is aligning its efforts towards digitization. “One of the strategies we recently implemented was to utilize enterprise resource planning, which helps streamline work processes through business application tools. For modernization to fully take place, I believe that everyone in an organization has to be on board and be receptive to forward-thinking ideas related to digitalization.”
Family Values
While MeGroup believes in adapting to modernization and technology, Wong says that they still uphold the company founders’ practices, values, and beliefs. “We still conduct physical morning meetings,” she shares. “But we also leverage on the convenience of our mobile phones and various messaging apps for faster communication.”
Wong also says that the Group has always been about respecting each other and everyone they work with, whether they are partners, suppliers, customers, or colleagues. “Our working team is very much like a family – we laugh at the good times, ride out the tough ones, and enjoy the fruits of our labor together. Close-knit bonds and alignment of interests will help a business in terms of sustainability and growth.”
But no matter how stable and robust like most companies in Malaysia, MeGroup took a hit revenue-wise during the height of the pandemic last year. For one, they had to close their manufacturing houses and dealership outlets for almost a month. Secondly, there were little to no yields during the lockdown period. Despite these business roadblocks, Wong says that these did not stop them from using the forced downtime to develop new strategies to boost sales online.
“Yes, we were affected by the loss and decrease of sales,” Wong confirms. “But we are grateful to remain at a profitable level last fiscal year.” When asked about how she coped with the difficulties thrown her way, Wong says that she views them as mere challenges to overcome. “I learned everything about the business from scratch and have been very hands-on from the ground up,” Wong explains as to where she got her problem-solving skills.
One of the most formidable obstacles Wong had to conquer as the new player at MeGroup was that she was the only woman in a male-dominated manufacturing plant. Thus, she had to work twice as hard to earn her colleagues’ trust — not as a daughter of the company’s CEO, but as a valuable team player who can deliver excellent results.
“I’m proud to say that I am now truly part of a team where all of us work incredibly well together,” Wong reports beaming. “These individuals have been in the company when I first started working here, and they are the same people who have been with me through thick and thin.”
Loyalty and Sustainability
Part of a business’s success is the clients’ loyalty towards a brand’s product and service. For Wong, MeGroup’s client and people management style remains their best asset because it focuses on providing quality products and top-notch services to maintain customer trust.
“We will re-invest our efforts to perform research and development on our existing materials because this will allow us to improve further and innovate our products,” Wong says. “Also, we’re looking at introducing more machinery automation to increase production efficiency.”
Besides streamlining production processes, Wong shares that MeGroup has been taking steps to become a greener organization. The company has started using solar energy to reduce its electrical consumption. It’s also a bid to reduce overhead costs. “We are always on the lookout for other opportunities to expand the Group’s revenue stream,” Wong concludes.