Wang Yuehua, director of the Damco Customer Service Center in Chengdu, said the site contributes about 80 percent of the group's logistics business in China.
"We completed the shift of our customer-service function from coastal cities to Chengdu in June. Though it was a very complicated migration process, by having the centralized customer center in Chengdu, we have gained a strategic advantage over our peers," she said.
Citing Nike Inc, one of Damco's major clients in China, she said the US company often reached out to Damco from its bases in eastern coastal cities of China to ship products to Europe, but had to speak to more than 10 Damco employees to complete the same process in different regions of China.
But after the centralization, customers need to make just one phone call, she said.
Making inroads into the domestic market is another major mission for the Chengdu branch, as many of Maersk's clients are clinching business deals in central and western China.
"There is a trend that our clients, such as Hewlett-Packard, are moving their manufacturing programs further inland or to Southeast Asia, which requires us to enhance the knowledge and business ties in the domestic market," Wang said.
The Chengdu site will also look to provide more value-added services, such as information and supply-chain management solutions, along with transportation services in China.
"Many of our international clients are impressed after a tour of our new facilities and are more than eager to work with us," Wang said.
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