SM Supermalls, GSP launch Resbakuna Kids
SM Supermalls together with Girl Scouts of The Philippines launched Resbakuna Kids to vaccinate Girl Scouts (GSP) ages 5-17 and adult members for booster shots at SM Megamall’s Kids wonderland themed vaccination site. The event was attended by, from left to right, Rachel Queenie B. Dizon-Rodulfo, SAVP Mall Operations; Christian V. Mathay, AVP Operations Premier 2; Dr. Cesar Tutaan, medical director from Mandaluyong Medical Center; Usec. Myrna Cabotaje, DOH; Director Bettina Aquino, DepEd; Dr. Gloria Balboa, DOH regional director DOH; Dr. Nina Lim-Yuson, GSP national president; Mr. Joaquin San Agustin, SVP for Marketing SM Supermalls., continuously collaborating for the betterment of the country against the pandemic.
BDO is Bank of the Year
BDO Unibank won the Bank of the Year in the Philippines at the recently held Bank of the Year Awards 2021 of The Banker.
The London-based financial publication has commended the digital solutions deployed by BDO Unibank in 2021, stating the modernization prompted better customer service, increased resiliency, and enhanced cybersecurity.
The deployment of the digital solutions has allowed bank clients to open accounts online, make paperless in-branch transactions, and do card-less ATM banking using biometrics or QR Codes. They can now link together their BDO accounts in one mobile wallet called BDO Pay, and make online peer-to-peer and consumer transactions easier and faster.
The Banker said all these efforts allowed “(greater efficiency and) faster turnaround time on transactions as well as greater access to banking systems through an increased number of channels and touchpoints.”
It also lauded BDO’s continued efforts to cater to various customer segments, through the bespoke wealth management products of its subsidiaries: BDO Private Bank, BDO Trust and Investment, BDO Prime, and BDO Securities.
BDO president and CEO Nestor V. Tan added, “We will continue to broaden our market reach to improve customer access and strengthen our presence in underserved areas through BDO Network Bank’s branch expansion outside Metro Manila, complemented by our digital capabilities.”
This is the fourth time BDO received the Bank of the Year in the Philippines Award from The Banker. Previously, it held the title in 2013, 2017, and 2019.
ICTSI taps Rimini Street
Rimini Street Inc. , a global provider of enterprise software products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software products, and a Salesforce partner, announced that International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), has switched to Rimini Street’s award-winning software support services for SAP.
Rimini Street will support business-critical functions such as financials, treasury, asset tracking, equipment maintenance and repair that powers the entire sea freight business for the Philippines and other ICTSI-operated terminals.
By leveraging Rimini Street services, ICTSI will achieve 50 percent savings in annual support fees while enjoying an extraordinary client experience with improved service quality. The savings in both IT budget and resources will allow ICTSI to focus its resources and invest in transforming its SG&A processes, accelerating growth, and improving innovation, productivity and efficiency moving forward.
“Our existing ECC 6 platform has become a constraint, rather than an enabler for our business, with more and more initiatives that would drive efficiency and digital transformation either blocked, expensive, or requiring third-party add-on solutions. It is a legacy system, and, as such, it is vital that we minimize investment in it and divert that investment into preparing for a replacement that would again enable and transform our business,” said Brian Hibbert, ICSTI chief information officer.
“Process is always king. Preparing for a new ERP platform requires first reviewing our internal processes and data assets and ensuring that before we implement any new system, our processes and data requirements are driving that implementation,” added Hibbert.
Empowered women in the workplace
Empowering women in the workplace often results in better job performance and a stronger commitment to the organization. This has been proven at the Asticom Group of Companies, whose female leaders have contributed significantly to the continued growth and success of the shared services group.
This Women’s Month, Asticom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe, celebrates and acknowledges the impact of its female leaders in helping improve the lives of Filipinos.
Their wealth of expertise and experience has allowed the company to support businesses and create more opportunities for Filipinos.
At Asticom, women play a pivotal and central role, starting with Mharicar Castillo-Reyes at its helm as Group President and CEO. The group also boasts of several women occupying leadership positions across its different subsidiaries.
Among them are Mel Tecson, General Manager of Asti Business Services Inc. (ABSI) and Managing Director of HCX Technology Partners Inc.; Billie Sauco, Business Development Head of ABSI; Marites Domingo, Finance Head; Leah Reyes, HR Head of FINSI; and in Asticom Technology Inc., there’s Lailani Pableo, Client Services Manager in IT, Louie Umali, Finance Manager, and Gigi Trinidad, Billing and Collections Manager.
Many others hold supervisory and managerial positions in various departments and teams including IT, Marketing, Recruitment, Human Resources, Finance, Client Services, and Business Development.
Aside from promoting gender equality, Asticom prides itself as a company that continuously pushes for diversion and inclusion. The group makes a conscious effort to diversify its workforce.
Being a business that welcomes people of different genders, ethnicities, age, disabilities, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds, Asticom has achieved several milestones since its inception.
Isuzu PH to welcome new president
Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) will welcome a new president this quarter.
Hajime Koso, IPC’s longest serving president for seven years, will be succeeded by Noboru Murakami, a senior executive from Isuzu Motors Ltd.Japan (IML).
Under Koso’s leadership, IPC has seen numerous company milestone like its 300,000 sales milestone, the introduction of a new parts hub in Metro Manila that eased the delivery of parts to different dealerships nationwide, launch of the Isuzu Mobile Medic service, a strong Dealer Expansion program and a new Isuzu Outlet Standardization, to name a few.
Assigned to handle different markets under IML, Murakami brings with him years of experience and expertise in the truck industry, that will help solidify the company’s number one position in the Philippine truck market.
Kia dealership network expands
Kia Philippines broke ground on March 17 for its latest soon-to-rise Kia dealership, managed by Iconic Dealership Inc. (IDI) on Bacoor boulevard in Bacoor City, Cavite.
Kia Bacoor is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of this year. Upon completion, it will stand as a prime example of a dealership that offers the 3S’s: sales, services, and spare parts.
The Kia Bacoor branch will become IDI’s 5th dealership and Kia Philippines’ 43rd.
Protecting your data
Global security leader Forcepoint launched Forcepoint ONE, the industry’s first “easy button” for securing enterprises with hybrid workforces.
The Forcepoint ONE all-in-one cloud platform simplifies security for both traditional and remote workforces, allowing users to gain safe, controlled access to business information on the web, in the cloud and in private applications.
Forcepoint ONE, by leading user and data protection cybersecurity company Forcepoint, offers industry-leading security from a single console. Businesses and government agencies of all sizes find its security features simple and easy to use, beginning with understanding company needs and removing data security complexity so businesses can focus on their success.
Forcepoint ONE is built on a Zero Trust model, in which everything and everyone is verified inside and outside of the perimeter to keep attackers out and sensitive data in.
Forcepoint ONE addresses a major challenge in data security today, which is the rapid growth in the complexity of enterprise IT infrastructures. IT infrastructure is no longer restricted to desktop computers and servers. Instead, there is a clear growth in the adoption of multi-cloud services.
Forcepoint’s all-in-one approach allows one security policy to enforce rules and prevent unauthorized information access or sharing.
FWD appointments
FWD Life Insurance Corp. announced the appointment of Antonio Manuel De Rosas and Ken Lau, to the FWD board of directors who will sit as independent director and non-executive director, respectively.
The addition of De Rosas and Lau further strengthens FWD Life Insurance, with ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. leading the board of directors as chairman and Li Hao Zhuang as president and CEO.
De Rosas brings with him over 35 years of experience in insurance, banking and public accounting. He is a certified information systems auditor and the first Filipino to be given the Chartered Global Management Accountant title in the Philippines. Lau has 30 years industry experience in the region holding senior management positions. He joined FWD back in 2018 spearheading technology-driven and customer-led strategy in Hong Kong and Macau.
Converge Business sustains growth
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is seeing a turnaround in its enterprise business, owing to the recovery of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the country as the economy gradually reopens.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Converge saw a 90 percent year-on-year revenue growth in its SME segment as its subscriber count almost tripled. In its Q4 / FY 2021 financial and operating results update, Converge reported its subscriber base of SMEs to have grown from 7,000 businesses at year end 2020 to around 22,000 as of year end 2021.
For 2022, Converge is seeing at least a 20 percent revenue growth in the Converge Business segment.
The Converge Business segment – comprising SMEs, large corporations, government-owned companies and agencies, and the wholesale market – grew by 10.7 percent year-on-year.
Enterprise revenues contributed around 13 percent to total consolidated revenues.
As part of its efforts to capture more SME customers, Converge launched the FlexiBIZ, a unique, first-in-the-market product catering to the connectivity needs of the sector.
