Grantley Stephenson, chief executive officer and chairman of Kingston Wharves, presents Jean Hinds internal auditor at the SAJ with a prize after she successfully answered a question at the SAJ's Lunch and Learn Seminar on March 20. - Contributed
Globalisation has been described as one of the greatest threats to the socio-economic development of small island states such as Jamaica.
Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL), however, is not daunted by the challenges that accompany this globalisation phenomenon. Instead, the company has made some decisive and bold moves which are geared towards facilitating growth and continued development of the Port of Kingston.
Grantley Stephenson, chief executive officer and chairman of KWL, believes that the challenges of globalisation have propelled his company to benchmark higher, thus resulting in the company investing approximately J$3.5 billion in infrastructure and human capital development over the last four years. As part of its strategy to achieve growth and higher levels of productivity, the CEO highlighted the importance of complementing the use of technology with equipment acquisition, customer care and security. He also stressed the importance of people, who are to be viewed as the heart of any development process.
Speaking at the Shipping Association of Jamaica's first Lunch and Learn Seminar for 2008, which was held on Thursday, March 20, Stephenson emphasised the need to achieve international competitiveness which will aid in attracting new business and much-needed revenue for Jamaica.
He noted that through the adoption of several technological innovations such as the implementation of an e-payment system and the use of bar coding and electronic manifests to facilitate speedier transactions, KWL has made significant strides in achieving its mission of "... providing efficient, quality, courteous service ... to its customers, employees, stockholders and community."
World-class services
Despite its stance to provide world-class services to its customers, KWL recognises that there are still deficiencies in its system and so it has partnered with Customs Jamaica to formulate strategies that are intended to reduce the waiting time for customers who carry out business at the port.
In order to realise its vision of becoming the world's leading multi-purpose port operator and to combat the negative effects of globalisation, KWL has committed to expanding and improving its information technology facilities and to continue its investment in its human resources.
The horizons of KWL seem bright as it has been rated as the leading multi-purpose terminal in the English-speaking Caribbean and is the recipient of the Caribbean Shipping Association's Multi-purpose Port of the Year award for 2005 and 2006. Its subsidiary Harbour Cold Storage is ranked as the second-largest cold-storage facility in the region and its security arm, Security Administrators Limited, is the sole provider of security for the KWL Group.
