ICS TRANSLINK BATS TO MOVE PHILS FORWARD

In the “new normal” that the COVID-19 pandemic has spawned, it is seldom we see of a voice that seeks to push the country, the Philippines, to greater heights from the vantage point of a business that has a crucial role in moving the nation forward.

And that encouraging voice comes from Ms. Margarita L. Santero, Business and Overseas Agency Development Director of ICS Translink (Phils) Inc. a logistics and freight forwarding company involved in the crucial import and export business and the cross trade cargo movement of fragile, valuable and general items.

Ms. Santero, who has seen it all in the ICS-Translink offices in the twenty years she had been with the company, nurtures a burning passion to make the Philippines benefit from this COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in a better chance now that every nation is starting from scratch.

The new normal, after all, offers the country a new way of doing business and for Ms. Santero it is now high time for the country to “explore selling Filipino made products to other countries,” an idea that has apparently germinated within the confines of her home during the quarantine “to find a deeper purpose in my work.”

“I would have to admit that I never stayed at home and enjoyed our home as much as I did in the past,” she prefaced in a question that The Financial District asked her about the lessons that COVID-19 has taught her. And then she mused about the way the country can move forward unravelling a deep desire to help the country having seen from her vantage point a possible way for the country to profit from the pandemic.

According to her, for every seven import papers they process, there are just three export papers and that trade imbalance speaks volumes about the need to earn extra foreign exchange that could be used to ensure a robust Philippine economy.

Margarita pines for a time when entrepreneurs from the Philippines are encouraged to make a go of the export potential of their local products that ICS Translink can give. “We can assist in encouraging entrepreneurs to open up their products to the world by giving them the confidence to do so through the services we offer,“ she added.

ICS Translink has the capability to make local entrepreneurs go beyond our shores. As a logistics and freight forwarding company it has two offices here, in Cebu and Manila, seven headquarters in the United States, 12 in China, two in Taipei and Canada and one in HongKong.

A cursory look at the locations of the ICS Translink offices reveal a business that takes care of moving cargo from point to point, whether by air or ship, with warehousing capability , documentation requirements and in managing the successful completion of technically challenging contracts.

The foreign headquarters of ICS Translink can provide the Filipino entrepreneurs the needed insight to make that dream transition for their products to go from malls to overseas destinations. In the US, the company has presence in Seattle, Los Angeles,  New York, Chicago, New Jersey, Dallas and Atlanta and in Canada it has offices in Vancouver and Toronto.

And this is what Margarita had in mind in making the company bridge that great divide that would morph peso earnings into precious foreign exchange for the entrepreneurs who would make that leap of faith, courtesy of ICS Translink.

Ms. Santero had that eureka moment during the lockdown periods which she put to good use in  learning new skills and brand new concepts, attending online courses and learning from webinars, and crafting that vision for reviving the economy of  the country – by helping entrepreneurs find a niche in the export market.

To a question propounded by marketing guru Ardee Urbina of TFD “ how do you wish to be remembered as a steward of your organization, “Margarita’s answer echoes that deep desire to be an instrument in making the country achieve a robust economy even during the pandemic.

“I would like to be remembered as one who has done her best to promote a gateway for small and medium business owners to not be afraid to explore selling Filipino made products to other countries,” she said, adding that these entrepreneurs can even go source from other countries to “create and manufacture that perfect product they have in mind.”

And for the entrepreneurs to achieve this defining angle to earn precious dollars for the country, Margarita offers the expertise of ICS Translink with this message: “The world is your oyster.”

Aside from pushing the envelope for the Philippines’ exports, Margarita, who earned a Masters in Entrepreneurship from the Asian Institute of Management, 15 years ago, is also hopeful that those in government and the private sector come up with a unified stand to promote the Philippines as an investment destination as part of revving up the economy.

The pandemic has led to so much unemployment and even the OFWs are being repatriated, said Margarita , who had wanted to become a journalist or broadcaster until she opted to a AB Interdisciplinary Studies at Ateneo de Manila University.

And for her, should the foreign investments materialize, she is batting for business hubs outside Metro Manila to address the issue of the rise in unemployment.

Meanwhile, she remains focused in her vision to make ICS Translink be of immense help for the country’s export sector, a rare kind of leader for a rare kind of feat. And to hear her voice is to be soothed in the afterglow of the quarantine ideas that swirled around as she looks at challenges on how to navigate in the new normal.

TFD doffs its hat to Ms. Santero.

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