Right after joining the company, exports to his home country Sri Lanka dropped drastically! Using difficulties to grow and acquire a wide range of skills.

Profile of Randika Sedara, Overseas Business Section, Overseas Business Department

After graduating from high school in Sri Lanka, he came to Japan and studied intensive Japanese at Beppu University, and he graduated from the International Business Information College in Utsunomiya. After working as a front desk manager at a Sri Lankan hotel, he joined Sync Logistics in November 2019. Currently, he is in charge of the operations, sales, and marketing of used car exports to Mauritius.

Wanting to Work with Cars in Japan

I am from Sri Lanka. My father was an importer of Japanese cars, and also because I had relatives living in Japan, I have felt an affinity with Japan since I was a child. I’ve also liked cars since I was little. Because I thought of doing business related to cars, after graduating high school in Sri Lanka, I studied intensive Japanese at Beppu University. I also went to a vocational school in Utsunomiya where I studied Japanese and business.

After my studies, I worked at a Japanese company dealing with used trucks, and I also worked as a front desk manager in Sri Lanka. I also worked as an interpreter. While working at the hotel, I married a Japanese colleague and we returned to Japan when our child was about to be born.

In the beginning, I thought of working at a used truck sales company again, but coincidentally, a friend of my wife was working at Sync Logistics. He said, “If you’re interested in cars, how about working with us?” He was Mr. Shinchi, my current boss at the company.

At first, I didn’t know what kind of a company Sync Logistics was, but when I looked at their website, I saw that they export cars so I wanted to work there. I immediately interviewed with Mr. Shinchi and the president Mr. Ichiki, and decided to join the company.

Learning the Basics of Trade at a Local Agency and at a School in Sri Lanka

Before I joined the company, I spent about 3 months at a local agency in Sri Lanka learning about shipping from scratch. I learned things like customs clearance after a car arrives in Sri Lanka, the flow of money, etc. A lot of my work was checking the bills of landing prepared in Japan.

Also, as suggested by the president of the local agency and Mr. Shinchi, I went to a local private school during the weekends for six months to learn about the basics of trade.

After learning the basics of trade practices, I joined Sync Logistics and I was assigned to the Sri Lanka team in the Overseas Business Department where I was put in charge of sales and marketing. My main tasks were selling and marketing Sync Logistics’ services (comprehensive consignment services of used cars including transport, shipping, inspection, and customs procedures) to customers who export used cars from Japan to Sri Lanka.

The work was completely different from what I did at the local agency so it was very hard at first. That’s because when I’m proposing the best transport plan when I’m talking to customers, I need to have all the deadlines for submitting documents for each shipping company, cargo shipping deadlines, inspection company appointment deadlines, etc. memorized. I studied a lot and learned things little by little from Mr, Shinchi, the people around me, and people at our partner companies.

Exports to Sri Lanka Dropped Drastically, and Suddenly Put in Charge of Exports to Mauritius

Four months after joining the company and just as I got used to the job, the pandemic happened, and the Sri Lankan government stopped used car imports so we couldn’t export used cars to Sri Lanka.

At the time, I thought exports would resume in a month, but the situation continued and there were no signs of resumption for the foreseeable future. I haven’t done non-Sri Lanka-related work so it was tough because I didn’t know what to do.

We had to give up exporting to Sri Lanka, so Sync Logistics decided to strengthen operations in other countries such as Mauritius. Like Sri Lanka, Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean. Because there are many Sri Lankans in Japan exporting used cars to Mauritius, I was put in charge of our Mauritius operations.

The Joy when a Proposed Container Plan Goes Well

When I was first put in charge of Mauritius, I mainly did operations tasks such as arranging for ships to transport used cars and preparing documents for customs clearance. However, it was difficult because the way used cars are transported to Mauritius and the format of customs documents were completely different from that of Sri Lanka’s.

Transport methods for used cars differ depending on the destination country. For cars exported to Sri Lanka, the method is roll-on/roll-off (RORO) where vehicles are loaded on a dedicated ship one by one. For Mauritius, the main method is vanning where multiple vehicles are loaded onto a container, and the container is loaded on a container ship. Transporting by container requires us to propose a container plan in order to pack vehicles efficiently. Also, the deadlines of pre-export inspections and customs clearance documents differ from those of RORO, so I had to relearn many things.

At first, I had a very hard time proposing container plans, but I am slowly getting used to it. When the plan I propose goes well, I’m very happy.

I also go out on sales calls to pitch to companies that export used cars to Mauritius. At first, I went with my boss Mr. Shinchi to learn how to negotiate, but eventually I could go by myself. I am often contacted by customers directly, and I consult with other team members on operational procedures for each customer request.

Growing because of Difficulties

There are three non-Japanese employees in the Kawasaki office, and we communicate in Japanese. In a good way, Sync Logistics is not like a typical Japanese company, and the work environment is very foreigner-friendly. I also get along with my Japanese colleagues very well.

The company is also very good at adopting new tools and systems including IT, and its flexible approaches are a big draw.

During my first year and several months in the company, I faced several difficulties. But because my job is car-related which I like, and because I had the support of the people around me, I was able to overcome them.

Also, it is precisely because of those difficulties that I was able to grow. If exports to Sri Lanka resumed immediately, I’d still be doing the same job. Being in charge of our Mauritius operations, I was able to learn new things and broaden my skills. Having said that, I’m not there yet though, but I have gained a little confidence.

I look forward to working with all of you at Sync Logistics.