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There is a moment every entrepreneur faces when conviction has to outweigh certainty. For Andy Poh, that moment came after several years with a Taiwanese container vessel operator.
Working in marketing, he managed relationships with some of the world’s largest multinational logistics companies, including DHL, DB Schenker and Kuehne+Nagel, as well as major manufacturers and trading businesses.
Every day, he watched freight move across borders. But he also saw something bigger taking shape. His job was to sell shipping capacity. His customers, however, were building integrated supply chains spanning transportation, warehousing, distribution and cross-border logistics.
“I couldn’t see myself doing the same thing every day,” Poh tells The CEO Magazine. “I like a challenge.”
“Logistics isn’t just moving goods from point A to point B. It’s about providing the full value chain and building an ecosystem.”
In 2008, he walked away from the security of a global shipping company to establish PAL Line. It was a decision driven as much by ambition as necessity.
Poh believed logistics was becoming increasingly interconnected, and businesses would eventually need partners capable of managing far more than freight forwarding alone. What he didn’t have was customers, capital or credibility.
“The first challenge is always cash flow,” he recalls. “When you’re new, the banks don’t recognize you because you don’t have a financial track record.”
Finding employees proved equally difficult.
“No-one wanted to join us because we were nobody,” Poh says.
Winning customers was harder still.
“We approached around 50 companies and almost every meeting ended with a ‘no,’” he admits.
Many founders would have interpreted those early setbacks as reasons to retreat. Poh saw them differently.
“If every customer says yes immediately, then business is too easy,” he says. “I always believed that sooner or later someone would give us a chance.”
The opportunity eventually arrived when one prospective customer became dissatisfied with an incumbent provider. PAL Line was given an opening. Poh’s vision from day one was clear: make service the thing that sets the company apart.
“I used sincerity, responsiveness and attention to detail,” he says.
The customer stayed. Others followed through referrals.
From handling approximately 200 containers a month during its early years, PAL Line today manages around 7,000 20-foot (six-meter) equivalent units each month, while offering integrated logistics solutions spanning sea, air and land freight, cross-border transportation, full container load and less than full container load consolidation, import and export customs clearance, out-of-gauge cargo and special equipment, hazardous materials and cold chain, last-mile delivery, warehousing supply chain distribution and ecommerce.
However, the expansion was never about adding services for the sake of growth, Poh says. It was about solving more of his customers’ challenges.
“Logistics isn’t just moving goods from point A to point B. It’s about providing the full value chain and building an ecosystem,” he explains.
This philosophy has shaped every major decision the business has made. Rather than remaining a traditional freight forwarder, Poh deliberately expanded PAL Line’s capabilities to give customers greater control across their supply chains.
In 2016, recognizing that freight forwarding alone would eventually become commoditized, the company purchased its first warehouse.
“The business was changing,” he says. “I could already see digitalization beginning.”
Two years later came the company’s own transport fleet, extending its control across road transportation and supply chain operations. Regional expansion soon followed, with operations established across Malaysia, Thailand and China to better support customers throughout Asia.
Each step created new challenges. Different local government regulations. Different languages. Different workplace cultures.
“You have to learn every market,” Poh says. “You can’t assume what works in Singapore will automatically work somewhere else.”
“Business owners need to sense what is changing, seize the opportunity and then transform.”
Rather than relying solely on formal experience, Poh immersed himself in conversations with industry leaders, learning directly from peers while simultaneously building the business.
“I forced myself to learn,” he says. “Business owners need to sense what is changing, seize the opportunity and then transform.”
That mindset proved invaluable long before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains.
In early 2019, PAL Line established a support operation in Malaysia and continued investing in cloud-based systems and digital processes.
When movement restrictions forced businesses to operate remotely in 2020, the company already had the infrastructure and workforce needed to remain accessible. Customers that had not previously worked with PAL Line began approaching the company for support.
As freight rates surged, annual revenue increased nearly 50 percent. Yet Poh viewed the period as more than a temporary commercial windfall. It confirmed the value of preparation, operational resilience and continuous investment.
“It reinforced why we always have to keep improving,” he says.
“We never reach a point where we say the business is doing well, so let’s stop changing.”
As the company has grown, Poh has remained focused on strengthening the ecosystem around the business.
Instead of spreading freight volumes across numerous providers, PAL Line concentrates its business with trusted partners, sharing its long-term strategy and inviting them into future opportunities.
“We tell our partners our goals, our road map and what we’re trying to achieve,” Poh says. “When they understand the vision, they’re willing to grow with us.”
Those relationships have become a competitive advantage in an industry where reliability often matters more than price.
“A good leader listens, provides guidance and creates opportunities for people to advance.”
Today, as customer expectations continue to evolve, Poh believes logistics is entering another period of transformation. Warehouses are becoming smarter. Automation is reducing repetitive manual work. AI is reshaping planning, forecasting and inventory management.
Rather than resisting those changes, PAL Line is investing heavily to stay ahead of them. Its warehouse footprint doubled in size last year and is already operating at around 90 percent capacity. The next stage is to increase productivity without simply increasing headcount.
Poh is currently exploring hybrid warehouse automation, robotics and RFID-enabled technologies that can streamline operations while reducing labor-intensive tasks. Alongside automation, PAL Line is upgrading its digital infrastructure.
“When your company reaches a different size, the system you’ve been using may no longer be relevant,” he acknowledges.
Yet despite his enthusiasm for technology, Poh is adamant that people remain PAL Line’s greatest investment.
“We want to invest in human capital,” he says.
Employees have already completed AI training courses, while younger team members receive coaching in communication, professionalism and workplace skills alongside technical development.
Poh also sees opportunity where others see uncertainty. While larger organizations reduce headcount, PAL Line continues recruiting, viewing periods of market disruption as opportunities to attract talented people who can help drive the next phase of growth.
That people-first philosophy also defines his leadership.
“I don’t call them my staff,” he says. “I see them as my colleagues and my friends.”
He also rejects the confrontational management style he has witnessed elsewhere, believing lasting businesses are built by listening rather than commanding.
“A business doesn’t grow because of one owner. It’s teamwork,” he says. “And a good leader listens, provides guidance and creates opportunities for people to advance.”
Nearly two decades after founding PAL Line, the entrepreneurial spirit that launched the business remains unchanged. And according to Poh, the company’s greatest achievement isn’t measured in container volumes, warehouse capacity or regional expansion.
It’s the ability to keep moving forward.
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