D.I. SCIENTIFIC: PANDEMIC IS NOT THEIR END GAME
Thriving in the industry throughout the year
By: Ashyiq Haqimi, Batrisyia Khaidar, Nur Syazween, Umi Fatehah & Suhana Rostam
D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd recorded a net profit of RM25,514 in fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) compared to a net loss of RM302,646 in the previous year as the company shifted to electronic commerce (e-commerce) in their business operation.
According to the financial year statement 2020, gross profit that the company earned in FY2020 was almost 2.5 times higher than gross profit earned in FY2019.
There are several reasons that lead to the comeback of the company that contributed to higher net profit in 2020, one of it is their very reliable managing director.
Mohd Din, 61, was a sales marketer under Bumi Sains Sdn Bhd in 1980. He began working for the company which is also a manufacturer and supplier of scientific goods.
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With ten years of experience working for manufacturing companies, he became interested in starting his own business in the field because his previous experience taught him how to understand the scope of work and where the market can distribute instruments, and he seized the opportunity to do so.
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Before upgrading to D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd, he started a small business called Dayatech Instrument, which is a trading company. At that time, there were only two employees on staff. One staff member who took care of the internal and he was working full time marketing outside and outstation.
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Mohd Din stated that for him, capital for business is important. At the beginning of the business, he honestly said that the capital was only on a small scale that is as much as RM20,000 obtained from the savings he saved while working.
Instead of only having a capital of RM20,000, he was able to generate a tender of about
RM1,000,000 from his business. Through the phase from small business grow larger to D.I. Scientific which now involves tenders from the government.
“My capital is not big but what is important in business is relationships. Starts with capital, then relationships, networks and customers,” he said.
D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd's revenue increases in 2020 compared to 2019.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
He said his large capital was his suppliers offering credit facilities. Credit facility is when a company does not have to issue capital when obtaining a large tender for example RM1,000,000 and above.
"Who wants to find that much money unless they need to borrow from the bank but the bank needs collateral," he added.
His other initiatives other than banks are supplier companies that trust him. According to Mohd Din, he said of course when running a business, trust is important.
Large capital when the tender exceeds RM1,000,000 and that is the advantage of credit where he does not have to think where to get capital but has to pay within a month for example.
During the interview, we asked Mohd Din if his firm has ever faced a financial crisis and how they resolved it.
“It is undeniable that we are affected, just like any other businesses. In a condition where we cannot go out of our house, playing our role to curb the virus, it is impossible to not get affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO)," he said.
"It is time for us to do something to keep on surviving," Mohd Din said.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
At first, D.I. Scientific is not that affected. Maybe just like us, they think that MCO is just temporary, just for a few months. So the company operated as usual, the staff also got paid as usual.
Six months passed by, the struggles started to kick in. Mohd Din had to cut off unnecessary spendings, and the staffs’ salary also had to be deducted.
“I had to deduct my staffs’ salary. I am so thankful that they all understand and respect my decision. Because we could not meet in person, I communicated with my team via an online platform.
"We need to be innovative and come up with new ways to increase sales. It is time for us to do something to keep on surviving,” he added.
They started working from home and ventured into e-commerce. D.I. Scientific had to pursue new clients online, unlike before MCO. They must approach clients since they will struggle to generate income if they do not.
The qualities of effective supervision
By: Ashyiq Haqimi, Batrisyia Khaidar, Nur Syazween, Umi Fatehah & Suhana Rostam
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D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd has been in the industry for years.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
D.I. Scientific has been practicing an open-management system to prevent their staff from overworking besides providing flexibility and comfort.
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According to Syazanadzira, 30, the Sales Executive of the company, D.I. Scientific starts its operating hour at 9AM and ends at 6PM just like any other business operation.
Syazanadzira, Sales Executive of D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
“We prioritize our staff’s health by making sure they do not work under pressure and
over-stressing about work. However, we expect our staff to not take this opportunity for granted by showing good performance in their work and complete every task given.
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“Of course, there will be times where we will eventually feel overwhelmed with compiling and stacking paperwork, but most of the time the stress is somehow bearable and doesn’t affect us as much, ” she added.
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Nadzira also stated that D.I. Scientific has been operating remotely ever since the first MCO was implemented last two years ago and they have been communicating with clients through online platforms such as Whatsapp, Skype and Google Meet regarding work matters.
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It is a better phase for them now as we are now allowed to go out as usual, where it is easier for Mohd Din and the team to go to their office in Kelana Jaya when needed or meet their clients for physical site visit.
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Mohd Din opined that customers are their assets. Therefore, to secure the loyalty of their customers, Mohd Din and the team have to maintain a good relationship with them.
The managing director also kept on stressing on how after-sales service is very crucial when they are managing a business.
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“We need to get back to the clients after selling any instrument to check up on its condition and requirement. Should there be any problems regarding the instrument, we will have to tackle it immediately.
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“Analytical and scientific equipment especially, require constant follow ups and back up services. Hence, we would always want our clients to receive not just good products, but also experience the best service,” he added.
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Personally, Mohd Din believes that being transparent to the clients is how you make sure they will consider your company against other options in the market in the upcoming times.
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The person-in-charge is explaining and briefing about the equipement to the clients.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
“We are very particular about our relationship with our customers. Mohd Din and I have been treating our customers like our own friends to gain their trust and loyalty.
"Most of our customers are always comfortable working with us,” Nadzira clarified how they make sure their company is the best among the rest.
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In 2020, the world was shocked with a new disease that was first found at Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province which was identified in November 2019, called Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID 19). Since the virus spread globally, resulting in the ongoing 2019-2020 pandemic.
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Concerns have changed from supply-side manufacturing challenges to decreased business in the services sector as the SARS-CoV-2 infection has spread around the world.
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The pandemic triggered the second-largest global recession in history, with more than a third of the world's population put under lockdown at the time. For D. I. Scientific, this pandemic surely became a setback for the company as they were unable to sell their products as usual.
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In order to adapt with the new norm, D. I. Scientific studies about how to sell their products through online business.
After they know what to do in online business, they give their heart and soul to offer a new breath for the company in the future. Through online business, they are able to survive during this pandemic.
True success requires efforts, sacrifice
By: Ashyiq Haqimi, Batrisyia Khaidar, Nur Syazween, Umi Fatehah & Suhana Rostam
The staffs of D.I. Scientific are having a meeting to make sure they only serve the best for the clients.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd is a well-known distributor of scientific instruments, apparatus, and chemicals in Malaysia, as well as a capable provider who can meet the most demanding needs.
As a result, they continue to serve their customers in this region, including Scientific Research and Development Centers, Universities, Testing Laboratories, and a variety of industries.
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For D.I. Scientific, their unique selling point is they sell a wide range of scientific instruments, chemicals, glassware, and various inorganic, organic, spectrometer, separation science, metallographic and optical equipment with providing them the manual on how to use the equipment, told them about the limitation of certain products.
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This is because they want to provide the best customer service as well as serve them with knowledge that the customer should know when using their product.
This is the main reason why most of their customers keep repeating buying their product as they provide the most tiptop customer service and are very friendly with the customers.
A discussion session between clients and staffs of D.I. Scientific.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
Every business has surely had their ups and downs throughout the operation and D.I. Scientific is not excluded. Ever since it was first established, they struggle a lot in finding potential clients, and marketing their products. The managing director himself still remembered his hardship when he was just starting the business till this day.
“I had to leave my pregnant wife to go looking for clients all over the states. Because, if I did not do that, how can my clients find me?
“I cannot expect that people will come and buy products from me without me promoting and just sitting at home. I have to find future clients, especially those who are from science industries," he added.
Other than that, D.I. Scientific almost fell into the red because of the pandemic that obviously affected everyone in the country. At that time, they need to think and react fast to turn their marketing and business differently from before in order to stay in the industry for a long time.
Since everyone is restricted to go out, they manage to observe that the trend in buying and marketing has moved to online. Therefore, they come up with a solution to changing their business to online to cater their clients’ needs and interests.
“In my view, D.I Scientific assuredly has successfully developed from years ago until now. It is never easy to stay in the business since it is very challenging, but with patience and commitment, we manage to do it," Mohd Din added.
Ameer Syazwan, Assistant Marketing and Sales of D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
Source: D.I. Scientific Sdn Bhd.
Before we ended our interview with them, the person in charge of marketing and sales, Ameer Syazwan also gave his advice for the future entrepreneurs and start-ups that are interested in starting a business in this industry.
“Once you start a business, you must really have patience because you can never be successful in just a day time. Business is not static as it always changes according to the trends and years. To be successful, sometimes, it takes up to 20-30 years,"he added.
In addition, even though people are already in the business industry for many years, they should never stop learning. Sometimes, for Mohd Din personally, he keeps on learning something new from his new clients and customers all over the states.
Since his clients consist of lecturers and experts in the industry, he more or less knows about the best equipment to use for certain experiments and the do’s and don’ts while handling it.
One last important piece of advice for future entrepreneurs that want to start a business in this industry is, they should always be frugal.
They need to keep in mind that they are start-ups, and not to spend their money on fancy offices and over-the-top marketing. To add, they need to maintain a low overhead and manage their cash flow effectively.
ROWLAND
VENTURE CAPITAL
BEHIND THIS PROJECT'S SUCCESS:
