With 10 years as a top performer at Fusion Worldwide under her belt, Mavis Ong has had a front row seat to the expansive growth and opportunity that the company affords its employees. Achieving President’s Club for 10 consecutive years and continuously breaking personal records, Mavis continues to thrive as a Finished Goods Regional Commodity Manager at Fusion’s Singapore office, leading her team in staying one step ahead of the competition. Below, Mavis explains why her experience at a global company like Fusion is truly unique.
Q: How long have you been with Fusion?
A: I joined Fusion in 2007 as a Finished Goods Buyer and am currently enjoying my 10th year with the company.
Q. What does a day in the life of a Finished Goods Regional Commodity Manager at Fusion look like?
A: While there is a specific structure to my days, no two days are alike. I wear many hats as regional commodity manager and enjoy every bit of the action that comes along with the role, including ensuring that the team understands every aspect of the product as well as use cases and researching competitors to stay current with how the market is evolving. A big part of the job is juggling multiple streams of conversation and moving them towards resolution and closure. Overall, the key to execution in this role is to never stop researching, learning and communicating. Other typical duties include setting target pricing, approving purchase orders and writing reports.
Q: What were you doing before you took on your current role? What brought on the change?
A: Prior to Fusion, I served as Senior Product Manager of Hard Drives at a franchised distributor. That position certainly helped prepare me for my future roles at Fusion. Since joining Fusion, I have gained invaluable experience and knowledge during my tenure as a buyer. More recently, I have felt as though I am ready for another stage in my career and a new challenge. My desire to grow and evolve in this field has allowed me to transfer my skills and experiences to my current role, helping to lead the team and meet goals.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about working out of Fusion’s Singapore office?
A: I enjoy sharing ideas with the team. In this role, open communication becomes second nature and everyone feels equally invested in the company’s overall goals.
Q: What is the biggest challenge that you face working at a global company like Fusion, and what’s the greatest opportunity?
A: The biggest challenge for me is working with team members who have different native tongues as I always want to make sure that key messages don’t get lost in translation. Luckily, everyone at Fusion is very buttoned up, with a thorough understanding of what it takes to be excellent communicators. A great company culture depends on constant interaction and team bonding amongst employees which we take very seriously at Fusion. Working with a diverse group of people also has been instrumental in getting my creative juices flowing and opening my mind to new ideas. This company promotes self-development and offers various opportunities to learn that go beyond the day-to-day. While at Fusion, I’ve been encouraged to develop myself professionally and to share my knowledge with team members globally.
Q: How have you seen the company evolve since you first started?
A: In my 10 years at Fusion, I have seen the company grow in every possible area. We’ve expanded offices and logistics globally, allowing the company to continually increase its workforce. Fusion continues to break sales records annually and develop new strategic partnerships in both sales and purchasing.
Q: What are some of your career milestones/accomplishments?
A: During my tenure at Fusion, I’ve been able to capitalize on my industry know-how to successfully capture supply during extreme shortage periods, grabbing every opportunity for competitive advantage. I’ve achieved President’s Club for 10 consecutive years and continuously beat personal records. My goal is always to achieve more tomorrow than I did today.
Q: Anything else to add about the company and how they’ve developed your career?
A: There are countless opportunities for growth at Fusion. In my opinion, it is what you do with that opportunity which will lead to the development of your career. The company is expanding, offering employees ample opportunity to grow at a rapid pace. There are many exciting challenges and so much more that I hope to accomplish while here. Having built up a broad range of experience, I find that I have become more proactive in my role and adept at handling difficult situations.
Q: In your mind, what sets Fusion apart from other distributors?
A: Aside from great facilities and a great reputation, Fusion stands out because of the company’s great people. Together, all of the diverse personalities create a powerful team that is confident, hard-working and strategic in capturing opportunities and finding solutions.
Q: What’s one thing you wish people knew about your job?
A: Working hard is not a sacrifice as long as you achieve your ultimate objective.