Sands China ‘leading force’ for local firm’s growth

A local SME that supplies vegetables to Sands China Ltd. has noted that the gaming operator has become the leading force for the company’s growth, expressing that its cooperation has improved the company’s scale and management ability.
Chong San (Macau) Vegetable & Fruit Ltd began partnering with Sands China as a supplier of vegetables soon after the opening of Sands Macao.
Founded in 2005, the local SME is now cooperating with Dong Sheng Farm in Panyu in mainland China, specializing in growing organic vegetables and fruits.
The farm has enabled the company to form a one-stop supply chain as it also caters to the different specific fruit and vegetable needs of different companies.
Company representative Lisa Liu said that the cooperation between the two parties has also increased the company’s business confidence, and she expressed gratitude for the significant support given to them by the gaming operator.
For Liu, Sands China has also extended its support to them by offering suggestions that could better enhance their service to reach a wider market.
“In order to meet the needs of customers, we adopted Sands China’s suggestion to add two refrigerated trucks for vegetable delivery. Since then, the company gradually grew in size,” said Liu.
“Now we have the opportunity in the Greater Bay Area to cooperate with Dong Sheng Farm to grow organic vegetables and fruits – mainly Chinese cabbage, tomatoes and green beans, among others,” she added.
By scanning QR codes, the SME is able to obtain the planting information for the vegetables and fruits, including the condition of the organic planting, harvest, and water quality, among others, providing convenient real-time tracking.
Following the start of its cooperation with Sands China, Liu said that additional refrigerated trucks have been added, and the number of employees has grown from four at the beginning to 25 at present.
“The site has grown from a few hundred feet to thousands of feet, with thousands of feet of cold storage as well. At present, there are more than 100 mu (6.7 hectares) of farmland and a more than 40-mu (2.7-hectare) processing plant in mainland China, with about 200 underprivileged people specially employed,” Liu said.
“Everything is attributed to the leadership of Sands China,” she noted.
Liu has also expressed her appreciation towards Sands China, as Chong San has benefitted from Sands China’s goal of prioritizing local SMEs when acquiring products and services.
Sands China has been investing back into the community it serves to help it thrive and grow for over a decade, contributing to the development of local enterprises along the way.
For Sands China, it is important that it continues its long-standing effort to support local suppliers, whom it views as strategic partners.
“Sands China takes great care of SMEs,” said one company representative.
For Liu, Sands China is specially equipped with a procurement software system that shows the order quantity and provides simple and clear processing on the platform.
For many traditional SMEs, although they need to adapt to using digital systems at first, thanks to the detailed explanation from team members at Sands China, it becomes easier for them to operate and the digital platform has further facilitated transactions between the two parties.
Meanwhile, Sands China has attached great importance to food safety and quality.
With the ability to provide the relevant certificates of conformity for agricultural products, and to actively satisfy customer requirements, Chong San Vegetable & Fruit Ltd is considered by the gaming operator as a significant business partner.
“Sands China places great importance on health and environmental protection, and the vegetables supplied by Chong San have Green Label Certification, thus increasing the confidence in and guarantee of their vegetables,” a procurement department representative said.
“We are happy about our partnership. Chong San actively provides quotations to meet the requirements of customers. Whether it is different-sized or seasonal vegetables, or agricultural products that are difficult to find, Chong San tries its best to meet our needs,” the department representative added.
Meanwhile, due to the current pandemic, the majority of local businesses have suffered from great losses.
Therefore, Sands China took the initiative to inquire about the situation of SMEs and continued to purchase from them without interruption.
During the pandemic, Chong San has continued to provide green vegetables and organic vegetables for Sands China.
“Although organic vegetables cost more than ordinary ones, Sands China is still happy to choose them. In the face of the outbreak, the company’s demand for vegetables has decreased, but Sands China is still continuing its procurement,” the company said.
“In addition to providing guests and employees with healthy meals, it also expects that with continuous support to local enterprises, Sands China, as a large company, will be able to support SMEs,” it added.
Since Sands China puts importance on food quality and safety, the gaming operator advised that enterprises that can provide green certification for their supplies have a great advantage.