CHANGING THE COURSE OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – HITEN SHAH’S MES ACQUIRES A GLOBAL STANDING

Setting up and running a business requires extensive monetary and non-monetary efforts. Due to this, entrepreneurs direct their entire focus on it and do not have a solid business management strategy. Not having a plan of how things are going to proceed after a company begins to operate becomes the reason behind the failure of startups in their initial phase of operations.

From accounts and finances to project management to logistics, entrepreneurs need to prepare a well-thought plan for each element of their business’s operation. Managing all these matters at once is not humanly possible and can create a corporate mess for business professionals. These individuals fail to focus on their core competencies as they have to be everywhere, that too at once.

To manage operations in a way that it takes a business towards profitability and avoid being trapped in this corporate mess, business owners hire professionals to oversee parts of operations they themselves are not well-versed in, especially the logistics. Many companies choose to outsource their logistics as it is an area not many are experts in, and not being able to efficiently manage can create havoc.

When talking about outsourcing logistics, there is one company that is taking matters in its hands and providing efficient solutions to business owners. MES Inc., founded in 2004 as a marketing and engineering solution provider, serves as a globally-known solution provider for the supply chain management. A brainchild of the Indian-born entrepreneur, Hiten Shah, this company is changing the course of supply chain management.

MES has offices in India, China, Europe, Japan, Vietnam, and Mexico. The company transitioned from marketing and engineering to a service provider for supply chain management three years after it came into existence. It was due to Hiten Shah’s entrepreneurial mindset, the capability of working hard, and the ability to take risks that this company became a member of the Inc. 5000. It is an honor not many companies in the world enjoy.

As per Hiten, the founder, and president of MES, “MES helps companies with supply-chain and global sourcing solutions. It has its customers in lighting, agriculture, automotive, electrical, and other industrial industries. It sells various components and commodities; including aluminum and zinc die castings, iron castings, forgings, plastic and rubber components, and copper components.”

Operating on the Concept of Customer Centricity

MES Inc., a global sourcing and supply-chain management company serving manufacturers worldwide, was titled as one of the fastest-growing companies in the world by Forbes. Hiten has invested his time, efforts, and finances to build this company from scratch. Initially, the business was funded by Hiten’s account. It saved the company from getting trapped in venture capital debt.

Hiten laid the foundation of this company on the concept of customer-centricity, which is one of the factors that has helped it build a vast network of clients. MES follows a strategic process that begins from searching and auditing suppliers and ends at shipment. It involves the designing stage, where Hiten and his team develop quality systems for the client, consolidation of shipments at ports, laying the foundation of domestic value-added operations. As Hiten states, “We can develop custom engineered products meeting extensive quality specification requirements.” On another occasion, Hiten described his services in the following words, “Our outstanding sourcing-to- delivery solution allows us to pass on savings to our customers, not just in component costs and shipping rates, but also money saved by lowering lead times in tolling and the manufacturing process.”

These statements and the wide network of clients is proof that MES puts its customers first. Providing customers with the most satisfying solutions that solve all their supply chain management issues is a priority for this company.

The Man Behind the Success of MES Inc.

MES tops the world of supply chain management solutions, and there is one that deserves to be brought into the spotlight, Hiten Shah. Born in an Indian family with big dreams, this man was destined for greatness.

A Plastics Engineer, Hiten deeply admired the concept of entrepreneurship. Even when he was enrolled in college, the young boy used to read books by Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Malcolm Gladwell, and Steven Covey. In addition to this, he learned much of the entrepreneurial values from his family, including Talakchand D Shah and Tara T Shah, his parents, and Jiten Shah, his brother.

His father helped him understand the importance of taking risks by teaching him the principle of not being afraid of making mistakes. It was from his father that Hiten realized the significance of having a big heart. Hiten’s mother was an individual who believed in staying focused on one’s life goals, and this is exactly what she taught her son.

Besides being an entrepreneur, Hiten is a person who believes in service to the community. His involvement in community work is not something that one can overlook. He does not do things along. His wife, Heena, his wife, helps him with these philanthropic activities. Some of their efforts include donations to many local charities including the Jain Temple building projects as well as supporting several global charities including the Lions Club in Mumbai.

He credits all of his success to the support of his family, including his wife and two sons, 24-year-old Sahil and 22-year-old Eshan. Based in Ohio, Hiten is one of the most well-known Indian-origin American entrepreneurs in the country.

Hiten Shah states, “I have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure that we have been able to move as fast as we have to realize my youth dream. The best part of our progress is that I still feel like we have barely scratched the surface, and we have a long runway ahead of us.” His hard work, dedication, the desire to succeed in life, and a humble personality, helped him push MES to establish a global standing.

It is entrepreneurs like Hiten that serve as an inspiration for the world!