Bio-X Group’s Serial Entrepreneur, Tan Kok Eng, on running multiple companies – and harnessing the power of its group

Running one successful company is tough. Serial entrepreneurs take it a step further by running multiple companies at the same time. Bio-X Group’s Tan Kok Eng manages five different businesses, from manufacturing to R&D and retail, with one of them based outside Singapore – in Malaysia.

Managing so many variables on any single day, thinking on his feet has become a daily affair. This was no different when the COVID-19 pandemic hit where he quickly extended its pet hygiene disinfectant product range to be suitable for people.

Tan also heeded the government’s call to adopt digital sales in a big way, by exploring product sales on various e-commerce platforms, like Lazada, Amazon and Shopee, to name a few.

Partnering with OCBC, Bio-X was able to rapidly adapt to the new normal, especially after identifying how their product could be modified in the pandemic and bringing it to the masses.

Creating sustainable products, with a business mindset

The Bio-X Group of companies is a collection of five companies: Okada Ecotech Pte Ltd, Bio-X Global Pte Ltd, Bio Vectrol Singapore Pte Ltd, Bio-X Services Pte Ltd and Bio-X Techno Sdn Bhd.

At its heart, Bio-X’s mission is to produce products that are friendly to humans, animals, crops and ultimately, our planet. Its range of water-based hygiene solutions are safe and multi-functional. For example, their Aerosol spray is a “GreenLabel” solution for consumers who want to protect their environment against harmful elements such as the insect pests, bacteria, viruses, etc.

When the pandemic first hit Singapore’s shores, Tan’s team understood both the responsibility and opportunity to harness their technology and expertise to produce a new human-safe disinfectant. They got their R&D underway to customise a new line of people-friendly disinfectants and ramped up their production line just as the demand for disinfectants spiked in Singapore, and globally.

Tan’s ambitious nature and dedication to his craft are evident from the way he speaks about the Bio-X range of products. He is passionate about how his group of companies come together to offer a comprehensive solution across the value-chain – from R&D to manufacturing to retail.

After 13 years in the business, his business acumen remains as sharp as the day he started– always looking for new opportunities and mindful of imminent threats.

No business is an island

No matter how astute a business owner may be or great their products are, every business has to rely on their environment around them to succeed. For Bio-X, being able to lean on a team that understood what it meant to manage a collection of companies regionally was vitally important – and a problem that OCBC solved for him.

Bio-X group of companies and line of products were not reaching the market as quickly and effectively as Tan and his team wished. While they are an established brand, having been around since the late ‘90s, they were not tapping into modern sales and marketing platforms. They saw huge potential in their products, especially their new and upgraded line of disinfectants, but the lack of consumer awareness and pick-up especially about their new product was a matter of concern.

The OCBC Serial Entrepreneur relationship management team helped Bio-X Group scale at speed by working closely with Tan and his team. We asked questions to deeply understand the ambitions, upcoming plans and modus operandi within the group and its different functions. As a group of multiple companies, it was imperative to understand the nature of the different divisions under the Bio-X Group.

We came up with customised solutions to support Bio-X Group’s business goals and milestones. These curated solutions propelled Bio-X brand into the retail market, reaching consumers island-wide by tapping on the borderless online marketplace.