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For Yes Natural Trading, the warehouse has always been the beating heart of the business. Since 2007, the wholesale distributor of organic foods, health products, and non-western medicinal herbs has kept Singapore's health-conscious retailers well-supplied, with a lean team of 11. Most of the team are aged 50 and above, quietly keeping operations running behind the scenes.
As the company grew and evolved, leadership recognised an opportunity often overlooked by many businesses: to invest in the people and processes closest to the ground. In 2025, Yes Natural Trading partnered with the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) through the NACE@IAL consultancy programme to strengthen its warehouse operations and build a more connected, capable team.
Seeing the Opportunity
Managing Director Jake Lai came into the project with a clear goal in mind: "We wanted to tap external consultants' expertise to help us review our warehouse processes with the view to improving and contributing to our cost efficiencies," he shared.
Working with an Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) consultant, the team conducted a thorough review of warehouse operations, from inventory management and order fulfilment to the flow of information between departments. The diagnosis revealed deeper underlying challenges. Without a dedicated team lead to bridge ground operations and management, issues often remained unresolved. Processes were largely ad-hoc, staff relied on personal judgement for stock counts and order preparation, leading to picking errors and delivery delays. Other departments had limited understanding of the warehouse's role, and warehouse staff had begun to feel that their efforts went unnoticed. Over time, this had taken a quiet but noticeable toll on morale.
Co-Creating Something That Works
The IAL consultant worked on-site alongside Warehouse Supervisor Liew Sian Lock to translate years of hands-on experience into clear, structured workflows. Rather than imposing a generic framework, the team built something that genuinely reflected how Yes Natural Trading operates, breaking process maps into focused tabs by function and keeping them practical without losing accuracy. The result was a set of SOPs that not only strengthened daily operational consistency but also served as practical onboarding guides for future staff.
Central to the co-creation process was Liew Sian Lock, who stepped up as Project Champion. Initially hesitant about the role, Liew came to embrace it fully, providing the consultant with invaluable ground-level insight into the daily frictions and frustrations that formal documentation alone could never capture. With only three warehouse staff in total, every consultation session required careful planning, as pulling even one person from rotation placed real pressure on daily operations. The team’s full commitment throughout the process reflected the strong buy-in that Liew had helped to cultivate.
Then came the workshop, one of the defining highlights of the whole project. With colleagues from purchasing, finance, and other departments invited into the room, the session used real-life scenarios, small group discussions, and role-play exercises to bring the new processes to life. The energy in the room was a pleasant surprise, marked by full active participation, meaningful conversations, and a growing appreciation across teams for what each department contributes Jake Lai noted that the level of engagement and outcome exceeded his expectations, a telling sign that the team had been waiting for exactly this kind of platform and opportunity.
Results Worth Celebrating
The impact was swift and tangible. In just three weeks post-implementation, delivery delays on mixed-inventory orders dropped from six in the prior quarter to zero. Error rates dropped from an average of 8 per month to 5 over the following three weeks, meaningful progress, though short of the 50% target. The gap was partly explained by a junior team member who had not been part of the earlier redesign sessions and needed more time to adapt. The team committed to supporting this individual's development over the coming months, a quiet but telling reflection of the culture shift already underway. Two out of three warehouse staff demonstrated clear competency improvement in post-training assessments, and monitoring continues across the next quarter.
Project Sponsor Jake Lai gave the project a perfect five out of five. What struck him most wasn't just the numbers; it was the visible change in the team's attitude, confidence, and enthusiasm.
For Liew Sian Lock, the experience was deeply rewarding. "Very fulfilling and encouraging," he said. "We can see and feel that colleagues from other departments understand our roles better and the importance of supporting the warehouse department."
That sense of mutual understanding, built through a single well-designed workshop, is exactly the kind of shift that outlasts any individual project.
Building on the Momentum
Yes Natural Trading is continuing to build on what it started. Quarterly cross-functional workshops will keep teams aligned as processes evolve, and a skills re-audit is planned to track competency growth over time. The company is also exploring deeper capability development through NACE Enhanced or LEA grant options as it moves further along its digitalisation journey.
With a workforce rich in experience and a leadership team invested in growth, Yes Natural Trading has shown that meaningful change doesn't always start at the top. Sometimes, it starts in the warehouse.
Ready to Build a Stronger Team?
Looking to strengthen your organisation's workplace learning systems? Discover how structured process redesign, cross-functional collaboration, and practical capability building can drive lasting impact across every level of your business. Learn more about how IAL partners organisations through NACE@IAL to translate strategy into real workforce change.