Polish gets 'mission impossible' done in SZ

Polish gets 'mission impossible' done in SZ

It was her first job and she had worked for the company for just one year, but in 2017, she accepted the challenge of coming alone to Shenzhen to set up the company’s Chinese branch.

Dagmara Głowacka from Poland, 31, is currently the legal representative, executive director and general manager of Shenzhen TME Electronic Trading Company Ltd., the Chinese branch of Transfer Multisort Elektronik (TME), a global distributor of electronic components headquartered in Poland.

Dagmara Głowacka at her office in Nanshan District.

“Our company is a global distributor of electronic components, offering over half a million types of products. We are a big e-commerce platform, which means our customers can seamlessly buy all the parts online. We have a fully equipped modern logistics center that can pack packages within 24 hours and deliver to our customers in more than 150 countries,” Głowacka introduced.

Employees work in the office of the Chinese branch.

Głowacka, who has a great interest in international relations and business, studied English and international business simultaneously in Poland and later in Northern Ireland. Later she did her internships in France and the U.K. She also started to learn Chinese in 2016, which undoubtedly boosted her career development.

Dagmara Głowacka communicates with colleagues.

After her internship in the U.K., Głowacka joined TME in 2016 to pursue an international career. “TME, with its unconventional, brave approach to business and huge trust in me, opened a magical door. The company’s owner — Adam, had an impressive vision of expanding to the Chinese market. He outlined the company’s plan when he noticed that I had been studying Chinese and chose me for this mission,” Głowacka recalled.

From then on, their cooperation started. “For the first time, I felt that studying Chinese was the best decision I could have made and joining Adam’s company was one of my most enriching experiences,” Głowacka said.

In the summer of 2017, she visited China on a short business trip to figure things out. During the two-week trip, Głowacka visited Shanghai and Shenzhen, and she was overwhelmed by their modern urban development.

Ping An Finance Center and other buildings in Futian.

“All those tall buildings, highways, a lot of people and a lot of cars, the pace of life ... I was very shocked initially because it was a totally different reality than the one I used to live in before. Till today, I still remember the big contrast I noticed between my past life and what I discovered in China, but at the same time I felt thrilled because I was surrounded by extremely advanced technology, highly developed online services and leading trends that will only get to Europe a few years later,” she said.

After the trip, Głowacka went back to Poland and presented to the company’s board of directors her research results. They had a long extensive strategy discussion about establishing a branch in China.

“Setting up the first branch of our company outside of Europe (the previous nine subsidiaries were all within European Union) required redefining the previous approach. The challenge was even bigger as we were expanding to those ‘unknown waters.’ So, it was necessary to plan very well ahead in order to meet all the ambitious goals the company has set towards China,” Głowacka said.

Their plans for the Chinese market were quite big, including setting up a sales and marketing team and a logistics team, starting an e-commerce platform seamlessly matching Chinese user experience, adjusting payment methods and opening a local warehouse in order to speed up delivery, to name just a few.

Dagmara Głowacka at China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen in 2021.

Shenzhen, a tech powerhouse with astounding growth and smart technologies, has been their ideal place for the branch company from the very beginning. “I knew from the beginning that it is going to be Shenzhen. It is simply the place to be for the electronic components industry,” Głowacka said confidently.

Finally, by the end of 2017, she boarded another plane heading directly to Shenzhen, with the mission of setting up their Chinese branch in the city. And it was nothing easy.

Dagmara Głowacka poses for a photo in the office.

“It was kind of mission impossible. The company provided me a ticket to China and a one-month hotel stay. Obviously, I could count on the support of lawyers and accountants, on condition that I found them. But, it was my task and my responsibility to find qualified consultants and make the right decisions. The process was bumpy and very time-consuming,” Głowacka said smiling.

In the course of establishing and running the branch company, she has encountered countless challenges. One of the biggest challenges to date is being a bridge between China and Europe.

Team meeting at the office. Courtesy of the interviewee

“The two sides of the globe work very differently. The biggest adventure, which is still lasting, is to be this link between the Chinese and the European markets, explaining to my colleagues from Poland how the Chinese market works and then to the colleagues in China why certain decisions are made like that in Europe. So, this is a constant and never-ending challenge that I encounter, and I find it extremely interesting, yet frustrating at times. But then, it motivates me to think out of the box and search for unconventional answers to recurring questions in order to make both ends of the world meet,” Głowacka said.

Dagmara Głowacka talks with her colleagues.

She cited the interpretation of the law as an example. “The European law is very precise. You can find everything in a certain paragraph while Chinese law is more up to interpretation. So sometimes one side expects that it would be explained, just like what we are familiar with, but then it functions differently here.”

Despite all the challenges and obstacles, Głowacka has made it, setting up the company in China from scratch all by herself. Being the unique link between the European headquarters and Asian branch, she has been managing the supply chain consisting of 500,000 products and has rich experience in creating and managing a multicultural team.

Dagmara Głowacka and her team members pose for a photo in cerebration of the 30th anniversary of TME Group at their office building in Shenzhen in 2020. Courtesy of the interviewee

Not only does the branch company perform sales, marketing and logistics activities, but thanks to the leading business trends and opportunities in China, they are launching their own e-commerce platform offering over 500,000 SKUs this year and will open a warehouse in Shenzhen by the end of 2024.

“Very soon, a website adjusted to Chinese customers will be up, with the right user experience and payment method, catering more to local tastes,” Głowacka said.

Dagmara Głowacka with her colleagues welcoming Shenzhen Electronic Chamber of Commerce delegation at Electronica Shanghai 2021 in March 2021. Courtesy of the interviewee

The company has been gaining more and more recognition in the Chinese market. “At the very beginning, no one really knew our logo and brand. We started with very few customers, but now, we have a steadily growing customer base, and it is great to see more and more people looking specifically for us at trade shows and industry-related events,” she proudly said.

According to Głowacka, TME is famous for sourcing products from high-quality and trusted manufacturers from all over the world. So far, the purchasing operations and decision-making process have been taking place in Poland.

Dagmara Głowacka visits the factory of their strategic partner in warehousing system in Shenzhen in 2021.

At the beginning, they set up the Chinese branch to tap the market, to win Chinese customers and supply them with products. “However, as time passes, business is growing. Apart from sales, we are opening a purchasing department here to acquire top products from China and supply them to our other markets,” Głowacka said.

The new China-based purchasing team will serve as a first-hand source of predicting future trends.

The office buildings in Nanshan District.

“Undeniably, China dictates the trends in technology. What is popular here now will become popular worldwide in a little while. Our company is always striving for being a few steps ahead, especially as our goal is to keep the warehouse fully stocked, so the customers can enjoy same-day dispatching and immediate delivery,” she said.

A robotaxis of the Shenzhen company DeepRoute.ai on the road in Shenzhen. Courtesy of DeepRoute.ai.

For Głowacka, China not only leads the trends in her industry, but also in other spheres of life. “I do think that living in Shenzhen makes me feel like living in the future already. When I observe what's happening in Shenzhen, like self-driving cars’ citywide testing, all the electronic payment methods and so many online services at hand ... I really forget when was the last time I touched cash. I find it all very fascinating and I do believe it is the future,” she said.

Głowacka is proud of her professional achievements in China. At the same time, she still feels like a humble beginner. “Because there is so much more to learn and to develop. There is a constant need to improve myself and search for new ways of doing things. I feel that this is a great beginning, and there is so much more waiting for us,” she said.

Apart from a successful career, she is an avid supporter of women pursuing professional careers. “I am extremely content following trends on ‘femigration’ worldwide, meaning that women no longer travel to distant destinations as companions to their husbands, but they relocate themselves, following their career dreams,” Głowacka commented.

Dagmara Głowacka and her husband take photos for their wedding in Dapeng in May this year. Courtesy of the interviewee

In her personal life, Głowacka met her Brazilian-American partner and they married in May. They are currently expecting a baby.