About YCP

YCP is an advisory and investment firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Founded in 2011, the Group has grown exponentially with 800+ professionals across 20+ offices globally, spanning China, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.

Our advisory arm focuses on strategy development, business turnaround, financial advisory (including M&A due diligence), digital transformation, and end-to-end implementation. Our investment arm manages a portfolio across personal care, food & beverage, early education and pet care, supporting businesses from incubation through to M&A and growth. We commit to developing our people into future business leaders in Asia.

The Opportunity

Due to the continued growth of our Hong Kong office, we are seeking an Associate to join our team. Associates at YCP are generalists – you will be deployed across a wide range of industries and project types, contributing meaningfully from day one. We do not expect specialists; we expect curious, structured thinkers who can adapt quickly.

Immediate project pipeline includes high-impact engagements such as supporting a global freight forwarder in the design and rollout of standardised, automated, and digitally-enabled ways of working across their air freight, sea freight, and warehousing operations worldwide, leveraging platforms such as CargoWise and associated WMS solutions. While deep platform expertise is not a prerequisite, an ability to understand complex operational workflows and translate them into structured improvement programmes is essential.

Role & Responsibilities

Project Delivery

• Develop structured business hypotheses and identify key strategic implications through comprehensive primary and secondary research, and qualitative and quantitative analysis.
• Engage across diverse industries including logistics, freight forwarding, warehousing, automotive, consumer goods, construction, energy, healthcare, and technology – across strategy, operational improvement, solution implementation, and change management.
• Support the design and rollout of standardised, automated operational processes – such as redesigning air freight, sea freight, and warehouse workflows for a global freight forwarder, and configuring best-practice processes within CargoWise or WMS platforms.
• Translate client operational realities into structured workstreams, process documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), training materials, and implementation roadmaps.
• Conduct business performance analysis and process diagnostics, identifying gaps between current and future-state ways of working across freight and warehousing operations.

Client Engagement

• Present key findings and recommendations clearly and confidently in client meetings, facilitating workshops and brainstorming sessions.
• Support change management efforts including stakeholder communications, training delivery, and adoption tracking during system or process rollouts.
• Build trusted relationships with client counterparts at operational and management levels.

Team Contribution

• Provide day-to-day guidance to junior team members, reviewing and finalising their deliverables.
• Contribute to a collaborative, high-performance team culture in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

Experience & Skills

• 3–5 years of experience in strategy consulting, operations consulting, or business process improvement.
• Proven capability in structured problem-solving, data analysis, strategy formulation, and delivery of actionable recommendations.
• Comfortable working across multiple industries and project types – generalist capability is highly valued.
• Experience in operational transformation, process redesign, or system implementation projects is a strong advantage.
• Exposure to logistics, freight forwarding, warehousing, supply chain, or 3PL industries is advantageous.
• Familiarity with platforms such as CargoWise, WMS solutions (e.g. Manhattan, HighJump, Körber), SAP TM, or similar TMS/WMS tools is a plus but not required.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel including pivot tables and charts; Word).

Personal Attributes

• Thrives in fast-paced environments; able to manage multiple workstreams and deliver to deadlines.
• Proactively seeks clarity, manages upward expectations, and takes full ownership of quality outcomes.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and structured thinking skills.
• Willing to travel within Asia for project engagements and client presentations.

Education & Language

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree from a top-tier university.
• Fluent in English; proficiency in Mandarin and/or Cantonese is a strong advantage.