"Singapore will be an economy driven by innovation and digitalisation, and a launchpad for enterprises to access Asia and go global. Our enterprises will compete on value, reach new customers, and be powered by skilled and adaptable workers," said Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Singapore, in his Budget 2020 speech last month.
A Transformation and Growth strategy for 2020 includes:
- Strengthened partnerships
"Internationally, Singapore will continue to deepen our network of economic linkages in digital partnerships, trade, investment, and avoidance of double taxation. We will further strengthen partnerships between government, industry and the research community, as well as within industries to bring good ideas to global markets and deepen industry-wide capabilities," Heng said.
One beneficiary of this stance is CDAS, one of the logistics and transport associations in Singapore, which works with other logistics associations and Government agencies to enhance the working relationships between port operators and the land transport businesses. CDAS also embarks on various projects to help local logistics small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow.
With the support of Enterprise Singapore, CDAS launched an electronic payment system in February 2020 to reduce the number of cash transactions handled by the container depots and transport companies. The system is estimated to help a depot operator save up to 180 minutes a day, and a transport company save up to 25 minutes per driver per day. With its launch, over 20 depot sites and 190 transport companies will benefit.
- Expert advice
Enterprise Singapore will launch a pilot Executive-in-Residence programme to support more than 10 trade associations and chambers in providing expert advice, as well as introduce a Heartland Enterprise Upgrading Programme.
- Deepen enterprise capabilities
For startups, the government will provide additional funding to Startup SG Equity. To help companies grow, there is a new Enterprise Grow Package. More mature companies can enjoy the Enterprise Transform Package, along with other programmes.
Those who take up such initiatives can see significant improvements. Yong Leng Trading Company is a local provider of sealing solutions for local and regional industrial and marine customers. In 2017, with support from IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital programme, Yong Leng Trading Company adopted a digital platform solution that enabled them to access 60 new overseas buyers in places as far as Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, and Uzbekistan. This increased their overall sales by 10%. Apart from expanding market access, the platform also helped them reduce the time spent on paperwork by 20%, and optimised inventory management
- Developing people
Tertiary students will be supported in gaining overseas exposure and experience while those already in the workforce can take advantage of a new phase in the SkillsFuture initiative. This includes a one-off SkillsFuture Credit top-up of S$500, a new SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit for employers, and a SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package for workers in their 40s and 50s to help them stay employable. There is also a new Senior Worker Support Package.
With government help, Containers Printers helped its staff learn new skills and apply them on the job. The company specialises in the printing and production of high-quality metal and flexible packaging products for the food, healthcare,and lifestyle industries worldwide.
In 2018, CP tapped on Workforce Singapore's (WSG's) pilot Industry 4.0 Human Capital Initiative (IHCI), which provided CP with on-site consultancy on the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies and job redesign. Through this pilot programme, CP adopted a new digital performance management system, which freed up the time of operations managers from routine operational tasks (e.g. data recording) to take on activities with higher value-add such as data analysis, performing root cause analysis and performance reviews.
Human capital practices such as performance management were enhanced and job roles were also redesigned. For instance, operation managers now employ data analytics to keep track of the company’s production targets. Through the use of data, managers detect signs of machine anomalies that can slow down production, to allow early intervention and prevent a more serious production slowdown. CP also saw the doubling of production line efficiency, leading to estimated productivity gains of close to S$4 million a year.
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| Source: Zebra Technologies. Lim. |
"As Singapore grapples with a labour crunch, local businesses should also look at implementing technological solutions that improve the efficiency and productivity of their workers. In fact, up to 68% of organisations surveyed in Zebra’s Warehousing Asia Pacific Vision Study cited labour efficiency and productivity among their top challenges.
"The measures announced at Budget, such as the Enterprise Grow Package which aims to help enterprises innovate, adopt digital technologies and enter new markets is a commendable effort by the government to help local businesses gain competitive edge to contest abroad.
"Additionally, the introduction of easy-to-use technology translates to faster onboarding for staff which reduces the time and effort needed for reskilling and training. It also eliminates the need for costly and risky upgrades and backend changes that may disrupt operations."
