Boosting Singapore's Competitiveness In Trade and Logistics With Infocomm

Greater efficiency and competitiveness in activities such as procurement, manufacturing, logistics and payments – that's the objective of a new integrated platform in the works. To be launched in October this year, TradeXchange is a cross-industry platform that facilitates Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) trade processes for companies based or conducting business in Singapore.

Dr. Robert de Souza, Executive Director of The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific (TLI-AP), welcoming the participants to the "Advances in Logistics ICT" seminar

The move is part of the Singapore Government's efforts to leverage infocomm to help the trade and logistics community under the iN2015 masterplan. Together with the Singapore Customs and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) launched a Call-For-Collaboration (CFC) in 2006 to invite the industry to develop B2B Value Added Services (VAS) on the TradeXchange platform.

Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer of the IDA said, "As the manufacturing and logistics sectors are important engines of our economy, infocomm will continue to be a critical enabler in these sectors. With a world-class logistics and infocomm infrastructure, Singapore can help to strengthen supply chains thereby enabling companies to meet increasing global competition."

Through the CFC, IDA, EDB and six companies will be investing S$4 million to develop solutions to streamline trade processes on the TradeXchange platform. The companies are AEB Asia Pacific, CrimsonLogic eTrade Services, Cyberlog Technologies, Gridnode, Kewill-IPACS e-Solutions, and Y3 Technologies. The aim is to provide seamless inter-connectivity among commercial and regulatory systems for the Singapore trade and logistics community. TradeXchange will provide services like filing of customs declarations and manifest submissions with other countries. TradeXchange will also allow companies to check schedule and book cargo space electronically with shipping lines. Companies will be able to electronically transfer titles securely and purchase cargo insurance online.

Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer of the IDA, announcing the six companies to develop B2B Value Added Services (VAS) on the TradeXchange platform

Mr Chan announced this during his keynote address at the "Advances in Logistics ICT" seminar organised by The Logistics Institute – Asia Pacific (TLI-AP) as part of their Think Solutions Series programme. He noted that the logistics sector has always played a vital role in Singapore's economy, accounting for nearly 10% of national GDP, and that infocomm technology has played a key role in differentiating Singapore as a logistics hub.

Over the last three years, 10 supply chains have tapped on infocomm technologies to achieve more efficiency. Under the Collaborative Hi-Tech Manufacturing Plan (CHTMP) launched in 2004 by IDA, the high-tech manufacturing sector witnessed increased efficiency and reduction in operational costs. Companies are using electronic standards such as RosettaNet to enable S$3.2 billion worth of annual transactions. The 10 supply chain masters and their suppliers achieved cost savings of nearly S$41 million.

The CHTMP aimed to build ten end-to-end, integrated and responsive supply chains in the high-tech industry. IDA and the ten supply chains have invested more than S$14 million in project activities. IDA's related initiatives in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Retail Electronic Supply Chain Management (Retail eSCM) Ecosystem have also brought about efficiency benefits to the logistics and retail sector.

Moving forward, IDA aims to further leverage infocomm in developing Singapore as a Supply Chain Nerve Centre and a world-class logistics infrastructure, in order to allow companies to manage global supply chains from Singapore.

As Mr Chan concluded, "Competition is intensifying and Singapore needs to find more innovative ways to leverage infocomm to strengthen Singapore's competitive advantage in manufacturing and logistics."

For more information:

Dr Lee Boon Yang calling on industry players to take on the challenge of nurturing and developing Singapore's current and next generation of infocomm talents

Move Singapore's infocomm professionals up the value chain to meet increasingly sophisticated demand from businesses. That was the call from Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, at the Singapore Computer Society (SCS) IT Leader Awards And Gala Dinner 2007.

At the event, outstanding infocomm professionals – whose innovation, passion and commitment have made a mark in the infocomm industry – were presented with the IT Leader Awards.

Dr Lee, the Guest of Honour, highlighted the need for Singapore to expand the depth and breadth of the capabilities of its infocomm professionals to better serve the industry. "Infocomm professionals today must acquire not just deeper professional and technical skills, but business skills as well," he noted. "To become globally competitive and entrepreneurial techno-strategists, the new generation of infocomm professionals have to be well-versed in multiple disciplines. They must deepen their knowledge of the ever-more complex business environment in the domains which they operate in."

Dr Lee Boon Yang conversing with two recipients of the National Infocomm Scholarships

To this end, Dr Lee called on the industry, organisations and agencies to adopt three strategic approaches. Firstly, through certification employers are able to identify competent IT project managers who are qualified to handle their specific areas of expertise. For example, SCS and IDA launched the "Certificate on Outsourcing Management for IT", which is the world's first IT outsourcing certification. Such national certification efforts will ensure that Singapore's manpower is groomed to achieve global standards and can be at the forefront of the industry.

Secondly, the infocomm industry should look towards raising the professional standing of its practitioners by setting up professional associations in areas such as information security, which could then be linked with international counterparts. This would enhance the international recognition of Singapore's infocomm professional manpower.

Flanked by the winners of the SCS IT Leader Awards, Dr Lee enjoys a light moment before the evening's festivities

Thirdly, the infocomm industry has to make sure that Singapore has a sustainable strategy for building a strong talent pool. To this end, IDA has formed the Infocomm Manpower Council (IMC) which will be industry-led. The IMC will work together with the government to build the capabilities of our next generation of infocomm professionals, who will spearhead the growth of the industry.

During his speech, Dr Lee also encouraged businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), to leverage infocomm technologies on a larger scale to help them achieve the necessary competitive advantage and build up critical mass of infocomm users. "It will also address this perception of Singapore businesses not being progressive in using infocomm technology. Infocomm technology can help to extend SMEs' market reach as well as improve operational and time-to-market efficiencies for their products."

For more information:

• IDA embarked on a five-year Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap to develop infocomm professionals into globally-competitive players, the general workforce into savvy Infocomm users, and students into the infocomm talent of the future. The Roadmap supports the ten-year Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan to turn Singapore into a globally connected city, powered by infocomm.
• For more information on the Infocomm Manpower Development Programmes, visit talent.singaporeinfocomm.sg.

The air was filled with excitement as students and teachers from various educational institutes in Singapore gathered at the Ministry of Sound in Clarke Quay on 2^nd March 2007 to discover who could be the infocomm technologists and business strategists of tomorrow. The occasion was to mark the conclusion of a six-month event – the National Infocomm Competition (NIC) 2006 and to present the winners with their hard-earned rewards.

The multi-themed inter-school challenge was divided into three circuits (secondary schools, junior colleges and ITE/polytechnics) and covers areas such as business IT, digital media, mobile technology and security and networking. NIC was organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL), ITE College Central, Singapore Computer Society and Singapore Science Centre, the competition was created to uncover top infocomm talent in Singapore.

The overwhelming consensus among the participants and judges was that the next generation of IT talents is ready to take charge. Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer of the IDA, noted that nurturing the next generation of IT talents was important in a country like Singapore where manpower was one of our country's few natural resources. Competitions like NIC 2006 helped identify possible future IT leaders and even possibly the next Bill Gates or Larry Ellison.

The circuit champions will go on a knowledge acquisition trip to Microsoft's Redmond Campus where they will meet key executives and learn the latest technology trends and research areas from them.

Mr Colin Png, Director of Business and Marketing Organisation at Microsoft Singapore, presented the prizes to the winning team from Raffles Institution

The winning teams from each circuit were of the opinion that a keen interest in infocomm beyond what was taught in school was important. According to Mr Fabian Ng, Senior Lecturer in the School of Infocomm Technology at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he did not have to drive the students to take part in the competition. "Many of them approached me on their own to take part," said Mr Ng. "Many of them were looking forward to getting exposure to the practical side of IT and the opportunity to into practise put what they learnt in class.

19 year-old James Lim said that he was keen to take part due to his strong interest in IT and wanted the opportunity to take part and win using his skills. "This has been a great experience for me. Probably the one thing I've taken away from this is how to work under pressure. When you are faced with a high pressure situation, the ability to keep calm and focused is very important."

Hwa Chong Institution's winning team said that they appreciated the practical experience participating in the competition gave them. According to Mr Chia Keng Hian, Principal Consultant of Infocomm at Hwa Chong Institution, it is important for students to realise how to apply what they learn in classes in real world applications. This view was echoed by 18 year-old Frank Chen who said that the experience gained in taking part in the competition has helped him realise the importance of the need for a broad range on knowledge in all things IT.

Hwa Chong Institution's winning team appreciates the practical experience gained through the participation in the NIC

Raffles Institution's Chan Wei Jian said that passion and a committed focus to your goals would be the best advice he could give to students hoping to take part in future NIC. "It was tough finding the time to prepare for the competition and still keep up with my regular school work. But I kept my goal to win the competition in mind and kept on working," he said.

Mr Chan Yeng Kit added that besides competitions such as NIC 2006 and the infocomm reality game show iWhiz, the Singapore Government and IDA are also working on other plans to develop Singapore's future IT manpower requirements. "All of this is in line with our iN2015 Masterplan," he added, "We are also working closely with schools through our Infocomm clubs as well as industry players, Ministry of Education (MOE) and schools as well as IHLs to develop school curriculum to meet future needs."

For more information:

• The Future is Infocomm. Be a Player. If you wish to find out more on how you can become a part of Singapore's infocomm talent, please visit talent.singaporeinfocomm.sg.