In 1994, Sim Yew Meng started Sabre Information Services Pte Ltd to distribute the Visual Accountmate software in the Asia Pacific. Although it was a new product in the market, Sabre managed to secure some established small and medium business (SMB) clients. "We are very proud of the fact that many of these companies have gone on to list on the stock exchange and have continued to trust us with their information needs," said Sim.
Sim has always taken a hands-on approach in evaluating clients' needs. He also has a proven work process to help execute projects. "We have always aimed for the best in-house methodology, regardless of installation size," said Sim. "Although this was not necessary for the smaller jobs, we kept at it and it became the practice for the bigger jobs that eventually came our way."
Today Sabre provides integrated, structured support capabilities for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in financial, distribution and general trading verticals. Based in Singapore, the company has a presence in the US, China and Australia and counts among its clients large MNCs in the Asia Pacific.
Since 2004, the company has seen a renewed interest in companies to make strategic investments in IT. It was a challenge that would be better tackled with the help of a much bigger company. Sim heard from SAP and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce about the Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP) by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), and decided to sign up as a partner with SAP.
"We felt that through the iLIUP partnership, we can gain access into an established global network," said Sim. "The benefits of iLIUP, such as enhancing the exchange of technical know-how, industry best practice and marketing expertise both locally and overseas, are a big plus for smaller companies like ours." In 2005, SAP awarded Sabre the honour of Best APA Channel Partner and Best Business One Partner.
iLIUP has helped Sabre embark on development efforts and also provided assistance on issues such as intellectual property protection. "In our case, we have set up a development centre in Beijing to build enhancements and add-on modules for the SAP system," said Sim.
"The iLIUP partnership has proven to be a conducive framework to develop products with competitive strength and sustainable growth," said Sim. "Such successful solutions are now shipped to the global market from Singapore."
The partnership has also helped solve perennial problems like skills mismatch. "With rapid technology advancement, skill gaps must be addressed through skills upgrading and certification programmes," said Sim. "SAP's proactive approach in providing skills upgrading and advancement has helped us tremendously."
Sim hopes to leverage on the mentorship aspect of iLIUP to further promote strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships overseas. "Singapore's small domestic market means limited growth potential for an SMB like ours," he said. "We would like to enhance our competitiveness by building our strength and ability to enter new markets."
Sim offers some tips for successful entrepreneurship: "Many entrepreneurs have demons they need to ditch. For me, it was always having to do as much as I could. Be passionate about your venture but don't underestimate your expenses. You have to understand your risk quotient to chart your course. Cultivate strong relationship with customers, suppliers and employees and always deliver on your promises."