Business Review Asia magazine - November 2017

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SUSTAINABILITY DOESN’T HAVE TO COST THE EARTH

FOREWORD WELCOME TO THE November edition of Business Review Asia.

This month our lead feature is about the regional winner of the 2017 DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards which took place in Singapore – engineering giant Jacobs, which has locations across China, India, Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific region. Stuart Hodge finds out from Alan Hendry, Director of Sustainability, why sustainability needn’t be as costly as we might think.

We also have a feature on Thailand’s efforts to create a new economic hub: The Eastern Economic Corridor. For this month’s top 10 list, we’ve looked at the biggest economies in Asia, and found out what’s contributing to the growth of these leading nations.

Be sure to check out our exclusive company interviews with Katoen Natie, LF Logistics, Nexteer Automotive, PCI Limited and PT Mora Telematika Indonesia.

We hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together, and can’t wait to hear your thoughts and opinions on Twitter at @BizRevAsia

Enjoy the issue! www.businessreviewasia.com www.bizclikmedia.com

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Sustainability doesn’t have to cost the earth

10 INTERVIEW

TOP 10

20 INSIGHT

1.5TRN BAHT AND COUNTING: THAILAND’S EYE-CATCHING ECONOMIC VISION 4

November 2017

Biggest economies in Asia

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Sustainability doesn’t have to cost the earth Jacobs has just been awarded at the 2017 DuPont Safety and Sustainability awards in Singapore for its efforts ‘in advancing sustainability performance’ and so Business Review Asia speaks to Alan Hendry, its Director of Sustainability, on how construction can benefit both the planet and the bottom line…

Writ ten by STUART HODGE

THERE SEEMS TO be a perception in sections of the business world that sustainability is costly, that efforts to save the planet and its resources must be weighed against how it affects the bottom line. Although there can be no doubt that many companies seem to have now grasped what sustainability is all about, there is still a persisting fear with some, surrounding the cost associated with the word, let alone the action required.

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Alan Hendry, Director of Sustainability with construction and engineering giant Jacobs, is adamant that the perception of sustainability as something overtly costly to companies while providing no great benefit, could hardly be further from the truth. And Hendry knows a thing or two about how to do sustainability well. Jacobs has just been awarded at the 2017 DuPont Safety and Sustainability awards in Singapore for its efforts ‘in

INTERVIEW

advancing sustainability performance’.

With a massive presence across Asia, with locations and projects stretching all the way through India, to China, Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific region, Jacobs’s principles regarding sustainability within construction are being brought into a sharp global focus outside of its Dallas home back in the US. Jacobs is busy cementing a firm footing in Asia. In July

this year, it was awarded the role of lead trackwork design consultant – as part of a Chinese consortium handling engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of track work, maintenance vehicles and work trains – for the $7bn Malaysian SSP Line after the company specifically targeted Southeast Asia.

Jacobs also recently secured the role of Reference Design Consultant 11

INTERVIEW (RDC) for the Kuala Lumpur-toSingapore High Speed Rail project (KL-SG HSR), which is currently under construction. With numerous projects of similar size, touching many markets across the globe, Jacobs is keen to progress, with sustainability right at the top of its agenda. No one embodies that spirit at Jacobs more than Alan Hendry.

Hendry is passionate about the planet and it is his firm belief that we have a duty to leave it in as good a condition as possible for the generations to come, and it is this passion that underwrites his desire to ensure Jacobs is doing the very best it can with regards to sustainability.

“Sometimes the word sustainability, I don’t know… people seem to think it means additional cost,” he says. “We need to ensure that people realise that it’s not. It’s actually about cost savings, and it’s about lifetime cost savings.

“So, it may add a little bit, occasionally, to the front end of the cost, but over the lifetime of the project, it should be delivering both carbon and cost savings, if it’s done properly.”

The way Jacobs tends to ensure these savings is through 12

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“Once a month, we get somebody from either government, or a major business or business organisation, to come on and talk about their passion for what they’re doing” Alan Hendry Director of Sustainability, Jacobs

two principle tools which act as a constant evaluator of performance when working and interacting with clients and their projects – namely, Value Plus and Sustainability Plus.

The Sustainability Plus tool, in particular, was recognised by DuPont at the Singapore Awards earlier this month, an award which Hendry admits is a real source of pride for him and his team.

“It was a tremendous honour,” he beams. “And what was really pleasing for me was, I guess, that this recognition was from our peers for what we’re doing with the Sustainability Plus programme.

Internally, we’ve always thought a lot of it, and seen it as a differentiator, but to actually have that recognised by an organisation like DuPont is fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.”

Hendry, who originally trained as a planner in his native Scotland, broke down for us how both tools work. He explains: “The Value Plus figure is the amount of savings we’ve created for clients through intelligent design, and then we mirror that with Sustainability Plus (which looks at savings in energy usage and a reduction in the carbon footprint).

Often when we do save our clients’ money through project management, or project design, it’s usually got a resource efficiency component.

“It’s about the value that Jacobs brings to our clients, and I always say to my colleagues that if you look at any of our clients’ websites, they’ll all say something about their ambitions around sustainability.

“My argument is that ‘not only did we build this bridge or this railway line, but the way we did it, actually contributes to your decarbonisation targets’, so it’s a win-win.”

As well as running its own educational programmes, the company holds a Global Sustainability Call each month where experts from around the globe and a wide spread of industries and specialisms are invited to talk about the key issues and sustainability challenges faced in the world today.

“Once a month, we get somebody from either government, or a major business or business organisation, to come on and talk about their passion for what they’re doing,” Hendry says.

“For instance, we’ve had Peter Bakker, who leads the World Business Council for Sustainable 13

INTERVIEW Development. We’ve had senior leaders from Unilever. We’ve had the environmental diplomatic staff from the US government.

We’ve had Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, talking about how Scotland’s addressing the circular economy.

“Recently we had somebody from the Dutch Ministry of Environment talking about how they’re using natural methods to address coastal erosion and flooding.

“It’s about finding people who understand the topic, and talk well about it; allowing them a stage where they can actually explain what they’re doing. So again, it’s just part of that spreading good practice, and we’re very happy to find good practice from outside Jacobs as well as from inside.

“In doing that, I think we’re doing a bit of thought leadership. We are bringing new ideas to our client, so that call is both for Jacobs staff and our clients, to come on over to listen and learn.”

According to Hendry, one of the reasons that sustainability is now becoming an increasing area of focus across the business world, as well as the obvious environmental 14

November 2017

challenges we face globally, is due to the emergence of challenge-based procurement, which is becoming far more widespread. Having a problemsolving ethos, is therefore vital.

“We’re obviously commissioned to do things for our clients,” Hendry explains. “Whether it’s a new development, a tunnel, a port, and it’s then about looking at how we actually over-deliver on that? So, how do we save carbon? And what are the other services we can bring?

“Our preference is to bring solutions to clients that are holistic and add value. We may challenge what they ask us to do, and say ‘well, if you did it this way, you would actually gain future benefit’, so I think it’s about understanding the context of where we’re delivering our projects and looking at what the additional opportunities might be.

“We’re seeing a lot more challengebased procurement, where the client basically goes out and says: ‘I have a challenge around this job. What’s the solution?’

“They don’t necessarily know what the solution is themselves, so it’s quite nice to have that challenge to say: ‘Well, here’s how we would

Blacktown Mt. Druitt Hospital, Australia

54k

Queensferry Crossing, Scotland

The number of staff working for Jacobs worldwide GSK facility, Singapore

$10.9bn The annual revenue in 2016 for Jacobs

1947

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, India Pfizer facility, China

The year that Jacobs was founded ONEgas rig, North Sea

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Jacobs worked on Malaysia’s SSP Line

approach it. Here’s what we would do. Here’s where we’d add value to what you’re needing done.’ That’s conceptual, but it is something we’re starting to see now.”

Given the quickening pace at which the world is changing, sustainability, like most others, is clearly an area where there are always new techniques to be learned and developed.

With that in mind, something which has just recently come under Hendry’s purview is the new Global Centre of Excellence that Jacobs has created, to ensure that global best practices can be more easily 16

November 2017

shared around the company.

“The Centre of Excellence is about taking what we do best, globally, and mainstreaming that,” he explains.

“So, if we’re doing something wonderful in New York City around resilience, then we should look at opportunities to replicate that elsewhere.

“It’s encouraging all our colleagues to think about things with a sustainable development lens, and ensure that when we deliver services for clients we’re thinking about longterm sustainability, resilience, resource efficiency, et cetera.

“I think there’s probably two

‘In July this year, Jacobs was awarded the role of lead trackwork design consultant for the $7bn Malaysian SSP Line after the company specifically targeted southeast Asia’ elements to it,” he adds. “One is ensuring that our project delivery programmes and procedures actually ensure that the sustainability is embedded, and we do that at the moment, but we’re building on that.

“It’ll be a focus for spreading good practice, so I think we’ll also start to look at creating further incentives for people to be involved with Sustainability Plus. The challenge is to keep those numbers heading in the right direction, to understand, as our clients seek to achieve their sustainability, we’re there to provide the right, integrative solutions that deliver that.

“And there’s also the ‘hearts and minds’ element to a certain extent. I think the Paris Accord was quite a milestone in terms of the global acceptance that we need to do something.

“It’s about ensuring that people are enthused by this topic, and are thinking about it, by using inspiring stories and examples to illustrate what good looks like. Because I think the topic of sustainability is best explained through examples and stories rather than as a concept, so we can actually illustrate what it means. That’s the best way to do it.”

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INSIGHT

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1.5trn Baht and counting: Thailand’s Three of eye-catching Thailand’s provinces economic are undergoing major vision transformations to create one of ASEAN’s economic hubs, and Business Review Asia paid a visit to find out more

INSIGHT THE SHEER AMBITION present in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project is enough for anyone to sit up and take notice.

In May, the Thai government announced plans to create a new ‘Special Economic Zone’; a 13,285 sq km area searing through the eastern seaboard provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong, where a number of large-scale investments are to be undertaken.

Through these efforts to transform the logistical infrastructure in its most important districts, alongside some attractive tax incentives, the country is courting business from the world’s biggest companies.

The scale is enormous, with at least 1.5trn worth of public and private Thai Baht (US$43bn) expected to be spent on the EEC over the next five years. The numbers only tell a part of it, however, for Thailand is a nation not just eager to be one of ASEAN’s success stories, but keen to create a culture of innovation in its economy.

At the heart of the EEC Keeping ahead of the game when it comes to technology is at the core of the EEC project, as Secretary 22

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General Kanit Sangsubhan explains.

“We set up the EEC because technology disruption is sweeping across the world now. If you cannot follow the trends, you will be in trouble,” he comments from his department’s offices in Bangkok.

“Now, what we’re trying to do is to predict what new industries can prosper in Thailand. We’re talking about, for example, the electric vehicle market. Thailand has a big base for automobiles already, so how can we upgrade it to suit the new trend of electric vehicles?”

The next-generation automotive industry is just one of Thailand’s initial target areas for development, along with intelligent electronics, advanced agriculture and biotechnology enterprises, food processing industries and tourism.

Following on from these are five new industries it hopes to see grow in the region: advanced robotics, modern aviation, healthcare services, biofuel and biochemical industries and digital technology industries.

Innovation even has its own subcategory within the EEC project, with a specific EECi region dedicated to fostering the best talent through

“We set up the EEC because technology disruption is sweeping across the world now. If you cannot follow the trends, you will be in trouble” Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary General of the EEC project

VIDEO: THAILAND’S EASTERN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (EEC)

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INSIGHT research and development and education partnerships with leading institutes, such as the Vidyasirimedhi Institute in Rayong.

“Our university was one of the first to help the government in creating its next-generation manpower to support the EEC,” says its Director, Dr Pailin Chuchottaworn.

“We never think, though, that with this one alone we can change the country. Actually what we consider ourselves as is a discipline.

“The meaning is that if we find success in what we are doing, we will create a wave of change to our system.

With this change being in place at Thai

$43BN

(US Dollars) Expected investment in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor [EEC] project in the next five years

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universities, the country will benefit.”

The major projects One of the biggest expenditures in the EEC is taking place at U-Tapao International Airport, a combined civil and military airport built by the US during the Vietnam War in the Ban Chang district of Rayong, around 175km south of Bangkok.

Some 200bn Baht (US$5.7bn) is being spent to evolve U-Tapao into a world-class centre for passenger and logistics aviation. A second runway will be installed by 2021, along with a new terminal building and an upgraded Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre. Airbus and national carrier Thai Airways are invested in its development after a signing a Memorandum of Understanding in March.

“At this stage, we operate and provide services just for passengers but in the near future we will add more activities concerned with the aero-industry and the growth of the industry in the area,” says Woralpol Tongpricha, the airport’s Director.

“We will add better logistic operations inside the airfield with the MRO activities and we will

provide some part of that area for investors who provide services in terms of aircraft maintenance. The training centre is vital for the growth of the aero-industry as well, so a lot of the training activity will be located in the centre at U-Tapao.”

As one of the logistical hubs of the EEC, the travel time from U-Tapao to Bangkok is set to be halved with the construction of state-of-the-art transport systems from Rayong’s south coast right up to Donmuang International Airport on the outskirts of the capital.

High-speed trains will link U-Tapao to Donmuang via Bangkok’s main passenger airport, Suvarnabhumi, a project set to cost 158bn Baht (US$4.5bn). The motorway connecting Rayong to Bangkok will be extended and expanded, while double-track rail lines are to be built to better serve Thailand’s key industrial zones and connect three major ports at Laem Chabang, Map Ta Phut and Sattahip.

Laem Chabang’s deep sea port itself is the subject of an 88bn Baht (US$2.5bn) upgrade. Currently among the top 25 ports of its kind in the world, the implementation of its Phase 3 plan – five major new terminals – will 25

INSIGHT

increase annual container capacity to nearly 19mn twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), elevating it into the top 15.

Already the country’s main through point for imports and exports, the government hopes to see Laem Chabang develop further into the ‘Rotterdam of ASEAN’, the region’s primary gateway.

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Thailand 4.0 These vast swathes of investment into the EEC all make up part of Thailand’s wider aim to stand out among a group of equally ambitious nations in Southeast Asia. The next stage of its long-term economic model is ‘Thailand 4.0,’ or the creation of an innovation-driven

“We set up the EEC because technology disruption is sweeping across the world now. If you cannot follow the trends, you will be in trouble” Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary General of the EEC project

society. Sangsubhan believes it will be achieved in cooperation with its neighbours, however, rather than in competition with them.

“We’re not in the competitive mode so much, we’re talking more about cooperation,” he concludes.

“We compete but it’s a healthy kind of competition, to obtain new

technologies. That’s what we need, but it’s not about competing for the business. We can get along well.

“With the EEC, we’ll call for cooperation with our neighbouring countries. The question is ‘how can we spread the development of this region from the EEC to the likes of Myanmar or Cambodia?’ That’s our aim.”

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Biggest economies in Asia What are the 10 biggest economies in Asia, based on their 2016 GDP, and what factors are driving these economies to the top?

Written by OLIVIA MINNOCK

TOP 10

TOP 10

10 United Arab Emirates

An oil-refinery petrochemical facility in UAE

Oil is the major industry in the United Arab Emirates, and reserves of oil have been discovered which allow the country to produce almost 2.2mn barrels every day.

While oil is responsible for a huge portion of this country’s $375bn GDP, production of construction materials, textiles and energy production all play a role as well.

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09 THAILAND

Cement plant and rocky mountains in Saraburi, Thailand

The economy of Thailand has continued to grow throughout the years, and the 1980s saw big growth for this small country. The GDP for Thailand in 2016 was $390.6bn. While Thailand took some financial hits in the 1990s, it has recovered and is now considered a top contender in economies throughout the world. The major industries are agriculture and mining of natural resources, followed by manufacturing and construction.

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TOP 10

08 Islamic Republic of Iran

The petrochemistry industry makes up 80% of Iran’s exports

Iran is heavily dependent on the oil industry, which makes up 80% of the country’s total exports. Only 10% of Iran’s land can be farmed, but agriculture provides jobs for a third of its labour force. WBeyond petroleum, textiles are the second biggest product produced in the country. As an oil dependent nation, Iran depends on large countries such as China for solid export relations.

The country’s GDP was $412.3bn dollars in 2016.

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07 Taiwan

The Taiwanese electronics industry is world renowned

Taiwan’s major industry is the electronics industry. From smartphones and tablets to personal computers, Taiwan is a big manufacturer of personal electronic devices. The current GDP in Taiwan is $519.2bn, which has been a slight decrease from the previous year. In addition, Taiwan has a growing petroleum refining industry, manufactures chemicals, and produces textiles. The country also produces cars, consumer products and pharmaceuticals.

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06 Saudi Arabia

2016’s oil price fluctuations impacted Saudi Arabia’s GDP

Saudi Arabia is primarily an oil-driven economy controlled heavily by the government. As the country is in possession of roughly 16% of the total oil reserves in the world, 90% of all export income comes from oil, and 87% of the money earned by the government is through crude oil.

However, unemployment can run high in Saudi Arabia.

The GDP in 2016 was $637.8bn, slightly lower than the year before mainly due to fluctuation of oil prices.

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05 Indonesia

Indonesia is reliant on oil and gas exports

With good access to many natural resources, the GDP of Indonesia keeps growing. In 2016, the GDP was $941bn and it is only expected to rise. Indonesia is a large country, with over 250,000 people living among the 17,508 islands. Indonesia is a major exporter of gas, crude oil, rubber, plywood and textiles. While the unemployment rate in Indonesia is high, resting at 6%, Indonesia continues to grow and improve its overall GDP. 35

TOP 10

04 South Korea

Manufacturing is a key industry in South Korea

The service industry is responsible for South Korea’s current position on the list. Services make up almost 55% of South Korea’s $1.40trn GDP, which includes grocery stores, chain stores and department stores.

Manufacturing is the next largest industry, making up close to 40% of the GDP. South Korea manufactures textiles, ships, automobiles and consumer electronics, among other products meant for individual consumption.

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03 India

India is one of the world’s most renowned textile producers

India’s GDP has seen growth over recent years, with a 2016 GDP of $2.25trn. Some of the main industries in India include clothing and textiles, chemical production, steel mining, petroleum, software applications and processed food production. Manufacturing fertilisers makes up for more than 20% of India’s total GDP.

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TOP 10

02 Japan

A view of Mount Fuji from Shizuoka prefecture

With a GDP of $4.73trn, Japan is the second largest economy in Asia. The biggest export industry in Japan is automobiles, followed closely by consumer electronics. Japan is one of the top countries in the world for providing electronics including computers, cell phones, and high-end professional cameras.

Japan also has major industries in pharmaceuticals, clothing manufacturing and processing food.

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01

China

Ranking as the number two economy in the world, China is consistently the highest-ranking country in Asia based on the GDP. With a total GDP of $11.39trn, China far surpasses other Asian countries. Mass producing products for export throughout the world, there are a number of major industries throughout China. Mining of coal, steel and iron are major in China, as well as textile manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, food processing and a wide range of consumer products.

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The $1bn-plus challenge to connect Indonesia’s remote communities Written by STUART HODGE Produced by KIRON CHAVDA

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Mora Telematika Indonesia has won two of the three contracts for the Palapa Ring network infrastructure project and it will stop at nothing to increase internet connectivity across the country

F

or Mora Telematika Indonesia (Moratel), it’s all about evolution.

The telecommunications infrastructure company has seen significant growth in recent years as the demand for broadband, supported by the growth of data consumption and a government push towards digitisation, has increased exponentially in the country.

Moratel is now the number two fixed broadband player in the domestic market and as well as providing wholesale connections for telecoms companies, with over 25,000km of optic fiber cable laid down by the company in Indonesia now, it also supplies to most of the active ISPs in Indonesia.

The company was recently awarded two contracts for the massive $1bn-plus Palapa Ring network infrastructure project by the Indonesian government.

The project is split into three main areas (western, central and eastern region) and with two thirds of the business going Moratel’s way, it is now focused on delivering on the project which will see around 440 cities or regions in three dozen provinces

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Mora Telematika Indonesia’s CTO, Michael McPhail

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across the span of the country as being a leader in the space, but become digitally connected. we’re also recognised as being Moratel’s CTO, Michael McPhail, truly independent. The operators in says the company is passionate about Indonesia have limited sharing on delivering connectivity to some of the any real activities or projects. I think more remote parts of country, but Moratel is seen as being independent, admits that the topographical and and because of that I think people geographical challenges feel more comfortable are considerable. dealing with us.

He explains: “We’ve “One of the things won two major projects that they’re all very from the government, aware of is that it’s West Package and East very, very difficult to Package and that’s part get a connection out of that overall broadband to a lot of the remote plan for us to connect areas of the country.

The year that different locations and There’s a challenging Mora Telematika areas which have limited business case to build Indonesia fiber infrastructure right that connection which was founded now, so that we can is why it’s supported extend that reach out to by the government.” the remote areas of Indonesia and The Palapa project will connect connect the islands together. For East Java, where 65% of the Indonesian Package, Moratel joined together population lives, through into with Smartfren and Inti Bangun Papua. A mixture of submarine Sejahtera forming a consortium. and inland cable will be used, and “There’s a huge push in microwave connections will also infrastructure deployment in general be needed in Papua because in Indonesia. I think we’re recognised there are certain areas where there

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“I think we’re recognised as being a leader in the space, but we’re also recognised as being truly independent” MICHAEL MCPHAIL CTO, Mora Telematika Indonesia Staff celebrating branch office soft launch

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are no roads, and the only way you can actually build is by flying the infrastructure up there.

But this is far from the only logistical challenge, with some of the undersea cables up to 5,000m below sea level and also part of the network passing through the outer edges of the Ring Of Fire, the basin in the Pacific Ocean where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

McPhail says: “From a submarine perspective, we have to be careful where we deploy. Some of the companies that are doing the marine surveys for us, who deal with some of the major projects in the world, see this project as one of the most complicated submarine projects they’ve actually witnessed in terms of the number of landing points

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that we have, the geographical as possible internally-managed. conditions that we have to lay the In fact, the only software platform cable across, and also the depth. that was not designed or managed by “And in Papua, we’re building towers their own team was the Oracle suite, to deal with the microwave connection pertaining finances, the rest of the and the only way we can get the company’s entire digital infrastructure material to the location is all Moratel’s own work. is by airlifting. It’s McPhail adds: “As extremely expensive a company, one of and prohibitive, the ways that Moratel which is why the can do to strongly government support compete in the market is important. Basically, is by maintaining the way it works is costs and quality by that we build the keeping in-house as Number of project for them and much as possible. employees at manage for 15 years, “Everything we do, Mora Telematika payment is based in terms of how we Indonesia on the availability manage the team, our of the system.” internal management processes, knowledge FORWARD THINKING managment, HRMS, dashboards, What has allowed Moratel to overcome we’re trying to build everything the environmental challenges and in-house so that we have endestablish itself as a reliable provider to-end management ourselves. of network infrastructure in the “Our IT team is a good example. region, is a desire to stay ahead of We recently built our entire BSS the digital technology curve and stack for our IPTV service which also by keeping as many elements includes automatic ordering and

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November 2017

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Delivering a New & Improved Digital World

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“We’re trying to build everything in-house so that we have end-to-end management ourselves” MICHAEL MCPHAIL CTO, Mora Telematika Indonesia

provisioning. On the operations side, we use the network management systems provided by our suppliers but in terms of our CRM solution, our Trouble Ticketing solution, how that gets moved into reporting that’s all developed in-house.

“It allows us to be able to control and manage the applications well so that we can customise to what we need to deliver. That gives us an advantage because we maintain a lean and agile approach ensureing our cost in deploying is significantly lower than our competition.”

And that is perhaps the key to Moratel’s success, and the company is growing, both in the scope of network provision it is looking to provide and just bare numbers.

The company is having to expand

Inside Moratel’s Operations Center at Graha 9

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M O R A T E L E M AT I K A I N D O N E S I A

Loading submarine cable to the Bold Maverick, one of the vessels used to lay on Palapa Ring Barat

Inside a Moratel data centre 54

November 2017

TECHNOLOGY

the workforce to deal with the increasing amount of work it is getting and there are also ambitious plans for a massive expansion in connectivity between Jakarta and Singapore.

McPhail concludes: “As an organisation we’re continually evolving and expanding to meet the demands of the work that we’re doing. We’re growing in double-digit numbers every year.

“In our Sumatra backbone, with Jakarta and our main connection from Jakarta to Singapore, we have huge upgrades planned for the next year. We’re not talking 10G

connections, we’ll be increasing our connections to a minimum of 100G with increments to over 1T. “What we’ve seen is the consumption of data growing so fast, that means for us to be able to continue to provide for our customers, we’re having to expand our network aggressively, while expanding diversity to increase reslience.”

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LOGISTICAL PROWESS Written by Nell Walker Produced by Charlotte Clarke

The LF Logistics Digital Dashboard that provides real-time information for operations in Singapore

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Joseph Phi, President of LF Logistics, describes the ways in which his business has achieved incredible success with hand-picked technologies and an enviable company culture

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hina is the largest and fastest-growing online market in the world, and LF Logistics has pivoted to ride on this growth bandwagon through its e-logistics services.

From working with just one brand in 2010, LF Logistics now collaborates with over 40 world-renowned multinational brands. This year, the number of orders it will process during Singles’ Day (the equivalent of Black Friday and Cyber Monday) is expected to exceed 8,000,000.

Just four years ago, the number was 300,000. At this rate of growth, LF Logistics is well on its way to dominate this all-important market segment.

Guided by its operations-centric philosophy, LF Logistics has built an unparalleled track record of executing an excellent omni-channel strategy for customers, a well-acknowledged point of differentiation against its rivals.

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Asia is its home court, and it enjoys a superb home-court advantage.

LF Logistics focuses on five key verticals – Footwear & Apparel, FMCG, Food & Beverage, Healthcare, and Electronics. For each vertical, the goal is to become either number one or two in every market in which it competes.

Its scalable and repeatable business model allows the company to add a new vertical at the right time and with the right opportunity. Its menu of services includes distribution center management, transport (including first and last-mile delivery), freight forwarding, hubbing and consolidation, order processing, data analytics and other value-added services.

LF Logistics runs a full suite of IT services that digitises each facet of its customer’s demand and supply chain.

This global logistics arm of Li & Fung, the world’s leading supply chain solutions partner for brands and

Joseph Phi, President of LF Logistics

A STRONG SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIP LF Logistics’ Distribution Centre Management services nearly 400 brands worldwide, and needed a new, purposebuilt warehouse to meet growing demand.

With land in Singapore both scarce and expensive, and skilled labour difficult to find, LF Logistics decided to invest in a highbay, automated warehousing solution for its new ambient and temperature-controlled food and beverage facility in Jurong. The move to a 38 metre high SRM system would greatly reduce the footprint of the new facility, and the need for as many skilled operators.

LF Logistics turned to automation leaders, Dematic, who it knew could meet its requirements, especially with Dematic’s fast and experienced local customer support team. These expert resources would be

crucial to meet the extremely tight project schedule. And Dematic committed its very best people.

Dematic developed a solution that incorporated 11 SRMs, goods-to-person pick stations, 45,000 pallet positions, and conveyor with modular and configurable controls, all controlled by Dematic’s iQ Warehouse Control System software.

Dematic and LF Logistics worked together as a team to bring the new facility to life.

The result of this successful partnership was a fast, efficient and reliable distribution solution capable of an impressive throughput of 200 pallets per hour. And LF Logistics and Dematic are looking forward to more successful partnerships in the future.

Ask us. +65 6398 3980 www.dematic.com Logistics Solutions

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LF LOGISTICS

The ASRS, an Automated Storage and Retrieval System as well as the automated conveyor in LFL Singapore World Gateway DC

The semi-automated conveyor in LFL Hong Kong Regional DC 62

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“In today’s digital world, we must stay relevant by constantly adapting and pivoting, and selectively applying pertinent technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Having said this, it is essential that we don’t get carried away by technology” JOSEPH PHI President of LF Logistics Using augmented technology to improve efficiency in the dispatch process

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Grand opening of World Gateway in Singapore retailers, is run by Joseph Phi, President of LF Logistics. With an illustrious career spanning three decades, Phi has nurtured the organisation and guided its evolution every step of the way.

Phi describes his leadership style as embracing both the old and the new.

“In today’s digital world, we must stay relevant by constantly adapting and pivoting, and selectively applying pertinent technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Having said this, it is essential that we don’t get carried away by technology,” he says.

“We need to take heed of what is driving

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logistics and what makes it tick in the first place. At the centre of what we do is our people. We must cultivate a sense of compassion, making sure our people feel engaged and stay involved, and that we help them realise their full potential.

By juxtaposing people motivation with digital solution, we are able to curate a superb customer experience.”

On the technology front, LF Logistics keeps itself informed of emerging technologies that will make its processes simpler, easier, and quicker, and experiments with them in a practical way to assess the benefits they would

GLP PARK BAOSHAN YUEPU FOR LF LOGISTICS, SHANGHAI, CHINA

Together, we make a difference GLP is the leading provider of modern logistics facilities in China, Japan, US and Brazil. Our property portfolio of 55.8 million square meters is strategically located across 118 cities, forming an efficient logistics network serving more than 4,000 customers.

www.glprop.com | group.enquires@glprop.com “Our relationship with GLP is driven by the need for modern logistics solutions in the right locations across China. As a leading global supply chain manager, we require an efficient and seamless logistics solutions network with the flexibility to expand when needed, that’s close to our customer base and environmentally responsible. GLP meets all of these requirements, which is why we are expanding our cooperation”.

Dominic Gates, Executive Director, Head of North Asia, LF Logistics,

“At the centre of what we do is our people. We must cultivate a sense of compassion, making sure our people feel engaged and stay involved, and that we help them realise their full potential�

JOSEPH PHI President of LF Logistics

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Day After Day, We Try Our Better Than The Best

Our racking system design contributes to our customers to build smart warehouses with perfect balance of density and efficiency.

Tel: 86-21-37620933 | export@jxlogistics.com | www.jxlogistics.com Shanghai Jingxing Storage Equipment Engineering Co.,Ltd. No. 398, Maoting Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai,201611 China

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offer to the business. Some of the experiments it has conducted include vision picking, operating drones for cycle counting, using smart watches to highlight process bottlenecks, among others. Having said this, Phi is adamant that his business uses technology to enrich the quality of work life of the staff, as well as to enhance service level to customers. It is never technology for technology’s sake.

One area LF Logistics does use heavily is data analytics. “By digitising our processes, we are able to leverage our huge database that allows us to constantly learn from hindsight information and make mid-course adjustments. We are also able to generate business insights to aid in decision making.

More importantly, with data, we now can purposefully anticipate and prepare for future business needs with better foresight,” says Phi. INSPIRE Greatness LF Logistics’ culture is driven by its INSPIRE values (Innovation, Nimbleness, Simplicity, Productivity,

Supply Chain Analytics

In this video, LF Logistics shows how it uses data to help its customers and optimise its resources, inventory, information, process flow and plan for the next steps

Initiative, Reliability, Engagement), which aim to cherish employees and what they add to the business, while simultaneously encouraging them to work more effectively.

“I learned many years ago that culture is not something that’s a platitude you can hang on a wall,” says Phi. “It’s not what we say as management, it’s what people are saying about us when we’re not watching. From a management standpoint, we believe the best way to create a culture is for us to behave in a certain way for people to emulate.” This attitude of

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LF LOGISTICS

LF Logistics annual dinner inspiring the best behavior in others flows from the heart of the business.

TEAMWORK LF Logistics follows an asset-light model. As such, it works closely with warehouse developers, truckers, labor agencies and other vendors when developing a solution for its customers. To forge long-term partnership with the vendor community, it follows the TEAMWORK principle.

TEAMWORK stands for Trust, Engagement, Accountability, both

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sides driving positive Momentum, Win-win situations, Operation-centric, taking Risks, and KPIs. This is the framework used by LF Logistics in building its partnership ecosystem. “First and foremost, you need to build trust, and for people to trust us, we need to have a sense of humanity.

Our customers and partners can count on us during the good times and bad.

When things are going well, how can we scale quickly to support their growth?

When things are going less well, how do we streamline so we can provide

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a cost cushion for our customers?

“For the ecosystem to thrive, each member has to be better off by being part of it. This means we need to measure and gauge how well we’re doing as partners,” says Phi. “The challenges are a spectrum, but what’s important is that the partnership is sustainable.”

This all feeds into Phi’s vision of building the model partnership ecosystem that stands the test of time. This in turn helps position LF Logistics as the most admired

logistics company in the industry.

Phi quotes a Confucian teaching to underscore the way he runs his business – “Talk to me, and I listen. Show me, and I understand. Involve me, and I’ll make it happen” – and with his leadership and a solid company culture that involves his people, customers and partners, LF Logistics’ sterling growth momentum shall continue way into the future.

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THE CUSTOMER IS EVERYTHING Written by Ben Mouncer Produced by Charlotte Clarke

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Arnaud Derbaudrenghien, Managing Director of Katoen Natie in Thailand, talks about the company’s customercentric philosophy and why it won’t be budging from Thailand any time soon

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t Katoen Natie, one priority runs through everything it does – its desire to go above and beyond when serving its customers.

As one of the world’s premier logistics service providers, the Belgian company’s reputation has steadily grown since being founded in 1854 by four working partners handling cotton goods in their native country.

Now with operations in North and South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East as well as Europe, Katoen Natie, though still familyowned, employs over 13,000 workers worldwide, building on-site, support and multi-customer platforms to smoothen the supply chain for many of the world’s biggest companies.

Arnaud Derbaudrenghien is Managing Director of one of the business units in Thailand, where it works side-by-side with customers in the country’s eastern province

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of Rayong. He explains how the company’s close relationships with its partners work.

“As a company we try to work on a longer-term base with our customers, and because of that we have grown to be a multinational company operating all over the world,” says Derbaudrenghien.

“We work with multinationals in Thailand who have the same international standards. We provide state of the art facilities, together with our processes and our trained teams which can provide the premium services our customers require. We have customers like BMW, Ford and Suzuki, but we also work with the first tier and second tier suppliers of these companies. Basically, we build up a network within our customers that goes through the whole loop of the supply chain.

“We are not in it for a quick shot

“As a company we try to work on a longerterm base with our customers… we are not in it for a quick shot - we are in it for the long-term” Arnaud Derbaudrenghien Managing Director of Katoen Natie Thailand

Arnaud Derbaudrenghien on how Katoen Natie goes above and beyond for its customers

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sophisticated IT management solution - we are in it for the long-term. We that successfully connects its own cannot just go to a customer and say system with those of its customers, ‘okay, we take the quick money for giving all of the information and one year’ and then forget about them. reporting needed for the customers Our strategy is to invest in long term to optimize their planning, work relationships with our customers. process and logistic flows.

That’s why we have our own assets The solution, built using electronic and develop further together with data interchange (EDI) technology, our customers further business generates automatic reports on and collaboration. We as a a highly-secure two-way company has already channel between invested quite a lot both companies. of money here in It’s a process that Thailand and our has proven highly plan is to continue successful for Katoen to do so. We have Natie, but also one some customers to which it commits that have been with time and resources us for more than Number of employees to improving.

15 years, and we at Katoen Natie “To have an efficient work every day to keep and correct information them satisfied and expand flow is really important. our long-lasting collaborations.”

Otherwise, our customers cannot work,” Derbaudrenghien explains.

Innovating to improve “We have a complete team that is customer delivery working on that in our HQ. It develops All of Katoen Natie’s work to improve regularly based on feedback from our its service is part of its promise to customers, improving our system to deliver ‘value-added logistics’, and be up to date with the developments a key selling point of its offering is a

13,000

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K AT O E N N AT I E

“They (companies) will have more incentives to see Thailand as a perfect location in order to develop further their business” Arnaud Derbaudrenghien Managing Director of Katoen Natie Thailand

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within our industries, and to the specific needs of our customers.

“The EDI messages are all encoded, making it secure to send messages in and out of their systems. In today’s business environment a lot of attention is given by our customers to cyber security and to the securement of their own IT systems. With these developments our customer can be assured that this combines operational efficiency without having security breaches within their systems.

“At the moment, when the customer sends an order out, it will automatically come into our system

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and we will be able to process that order. The same happens once we complete an order - it will send a signal towards the system of the customer so that the customer knows that it has already been implemented.”

Further innovation can be seen in its warehouses too, where Katoen Natie works to reduce the links in its customers’ supply chains by providing an advanced service when it comes to the handling of goods, often tailored to the specific requirements of each client.

“What we try to do at Katoen Natie is think together with the customer,

and always look for opportunities to improve the complete process of our customers, providing them additional services so our customers can focus on their core business, while leaving the complete supply chain part to us.”

Derbaudrenghien wants to do more in the near future, however, adding: “Our goal is always to go a step further in the process.

“What we usually start with, in the first steps of our logistic process is just to receive, store and send out the collies of our customers. The next step is to say, ‘okay, what can we do more for this customer to help them in their process?

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“For example, what we can do for them for example are quality checks of incoming goods, repackaging of goods, pre-assembly of parts, sequencing of the parts to the production lines of our customers.

“Often the level of service will depend on the specific flows of our customers, on the challenges that they are facing and on some of the bottlenecks/quality issues within their productions that we can help to resolve by providing our services.”

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Thailand’s bid for business Katoen Natie currently operates a total of 350,000 sq metres of warehousing space in Thailand, split over two main locations.

Nevertheless, the company is still looking to further expand its offering.

Extra efforts are being made by the country’s government to attract foreign investment and this is undoubtedly positive news for Derbaudrenghien.

His warehouses are situated in Thailand’s newly-defined Eastern

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1854

The year that Katoen Natie was founded

Economic Corridor (EEC), a region along its eastern seaboard where at least 1.5trn Thai Baht is set to be invested over the next five years to transform its logistics infrastructure. Major work is being undertaken at the nearby U-Tapao International Airport and Laem Chabang deep sea port, on top of considerable road and rail upheaval.

Companies from around the world are being incentivised to bring business to the EEC, with corporate income tax exemptions of up to 13 years available if they meet certain criteria.

“It will mean that we’ll have companies that before were not considering Thailand as a potential hub,” says Derbaudrenghien. “They will have more incentives to see Thailand as a perfect location in order to develop further their business. From there on, they can be involved in and develop both the domestic markets and the exports markets in the region too.

“The locations for supply chain are really, really important. The government has made quite some effort in order to make roads better. They will have a railway too that will give the opportunity to send goods all over Thailand and even to China.

“All this connectivity will help not only the logistics, but I think industry in general in order to support further development and more efficient development.”

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Accelerating towards

INDUSTRY 4.0

Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Charlotte Clarke

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The automotive industry is currently embracing the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’, commonly known as Industry 4.0. As the sector shifts its focus towards the world of self-driving cars, Nexteer Automotive has emerged as a market leader with technological prowess and ingenuity

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riverless cars used to be a thing of the future. However, now, with technological innovation, Nexteer Automotive is making autonomous cars an ever-closer reality. Specialised in steering and driveline solutions, Nexteer Automotive is the number three global supplier of steering systems and half shafts.

“Our vision for the future is to be a leader in intuitive motion control,” says Alberto Rodriguez, Asia Pacific Manufacturing Engineering Director.

“This is an important objective for us because, as the automotive world is evolving to become more autonomous, ‘intuitive’ will be a keyword which defines our company’s vision.”

Nexteer Automotive is a multi-billion automotive company purchased in 2010 by Chinese firm Pacific Century Motors from General Motors. However, the company’s roots run much deeper.

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Nexteer Automotive originated in 1906 as the Jackson, Church and Wilcox, Co. in Michigan, USA and was later acquired by the Buick Motor Car Co. in 1909. Buick eventually became General Motors. It is this rich heritage and expertise that gives the company a competitive edge, explains Rodriguez.

“Vehicle system integration is in our DNA. That’s why when we work with OEM’s - we can clearly understand their requirements and their product needs. This allows us to provide highlycustomisable and suitable steering solutions for the industry and it’s why we are the partner of choice for OEMs.” Global reach Nexteer Automotive has 25 manufacturing plants, three technical centers, and 11 customer service centers located strategically across North and South America, Europe and Asia. Spanning across four

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Number of staff at NEXTEER AUTOMOTIVE

10,000 Alberto Rodriguez, Asia Pacific Manufacturing Engineering Director BELOW: Asia Pacific headquarters and tech centre in Suzhou, China ABOVE:

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“If we want to be a player in the coming years we need to be actively working to be ahead of the autonomous driving trend” ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ Asia Pacific Manufacturing Engineering Director

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continents, the company’s large global footprint is pivotal to its success.

“Our extensive footprint allows us to follow our main global customers and OEM’s such as the big three in the US – General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler – or BMW in Europe, for example. Having a global, extensive footprint allows us to have a greater reach and serve any type of customer, whether they’re global or local.”

As Asia-Pacific Manufacturing Engineering Director, Rodriguez understands the opportunities which lie east, particularly in the booming Chinese automotive market. “It is a very strategic and promising market for us,” notes Rodriguez. “If we look at the Asia-Pacific market, particularly in China, you can see that it is growing rapidly. Right now, the Chinese automotive market represents about 30% of all the vehicles sold in the world and if we look more broadly at AsiaPacific, more than 50% of vehicles sold in the world are sold in the region.

China, India and Indonesia are all big opportunities for growth. With our technical center, five customer service centers and 11 manufacturing plants

in the Asia-Pacific region, we are well aligned to meet that growing demand.”

Trendsetter The sector is currently in the midst of a Fourth Industrial revolution, commonly known as Industry 4.0. It is an exciting and bold shift for the automotive industry, and it is one which Nexteer Automotive has embraced with its ‘Manufacturing 4.0’ vision. As part of this strategy, Nexteer has been developing an interconnected ‘Digital Thread’ of manufacturing technologies to help optimise its work chain. Today, the company uses these technologies to plan upcoming production needs, track products throughout the manufacturing cycle, manage inventory and material flow throughout the complete supply chain, gather and analyse real time data from the production line, and ensure final product quality.

Nexteer Automotive is at the forefront of Industry 4.0, working diligently with both partners and suppliers to ensure that the company remains ahead of the curve. As part of this, the company is looking into big data analytic solutions

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FACTS

NEXTEER AUTOMOTIVE

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Nexteer Automotive has 25 manufacturing plants, three technical centers, and 11 customer service centers located strategically across North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The Chinese automotive market represents about 30% of all the vehicles sold in the world and if we look more broadly at Asia-Pacific, more than 50% of vehicles sold in the world are sold in the region.

Nexteer Automotive is the number three global supplier of steering systems and half shafts.

November 2017

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facilitated by cloud computing platforms. These solutions enable the real-time computing of products and process data in order to support predictive quality and maintenance models. Another area of interest for Nexteer Automotive is virtual reality, as Rodriguez says that the technology could shorten manufacturing system design development cycles. By allowing the company to virtually approve aspects of equipment design such as material flow, ergonomics and workplace organisation before physical construction, virtual reality could enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing chain. Although the cost of labour in China is low, Nexteer Automotive also believes that Co-Bots (Collaborative Robots) could also be a cost-effective solution to the automotive industry. Co-Bots can collaborate safely with the operator, undertake work usually done by the operator, and can also perform critical inspection operations when coupled with an artificial vision system.

From a technology partnership perspective, one project that Rodriguez is excited about is the company’s

joint venture with automotive supplier Continental. Focused on advancing motion control systems and components for automated driving, it is hoped that this venture will further accelerate advancements in automated driving to meet the demands of autonomous cars.

“Nexteer is specialized in steering systems that laterally control the vehicle whilst Continental is a major player in longitudinal control,” says Rodriguez. “Therefore, the purpose of this venture is to create a fully integrated solution that allows for autonomous driving. It’s an important partnership because innovation is a key part of our community at Nexteer Automotive. Also, if we want to be a player in the coming years we need to be actively working to be ahead of the autonomous driving trend.”

Although a transformative force, Industry 4.0 doesn’t come without its challenges. Cybersecurity and data protection is of the utmost importance to the company and so Nexteer Automotive is keen to tackle the demands of innovation with care and precaution. “Our products have

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NEXTEER AUTOMOTIVE

a lot of software and they control crucial functions of car control,” says Rodriguez. “From that perspective, it’s very important that we protect our product and manufacturing process to ensure that no one could compromise our system. Therefore, when we talk about the tools and solutions that Industry 4.0 can offer, we are keen to approach new innovation with the utmost care and precaution.

As we go beyond the four walls of Nexteer Automotive, we want to make sure that we are fully protected.”

Driverless cars have four stages of development: feet off, hands off, eyes off and, finally, brain off. “All of the technology is available to make driverless cars a reality,” notes Rodriguez. “The automotive industry is becoming more intuitive, more autonomous and in our field, we are at the heart of this shift. As technology evolves, the challenge that we see is that regulation needs to adapt to cope with those changes and also needs to be consistent from country to country. For instance, we can see that in China, they are already modifying the laws to push autonomous

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driving and electric cars. While this requires a shift in laws and regulation there also has to be a change in the infrastructure and the cultural norms.”

We are currently at the cusp of a new industrial revolution and as a result, driverless cars seem an ever-closer reality. But in this evolving industry, what does the road ahead look like for Nexteer Automotive? “The future is bright,” reflects Rodriguez. “We have grown significantly over the past few years. We are currently the number three steering solution supplier globally and we are hoping to close this gap to become number one in the near future.

We want to really make our mark in the Asia-Pacific market, particularly the Chinese automotive market. Right now, when we’re the partner of choice for OEM’s and there’s increasing investment in the industry, our vision of becoming a leader in intuitive motion control is more relevant than ever.”

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Example of collaborative robot working side by side with the operator - no fence needed with force collision detection feature integrated in the robot TOP RIGHT: Asia Pacific headquarters and tech centre in Suzhou, China BELOW: A collaborative robot coupled with camera to perform 100% inspection on critical product features TOP LEFT:

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PCI: Electronics manufacturing made simple W R I T T E N B Y DA L E B E N TO N P RO D U C E D B Y C H A R LOT T E C L A R K E

PCI’s cell manufacturi

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ing division

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Through a transformation programme taking things “back to basics”, PCI has positioned itself to ride the oncoming wave of digitisation

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CI Limited (PCI) is an Electronics Manufacturing Serviced (EMS) company headquartered in Singapore. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, extending to all points in the manufacturing outsourcing cycle. This comprises of design, manufacturing engineering, material sourcing and procurement, assembly, testing and logistics. From the launch of new products to improving the competitiveness of existing projects, PCI remains dedicated to enhancing value at every step of the supply chain.

“We are a customer centric EMS company.

Apart from design and manufacturing electronic products for our customers, we are also capable in managing the entire supply chain for the customer,” says Dominic Chan, Senior Vice President, Operations - PCI. The goal? To be the EMS partner of choice for companies that require a highly competent service, one that can meet their complex demands.

A fully diversified company, PCI works with some of the leading businesses in a number of

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SAFE Secure, Align, Flexible, Ethical

“PCI is one of Velocity’s most valued business partner in the Asia region. We would like to congratulate Dominic and his dedicated teams at PCI on their recent successes!”

- Kris Kelly, CEO of Velocity.

Velocity supports manufacturers and distributors around the world with their most critical supply chain challenges while providing the highest level of quality – including shortage, obsolete, cost-savings, excess & obsolete material disposition, tailored inventory programs, and value-added services.

www.velocityelec.com

information@velocityelec.com

S U P P LY C H A I N

industry sectors, including industrial, commercial, consumer, automotive and medical.

Customer complexity As the Senior Vice President of Operations, Chan is all too aware of those complex needs and, more importantly, how quickly they can change.

“The electronics industry is so dynamic, and with that the supply chain demand is ever-evolving,” he says. “For me, that means that the supply chain and operations of the company have to be versatile and responsive, providing innovative solutions that can meet those changing and unique requirements.”

It is this need to be agile, to be innovative and to be able to offer the right solution to

1972

The year that PCI Limited was founded

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PCI LIMITED

“The supply chain and operations of the company have to be versatile and responsive, providing innovative solutions that can meet those changing and unique requirements” DOMINIC CHAN Senior VP Operations

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the right customer in the face of a changing customer expectation, that saw PCI embark on a transformative journey eight years ago, one that would “take things back to basics.

This journey saw the company invest significantly into three key areas that would completely transform the its supply chain operations, enabling that agility and versatility.

“We need to be able to respond rapidly to customer’s evolving needs and keep up with the pace of our industry. We needed to think big, but operate small,” says Chan.

Through this investment, PCI bolstered its workforce with training Programmes, equipping them with the right skillsets and to improve their work processes and problem-solving abilities.

The company also identified what Chan describes as “technology enablers”, which saw the implementation of a new ERP system (SAP) and linking it with PCI’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) in order to enable a far greater control of the production shop floor.

“It allowed us to collect more data,” says Chan. “And with that we could improve our overall performance.”

PCI also heavily invested in a system integration, one that revamped its entire quality system and certifying it to a number of standards, including ISO 9001 (Quality Management

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System (QMS), ISO 13485 (QMS for medical) and ISO/TS 16949 (QMS for automotive).

This particular level of investment was rewarded, with PCI receiving the Singapore Quality Class, a business excellence mark issued by SPRING Singapore.

A challenging landscape No transformation is without challenge, and to transform in the way that PCI has over the last eight years is certainly no exception.

“The greatest challenge, really, is helping all the team members adapt to change,” says Chan.

“We know that in our industry, the only constant is change. In each project implementation, we continue

1972

The year that PCI Limited was founded

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PCI LIMITED

“We know that in our industry, the only constant is change. In each project implementation, we continue to pay attention to training. The key to mastering a specific skillset or capability within the organisation is to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn” DOMINIC CHAN Senior VP Operations

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November 2017

to pay attention to training. The key to mastering a specific skillset or capability within the organisation is to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn.”

Amidst the quest for versatility and agility, PCI is supported by its supply partners. For Chan, in the eyes of the customer the supply chain is as strong as its weakest link, and the continuous challenge that PCI faces is identifying and working with the right partner who has the right capabilities for the company’s needs.

“It’s important to know where our own strengths and weaknesses are, and to find the right supply partner who can complement us in the right way so that we can elevate on one another’s strength to offer the best value proposition for our customers,” says Chan.

As one of the key areas for investment, technology has played a significant role in the transformation of PCI, and with the pace of technological change growing faster and faster, will continue to drive growth.

“It’s important to keep abreast of the latest developing in technology innovation. IT gives us more options in approaching any kind of challenges that we may face,” says Chan.

But as many companies innovate and implement new technologies, there can be the temptation to innovate for innovation’s sake. Chan, however, understands this changing landscape all too well.

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“Not all technology may be relevant,” he says.

“It is more important to know what we need, and what the technology can offer, rather than to just be always ahead of the technology innovation curve.”

Powered by people A major core value for the company is its people, and PCI goes to great lengths to secure the services of its skilled workforce long term, with a large portion of its staff being with the company for more than 10 years.

“Each year, PCI has a long list of long service award recipients during our annual dinner and dance,” says Chan. “This is something that we at PCI are proud of. We have an open work culture which brings about sufficient trust amongst peers and management that everyone is working towards a common goal of continuous improvement.”

While the company truly values the talent and the workforce already in its family, the company cannot ignore the future and the workforces of tomorrow. In Singapore, talent acquisition is a challenge for a number of manufacturing companies and so PCI works hard to attract the younger generations into a career in the industry.

“We run a management trainee Programme to recruit and nurture fresh graduates with high potential. We give them a chance to participate in key projects together with more experienced colleagues, providing them access to senior management, while

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DEDICATED PCB MANUFACTURING SERVICES

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“The vision for the company is to continue to be the EMS partner of choice for OEM companies who are leaders in their own field” DOMINIC CHAN Senior VP Operations

S U P P LY C H A I N

their career progression is being monitored by a mentor,” says Chan.

Over the last 30 years, PCI has grown, continued to innovate and remain as a manufacturer of choice, but the company cannot rest on its laurels.

Chan speaks to the age of digitalisation, with electronics manufacturing outsourcing continuing to expand at a rapid rate, with PCI being well positioned and consisting of all the right capabilities

and experience to ride this wave and propel it to greater heights.

“The vision for the company is to continue to be the EMS partner of choice for OEM companies who are leaders in their own field,” he says.

“This is achieved through a strong spirit in continuous improvement, and achieving excellence in all the strategic projects that we do.”

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78 NOVEMBER 2017

FRANCE  PARIS PORTE DE VERSAILLES  PAV. 4

Heading for a collaborative & digital supply chain

• EXHIBITION • BUSINESS MEETINGS • CONFERENCES www.supplychain-event.com

20-23 MARCH 2018

FRANCE  PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE  HALL 6

International Week of Transport and Logistics

• 40,500 PROFESSIONALS • 800 EXHIBITORS • 100 CONFERENCES • 8 HIGHLIGHTS • THE INNOVATION AWARDS • SMART HUB by SITL www.sitl.eu

20-23 MARCH 2018

FRANCE  PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE  HALL 6

Materials handling exhibition for industry and distribution

• 15,000 PROFESSIONALS • 150 EXHIBITORS • CONFERENCES • THE INTRALOGISTICS EQUIPMENT AWARD • SMART HUB by INTRALOGISTICS

www.intralogistics-europe.com