|
|
|
30 Aug 2007 Govt's logistics leg-up plan to yield $600m in value SMEs draw on the $10m fund to gain expertise, new skills for growth By NANDE KHIN SPRING Singapore's $10 million Logistics Capability Development Programme (CDP) is expected to add $600 million worth of value to the logistics industry by 2011, Spring Singapore chief executive Loh Khum Yean yesterday. This value-added will come from the 200 small and medium-sized enterprises which are expected to benefit from the programme, he said. Mr Loh was speaking at the showcase of the first batch of SMEs that have benefited from Logistics CDP. Spring Singapore is the government agency responsible for enhancing the competitiveness of local SMEs. It launched the Logistics CDP eight months ago to help SMEs upgrade their capabilities. So far, Spring Singapore has received 42 proposals from 51 companies. Some of these are joint projects between companies. Said Mr Loh: 'The (logistics) industry is undergoing a bit of a consolidation globally, where you see players merging in order to synergise complementary capabilities and also to grow in terms of scale and scope. This is an industry where scale and scope does matter.' But smaller players can carve a niche for themselves by specialising in certain logistics services which have higher barriers to entry, he said. And some of these SMEs are already doing so by making use of Spring's Logistics CDP. Pin Corporation, for example, is tapping funds provided by the programme to transform itself into a cold-chain logistics player. Liew Yew Fah, managing director of Pin, said that the family-owned business started off as an importer of frozen meat. But three years ago, it started to look into having storage facilities of its own. It has now set up a cold-storage facility in Mandai which can store about 10,000 tonnes of meat. 'We don't have the experience to manage cold-chain logistics, so we need help with the 'software' - the consultancy and advice,' said Mr Liew. Pin is getting grants under the Logistics CDP to help with consultancy costs. Two other companies that are tapping the programme are Chasen Logistics Services and R-Logic. Chasen provides specialised services to pack and relocate high-end semiconductor equipment. Expert knowledge is required for this as such equipment is extremely sensitive to shock and vibration. 'We are constantly upgrading our workers' skills. The Logistics CDP has provided us with some grants to help out with this,' said Eddie Siah, executive director of Chasen. He said that the company has used some of the funds to send a team of engineers to Holland to develop their technical expertise. He reckons that Chasen has 'easily the lion's share' in Singapore of this niche sector of logistics services targeting wafer-fab, TFT and LCD industries. R-Logic provides reverse logistics services which involves the collection of items for repairs and warranty management. It made use of grants under the Logistics CDP to engage external consultants to help with streamlining R-Logics's processes and achieve cost-savings. 'We pass these cost-savings back to our customers, and that becomes a competitive edge for us,' said Tan Wai Boon, managing director of R-Logic. Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. |