SPEECH BY MR SAM TAN, SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY AND INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS AT Asia Supply Chain & Operations 2011 ON Thursday, 7 APRIL 2011, 1005 HRS AT SUNTEC SINGAPORE.

Mr George Huang, President of the Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation

Mr Eric Schaudt, Chairman of APICS, The Association for Operations Management

Mr Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of APICS

Mr Winston Toh, Deputy Chief Executive of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good morning to all of you and a warm welcome to our guests from overseas.I am pleased to join you at the “Asia Supply Chain & Operations 2011” Conference.

Recent events have underlined the importance of the logistics and supply chain management profession in our globalised world economy.After the earthquake in Japan, the derailed operations of some Japanese industries caused a chain reaction of disruptions around the world.As far as Germany and India, companies like automobile and mobile phone manufacturers suddenly had to deal with shortages of parts, with many shutting their plants as a result.This underscores the extent to which the economies of the world are closely inter-twined, and how crucial it is to keep the machinery of the global supply chain well-oiled and running.

This is especially imperative for Singapore as we position ourselves as a Global-Asia Hub, facilitating trade between Asia and the rest of the world.Singapore’s strong logistics sector provides a strong foundation for us to establish our role as a regional centre.

A 2010 World Bank report has ranked Singapore as the number two logistics hub in the world, ahead of the Netherlands, Sweden and Asian heavyweights such as Japan, Hong Kong and China.Singapore is strategically located between the East and West.We offer world-class infrastructure and excellent connectivity, a base of leading industry players and customers, as well as excellent capabilities in logistics and supply chain management.

Singapore is also proving to be a thought leader in this area.In response to the increased complexity of global supply chains, logistics and supply chain management companies here are developing innovative solutions for their Singapore-based and regional manufacturing and trading customers.In addition, Asia’s leading logistics think-tank, The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific, is based in Singapore. TLI-Asia Pacific, a collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National University of Singapore, has trained many world-class professionals to deal with today’s complex supply chains.

Currently, the logistics industry contributes to about 9% of Singapore’s GDP, and employs 136,000 Singaporeans.It is a key driver and enabler for all industries in our economy.The efficiency and effectiveness of our logistics and supply chain management sector pushes up productivity levels across all other sectors, and boosts our overall competitiveness.This sector has been identified as one of the key industries of focus for Singapore’s national productivity drive.

Today, I am very pleased to have witnessed the signing of the MOU between the Singapore Manufacturers’ Association (SMa), APICS, The Association for Operations Management and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.This signifies the three organisations’ commitment to uplift the productivity and professionalism of the logistics and manufacturing industries’ workforce.

Under this two-year memorandum, SMa and APICS will work with WDA on various training and skills upgrading initiatives.As a start, two of APICS’ internationally recognized programmes, “Certification in Production and Inventory Management” and “Certification Supply Chain Professional”, will be aligned to Singapore’s Workforce Skills Qualification system.

More than 100,000 people worldwide have benefited from these courses, and we look forward to seeing stellar results in Singapore as well.Through the programmes, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to streamline their internal operations and inventory management to increase work productivity.They will also learn how to effectively manage their stakeholders — suppliers, plants, distributors and customers — on both local and international fronts.

Apart from skills upgrading programmes, the MOU signed today will also result in the development of master classes and seminars, and a manpower study to identify the opportunities and challenges for the local logistics and supply chain industry.

I am confident that this collaboration between SMa, APICS and WDA will open doors to more partnerships and successfully raise capabilities and innovation excellence to see sustainable growth in the logistics and supply chain industry.I look forward to many more of such collaborations, and encourage you to tap on the vast resources that the government has made available to you, not just for training and upgrading of your workforce, but also for investments in technology, infrastructure and other initiatives.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate SMa and APICS for successfully organising this conference.This is an excellent platform and opportunity for companies to interact with and learn best practices from industry experts.I hereby declare the Asia Supply Chain & Operations 2011 conference open.Thank you and have a productive and fruitful session.