Speech by Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development at the Opening of Sheng Siong’s HQ, Warehouse and Distribution Centre on Saturday, 29 September 2012, at 11.25am

Mr. Lim Hock Eng
Executive Chairman, Sheng Siong Group Ltd

Mr. Lim Hock Chee
CEO, Sheng Siong Group Ltd

Mr. Lim Hock Leng
Managing Director, Sheng Siong Group Ltd

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning.

1.             3 years ago, I was here for the ground breaking ceremony of this 2.3-hectare piece of land. Today, I am happy to be here again for the opening of Sheng Siong’s Head Quarters, Warehouse and Distribution Centre. For a retailer which started as a modest family-run retail store in Ang Mo Kio in 1985, today’s event marks an important milestone for Sheng Siong. Like other leading homegrown companies, Sheng Siong has grown up and grown strong with Singapore.

Productivity through Technology Innovation & Automation

2.         Yet the journey of growth has always been paved with challenges. Some of the new challenges facing companies in the retail sector are intense competition, tight labour supply and rising costs of import, just to name a few. How do we overcome the immediate operational and business bottlenecks to chart a long term growth path for the company, and for our economy?

3.         Recently, I came across a New York Times article, titled ‘Skilled Work Without the Workers’, which argued that the future will be made up of a new wave of robots, in both manufacturing and distribution. According to the article, C&S, the largest grocery wholesaler in Newburgh which is 100 km north of New York City, has successfully deployed robot technology to automate and speed up its inventory management and distribution to major supermarkets. This was done through 168 ‘rover’ robots the size of go-carts, moving at about 40 km an hour (which is nearly as fast as an Olympic sprinter), performing functions from picking to dropping the complete orders for delivery.

4.         All these might sound too futuristic for our local industries but these new ways of doing things are already being tested and deployed elsewhere. Can we adopt automation in Singapore, in our centralised warehouses? For many, it may not happen overnight as they prefer to make incremental and continuous improvements. For others, taking the bold step to change is the only way to achieve quantum leap improvement and stay ahead of competition.

5.         Sheng Siong understands the importance of having a well-designed and efficient workflow. Their new Pick – to – Light and the Put –to–light Warehouse Management System for instance will increase workers’ efficiency in order picking by 30 per cent and reduce errors significantly. Investment in technology innovations will not only lead to greater operational efficiency and higher worker productivity but also a happier workforce.

Highly Motivated Staff Drives Productivity

6.       Motivating staff is also key to producing a stable and efficient workforce. In addition to process improvement, Sheng Siong has provided training for their employees, upgraded their skill sets and many of them now undertake higher value-added functions. With a generous profit-sharing scheme, some 20 percent of the group’s profit is distributed to their staff, including part-time workers.  Appropriate recognition of employees’ contributions helps build a happy and highly-motivated workforce, which in turn raises customer service and satisfaction.

Launch of Enhanced HR Capability Toolkit

7.       To help companies effectively manage their human resources and to better attract and retain talents, I am happy to launch the Enhanced HR Capability Toolkit today. The toolkit, jointly developed by SPRING Singapore and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), aims to improve and strengthen SME human resource management capabilities by addressing HR gaps and promoting good HR practices.

8.       The enhanced HR Capability Toolkit addresses the fresh challenges faced by companies today, with the inclusion of two new modules – 1) talent management & succession planning and 2) employee relations. This is an enhancement to the existing six areas which covers manpower planning, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, performance management, learning & development and career management.

9.         Since it was first started in November 2008, over 36,000 users have downloaded the toolkit, some 3,800 SMEs have benefited from the free HR advisory and information services provided and 180 SMEs have undertaken HR capability development projects. We hope more companies will benefit from the enhanced HR Capability Toolkit. 

10.       In addition, a dedicated HR portal has also been developed as a resource platform for companies to access case studies of best HR practices and to locate advisory services offered by HR consultants and other HR-related events and articles. In this tight labor market that we see today, companies will do well if they have effective recruitment and retention strategies.

Conclusion

11.       In 2011, SPRING announced a five-year Retail Productivity Plan, setting aside $86 million to enhance worker productivity and operational efficiency in retail enterprises. In addition, there are many support programmes offered by SPRING and other Government agencies. I urge all retailers to make full use of the available funding, such as SPRING’s Innovation & Capability Voucher (ICV) and IDA’s iSPRINT, to embark on a journey of continuous improvement and innovation.

12.      On this note, I would like to congratulate Sheng Siong’s for your outstanding efforts in automation and innovations. My best wishes to Mr Lim and his staff.

Thank you.