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DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
He said design thinking is the fundamental, because it helps companies to know what their pain points are before they embark on their DX journeys.
“It will help you to know specifically what your needs are,” he added.
Incremental steps in
digitisation journey
While digitalisation adoption is expected to be low initially, ASPRI expects the pace will pick up in a couple of years once the pandemic has been contained. Every incremental step is an improvement.
“This to me is significant even though it’s a small baby step because we are on the right path in helping to change the culture of an individual, and then of an organisation.”
“What we are trying to foster here is the culture so that we don’t have to tell individual companies what to do. They will eventually understand and be able to take care of their needs with digitalisation,” said Mr Chua.
Nevertheless, ASPRI plans to step up the pace by trying to understand the concerns of those who are still wary about the implications of digitalisation.
“We are saying to companies, look, you are not going to do this alone. We are prepared to go through this journey with you, even if we have to buddy you to help you take your first step,” he added.
With digital transformation, there’s really no ideal time to do it but Mr Nah reckons, the best time really to get started – in view of the pandemic circumstances - is now.
“People talk about Covid as a period when time seemed to have stood still. I see it as an opportunity, where we can reset, we recalibrate, and we emerge much stronger,” he added.
It’s already picking up
steam in other sectors
Two other sectors that are reliant on migrant workers, the marine/offshore and construction/ facilities management sectors, have already embarked on their digitalisation journeys.
The IDP for the marine and offshore engineering sector was launched in May 2021 and news reports said that some 1,000 members were keen on streamlining operations and maximising productivity through DX.
Smaller firms in the sector could use an online self-assessment system to find out about
their digital readiness, and the mature ones to identify gaps in their digital capabilities.
It has two digital roadmaps - one providing digital solutions for adoption at various stages of business growth, and the other looking into training for employees to acquire the relevant skill sets.
The Construction and Facilities Management IDP launched in March 2020 is a step-by-step guide on the digital solutions and necessary skills to adopt at each stage of business growth.
A survey by The Business Times of industry experts said Singapore’s construction industry “is generally ahead of its regional peers in terms of digitalisation, and nudges from the government have spurred companies to adopt new technologies”.
The newspaper’s report said “industry fragmentation, compressed margins and the lack of skilled labour” continue to be an obstacle to its digitalisation efforts.
Nevertheless, digitalisation has already benefitted SMEs that have embarked on the DX journey.
A recent survey of SME leaders found that “those who are in the midst of implementing digital initiatives projected that their investments would deliver 23.5% in cost savings and 26.5% in revenue gains”. This showed a slight increase from 22% and 26%, respectively, from the last survey two years ago.
The 2020 SME Digital Transformation Study produced jointly by Microsoft Singapore and the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME), surveyed 400 business owners and key IT decision makers of Singapore SMEs from across 15 industries from March to June.
It found that 83% of SMEs in Singapore have digital transformation strategies in place,
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