Dr Kaizad Heerjee, Assistant Chief Executive, Online Development, IDA Singapore - Welcome Address RosettaNet's E-Learning Centre Official Launch, Suntec Singapore
Dr Kaizad Heerjee, Assistant Chief Executive, Online Development, IDA Singapore - Welcome Address
RosettaNet's E-Learning Centre Official Launch, Suntec Singapore
Singapore, 16 August 2001
Good morning
Mr Casey Teo, Chairman of RosettaNet Singapore
Ms Oh Soo Haeng Oh, Vice President, RosettaNet Asia,
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen.
A Very Good Morning to all.
2. It is my pleasure to be here at the launch of RosettaNet's E-eLearning Center in Siingapore
Importance of Manufacturing Sector
3. I would like to congratulate RosettaNet (Singapore), and all its partners, on theits official launch of its E-eLearning Center. Your commitment and hard work in the last few months, in conceptualizing and developing the first E-Learning center, for RosettaNet marks another significant achievement in shaping the global e-business landscape.
Importance of Manufacturing Sector in Singapore
4. The manufacturing sector is an integral part of the Singapore economy, contributing 25% to the country's annual GDP. Singapore today is home to more than 5,000 manufacturing companies, many of which serve global customers via an extensive network of supply chain partners. Indeed, with e-business becoming one of the key business accelerators, the manufacturing sector is continually looking at ways to enhance competitiveness and productivity to meet customers' demands for lower transaction costs and quicker time-to-market.
5. This becomes all the more important in light of the structural changes caused by the current global cyclical downturn. Being an open economy, companies in Singapore need to continually optimise their supply chains to better serve their customers, suppliers and trading partners. As one management guru puts it, the competition today is not necessarily between companies, but between supply chains of different clusters.
State of E-Commerce Globally and in Singapore
6. The Internet has further accelerated the need for this optimisation. Companies around the world that have transformed their businesses are experiencing significant gains in productivity and competitiveness, and ultimately, profitability.
7. These companies are tapping into the fast growing business-to-business worldwide e-commerce market which, according to IDC, is expected to be more than US$4 trillion by 2005.
8. In Singapore, e-commerce continues to show significant growth too. In the recent Singapore Electronic Commerce Survey 2000 findings that were released in May 2001, B2B sales revenues were estimated to be S$92b. This is projected to reach S$109b in 2001. B2B procurement increased from an estimated $17.9b in 2000 and is projected to reach $25b in 2001.
9. The manufacturing sector remains a high growth sector in the use of e-commerce. This sector is set to grow even further as the industry moves to implement a common e-language for trade that is based on a common set of XML-based supply chain process standards. The lingua franca of such a standard is commonly known in the hi-tech industry, and beyond, as RossettaNet.
Benefits of Adopting RosettaNet
10. As an industry-led consortium of global high-tech companies, RosettaNet is playing a key role in developing open e-business standards to align processes of manufacturing companies with those of the global trading network. The commitment by more than 400 of the worlds leading high-tech companies to adopt RosettaNet standards clearly demonstrate the need to move the supply chain to the next level which will be highly automated, allowing "many-to-many" business relationships.
11. By standardizing the business and information exchange process, companies are expected to benefit in terms of increased sales opportunities, better customer service, lower transaction costs, shorter product cycles and more efficient capacity utilisation.
12. I was told that to-date, more than 100 companies worldwide have adopted RosettaNet and this number is set to grow rapidly. Many of these companies have reported significant financial gains in their supply chain, such as Avnet, which reported an estimated cost savings of more than US$2m, which is an ROI of 230% over 5 years.
13. Cisco is also strongly encouraging its supply chain partners to adopt RosettaNet standards when connecting to their i-Hub to increase productivity and improve information flow. They too have seen a positive ROI on their iHub implementation using RossettaNet. Such standardization of business processes will lead to a win-win situation for everyone.
14. Some of Asia's largest OEMs such as Sony, Hitachi and Samsung are planning their e-Bbusiness implementations using RosettaNet. Their objectives are the same - to make their supply chain leaner and more responsive.
15. Singapore-based companies too are not to be left behind. A number of our high-tech manufacturing companies, and their supply chain partners, are already in advanced stages of adopting the RosettaNet global standards in their e-business supply-chains.
16. It is therefore no surprise that RossettaNet is fast becoming the common e-business language for this industry as companies begin to realise the full value of their investments by integrating their supply chains.
Why Companies Should Use the E-Learning Centre
17. The E-Learning Center for RosettaNet will therefore provide an effective and excellent platform for companies to share information and experiences on what is needed to successfully implement RosettaNet. This knowledge exchange on a common platform will accelerate the adoption of RosettaNet standards and practices, thereby optimising the global supply chain.
18. The setting up of this e-learning center would not have been possible without the contribution of many industry players, some of whom are here today. Their commitment reflects the industry's support to the development and implementation of RosettaNet in the high-tech industry.
19. As you may know, we at IDA, are actively promoting e-learning as a complement or alternative to traditional classroom-based learning The experiences of several companies such as Cisco, Fuji Xerox and HP have demonstrated that e-learning represents a cost-effective means for your staff to upgrade their skills without necessarily compromising workplace productivity. At the same time, employees can enjoy the convenience of e-learning as they can upgrade their skills anytime, anyplace, and at their own pace.
20. In this respect, we see RosettaNet's E-Learning Centre as one of the initiatives that supports our drive to encourage e-learning. In addition, there are numerous other manpower-training incentives, such as Critical IT Resource Programme and the E-business Savviness Programme offered by the IDA, that focus on encouraging employees to continuously upgrade their skills.
Conclusion
21. In conclusion, I would once again like to congratulate RosettaNet (Singapore), and its partners, on successfully building a supporting infrastructure that is important to the growth of e-business in Singapore. The strong interest that they have received from the Singapore manufacturers and IT companies demonstrates the commitment of this industry to move quickly in implementing a global standard for e-business.
22. I wish to encourage these companies to make full use of the e-learning center to learn and exchange ideas on RosettaNet and related e-business issues. This will enable the high-tech sector to remain extremely competitive and productive. On our part, the IDA will continue to work with RosettaNet and other government agencies to promote the its adoption in our high-tech industries.
23. On this note, I wish RosettaNet Singapore every success in its endeavors and we look forward to the continued support from our industry partners.
Thank you.
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