Speech by Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) at the opening ceremony of DHL Express South Asia

​SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (TRADE), AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF DHL EXPRESS SOUTH ASIA HUB ON 18th OCTOBER 2016, 11.40AM, AT 75 AIRPORT CARGO ROAD

Mr Ken Allen, Global CEO, DHL Express

Distinguished guests,​

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

It is my pleasure to join you today to mark the opening ceremony of DHL Express’ South Asia Hub.

The establishment of DHL Express’ South Asia Hub is a significant milestone in Singapore’s partnership with DHL

2          DHL Express and Singapore have a long-standing partnership, spanning over 40 years.  Today, DHL Express employs around 1,250 people in Singapore, undertaking regional as well as global headquarter activities and critical business functions including Quality Control, Pricing, Aviation and Security.

3          DHL Express’ S$140 million investment in this state-of-the-art South Asia Hub represents another significant milestone in our partnership.  It also testifies to Singapore’s continued attractiveness as a critical base for DHL Express’ operations.

Singapore is well placed to serve the growing ASEAN market

4          Amidst a subdued global environment, ASEAN remains a market of opportunities.  Based on OECD’s economic outlook, ASEAN is projected to grow at 5.2% from 2016 to 2020, compared to 3.1% globally. The recent implementation of the ASEAN Open Skies agreement will drive growth in air traffic for both passenger and cargo.

5          ASEAN’s middle class is also expected to reach 400 million in 2020[1].  Furthermore, the rise of e-commerce in the region will drive the need for more on-demand and time-sensitive deliveries, for which air express services will be in demand.   

6          DHL Express’ South Asia Hub is well positioned to capture the air cargo growth in the region.  By 2020, this hub is projected to handle 258 weekly flights, a 4-fold increase from today. The hub will almost double its daily throughput to approximately 628 tons.

Technology is a key enabler for our Logistics industry to raise productivity

7          Singapore is a globally leading logistics hub, and we have big ambitions for the Logistics industry in the areas of operations excellence, productivity and innovation.  Indeed, Logistics is one of the key industries identified under the Industry Transformation Maps – or ITM for short – which were announced in Budget 2016.

8          The ITM will lead and guide the way for Singapore to further step up its efforts to raise productivity, drive innovation, promote internationalisation, and upskill workers in the Logistics industry. This will require close partnership between the Government and various stakeholders, including leading industry players like DHL Express.

9          Our efforts to raise productivity in the Logistics industry started much earlier with the promotion of technology adoption by companies to do more with less resources.  The South Asia Hub is a good example of how technology can enable logistics firms to achieve significant productivity gains. For instance, the hub has an advanced material handling system (MHS) that increases maximum cargo-handling capacity by more than 5 times, and enables labour productivity gains of over 30%[2] compared to the previous facility.

Logistics industry provides good job opportunities for Singaporeans.

10        Technological advancements will also change the nature of jobs in the Logistics industry.  For instance, the South Asia Hub has an integrated 6-sided camera scanning and weighing system that fully automates the entire barcode location and package dimensioning process.  With this system, workers in the air express operations no longer have to manually locate barcodes on packages and measure their dimensions to generate the volumetric weight.  This is a good example of how technology can help to create a more conducive and ergonomic environment for the workers.

11        Logistics is also an industry that offers rewarding career progression opportunities.  On this note, I am pleased to know that many Singaporeans working in this new hub have developed their careers with DHL Express.

12        One such individual is Mr. Gerard Scheerder[3], who joined DHL Express in 1989 as an Operations Agent.  He was appointed as an Operations Performance Analyst in early 2000s as DHL Express expanded into warehouse data and performance management.  This appointment allowed him to build substantial knowledge in data management and operational performance analysis.  Today, as Operations Training Manager, he oversees the training of new employees at DHL Express Singapore in air logistics know-how.

13        Another individual I would like to highlight is Mr. Ken Lee, Asia Pacific CEO for DHL Express.  Shortly after joining DHL Express as a Business Service Manager in 1997, he assumed the position of General Manager.  Today, Ken oversees the company’s business and operations in Asia Pacific.  He is tasked with extending DHL Express’ market leadership in the region.

14        I am also pleased to note that DHL Express is committed to help its employees acquire new knowledge and skills.  They have created a global training programme, Certified International Specialist (CIS), for all employees to be trained in the industry’s best practices for logistics.  Efforts like this will help to ensure that our workforce remains relevant to industry needs.

Conclusion

15        In closing, let me reiterate that Logistics is a key industry for Singapore. The government remains committed to working closely with our partners, such as DHL Express, to further develop this industry and create good job opportunities for Singaporeans.  I am confident that this South Asia Hub will better position DHL Express to capture opportunities in the region, and wish the entire DHL Express team every success.  Thank you.

[1] Nielsen, “ASEAN 2015: How can you prepare your business for what lies ahead?”, http://www.nielsen.com/my/en/insights/reports/2014/asean-2015-prepare-your-business-for-what-lies-ahead.html

[2] Labour productivity as measured by number of cargo handled per full time employee.

[3] Gerard is a Singapore citizen of Eurasian descent.

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