Speech by Minister S Iswaran at the Launch of the Cheers Unmanned Store

Speech by Mr S Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) at the Launch of The Cheers Unmanned Store at Nanyang Polytechnic on Friday, 28 July 2017, 10.25am​

Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO, NTUC FairPrice Co-operative,

Ms Jeanne Liew, Principal, Nanyang Polytechnic,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

1.         I am very happy to join you this morning at the launch of the first unmanned Cheers store, here at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).  The launch of this store is a significant achievement and is testament to the strong partnership between Cheers and NYP.

Convenience Store of the Future

2.         The new Cheers store marks a milestone in the transformation of the retail sector.   Cheers is raising the bar for what it means to be a convenience store of the future, positioned at the intersection of technology and brick-and-mortar businesses.  This pilot store uses several retail technologies, including a mobile app with QR codes to be scanned for store entry by customers, self-checkout counters with a unified cashless payment system, and vending machines that dispense ready-to-eat meals, newspapers and magazines.  The next-generation vending machines and multiple payment modes streamlined into a single terminal will make it more convenient and more intuitive than ever for customers.

Embracing Self-service Culture

3.         Self-service, at its best, can significantly enhance the customer experience.  According to the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore, the most frequent users of self-checkouts in Singapore were more satisfied customers than those who used traditional checkout methods[1].  Self-service technology has the benefit of being manpower-lean and improving productivity, whilst meeting customers’ expectations of quick service, greater independence and more control over their service experience.  Sometimes, the impact of self-service is almost imperceptible.  Drawing cash from ATMs, EZ-Link card top-ups and AXS machines are all deeply ingrained in our daily lives and our modern lifestyles.  Since the launch of the “We are InDIYpendent” campaign by the National Productivity Council in November 2015, which encouraged more Singaporeans to embrace the Do-it-Yourself culture, self-service models have been springing up around the island.

Higher Value Roles for Employees

4.         Automation and technology can also help workers perform tasks more quickly and easily, allowing them to spend less time on mundane tasks and allocate their time to more high value-added and high touch activities.  And this is good both for the businesses and their customers.  

5.         Let me share with you Siong Liyi’s story.  To set the context, NYP’s Cheers store is fully operated by students, and doubles up as a real-life training facility for NYP’s Retail Management programme.  Liyi is a Year 3 Diploma in Business Management student here at NYP, specialising in Customer Service and Entrepreneurship.  She leads the team of eight students who work the morning shift at Cheers.  With the unmanned store, the team has seen their job evolve – they no longer have to spend long hours on re-stocking or cash reconciliation.  Instead, the automated replenishment systems will place orders for low-in-stock items, and the self-checkout machines automatically collate sales reports, so there are significant manpower savings as you have heard – up to 180 hours a week. Liyi’s team now focuses their efforts on tasks of higher value, like data analytics, gaining insights into in-store retail trends and customer preferences.  This unmanned Cheers store will be a test-bed to learn new skills, to pick up new trends, and to understand how retail of the future can look like.

6.         I am glad to note that apart from this pilot, Cheers has a second pilot store planned for Tampines.  This will be launched by the end of August this year.  If the concept proves successful, Cheers intends to roll it out to more stores in the next two years.  I hope with the launch of more such stores, Singaporeans will readily embrace the self-service culture and the future of retail.

Transformation is Crucial in the Future Economy

7.         We have heard that transformation is critical for our industries.  We are embarking on developing Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) to lay out sector-specific strategies for the growth and transformation of our industries.  The launch of the Cheers unmanned store today spans 2 ITMs: Retail and Food Services.  A key strategy for both ITMs is to transform their respective industries by driving growth through innovation and encouraging adoption of technology.  This is a global trend, with international retailers leveraging e-commerce and other technologies to transform the retail experience.  Many of you would be aware that Amazon’s Prime Now service was launched in Singapore yesterday and its new operating model applies new technologies such as artificial intelligence to reduce labour and infrastructure utilisation, as well as near real-time delivery of goods.  Today’s Cheers event affirms that our local companies also recognise the need to integrate technology and automation into their systems and are more than equal to the task to remain relevant and competitive.  Besides the NYP store, since November 2016, Cheers has been revamping its stores at Esso service stations to improve their service provision to busy Singaporeans and bringing them greater convenience.  We also see at these revamped stores that customers have ready-to-eat meals packed with vacuum skin packaging technology.  This method preserves flavour and colour, and keeps portions fresh and unmixed, while extending shelf life and retaining nutrition.  There are currently 7 of such revamped stores across Singapore, and Cheers will progressively roll out the changes to all 62 of its stores at service stations by 2018.  Again, a significant move which will benefit consumers and also enhance businesses’ productivity and efficiency.

8.         Another example is our coffee shops, which have traditionally been reliant on manual labour and processes.  However, the two productive coffee shops by Koufu in Tampines and Chang Cheng at Choa Chu Kang, both launched in May this year, have raised the bar through the adoption of front- and back-of-house initiatives.  They allow cashless transactions and self-checkout through digital ordering via kiosks and mobile apps.  The two stores also feature other technological innovations like tray return robots and compact food waste digesters.  With the successful launch of these first two productive coffee shops, we can look forward to a tender to be called soon for three more by the third quarter of this year.  Improvements in productivity via technology adoption will be integral to the transformation of our industries.

9.         As far as business transformation is concerned, if any business requires assistance in developing capabilities or adopting technology and automation, the Government and our key industry partners and our agencies like SPRING Singapore are ready to help and they have a host of schemes and programmes available to support them.  The SME Centres provide free business advisory services to SMEs.  The Singapore Productivity Centre also organises workshops, study trips and industry projects for businesses in the Retail, Food Services and Hotel industries.

Conclusion

10.      As we move towards the future economy, it is essential that our businesses are able to seize the opportunities presented by new technologies to become more productive and better serve their consumers.  Cheers and other like-minded companies are working on integrating retail technologies into their everyday operations, and these serve as windows into the future of our service industries.  I encourage more companies to come forward to participate in this transformation journey and to make Singapore an example to the rest of the world.  I also want to encourage partnerships between our large and small companies, across sectors and between private sectors and public sectors.  We need all hands on deck in order to succeed in this mission.

 11.      My congratulations once again to the NTUC FairPrice and Cheers team on the launch of your first unmanned store.  I wish you every success.

12.      Thank you.

[1] From 1Q2017 Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) by SMU’s Institute of Service Excellence (ISE).