Speech by MOS Alvin Tan at the Transport Logistic and Air Cargo Southeast Asia 2023

Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Germany,

Robert Schoenberger, Global Industry Lead for Transport Logistic exhibitions, Messe Munich,

Michael Wilton, CEO & Managing Director, MMI Asia,

Steven Lee, Chairman, Singapore Aircargo Agents Association (SAAA),

Anneke Adema, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Singapore

1.       Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the transport logistic and air cargo Southeast Asia Conference.

2.       I wanted to first thank everyone, particularly Messe Munich and MMI Asia for choosing Singapore as a host city for this inaugural conference. It says a lot about Singapore and our partnership, together with Enterprise Singapore, STB and SAAA.

Future-proofing our transport and logistics sector

3.       Our transport and logistics sector has played an integral role in Singapore's development, starting from the early days where we were and still are a port city, serving as a port of call for vessels plying the Asian trading routes. Over the years our sector has rode many waves of changes, and weathered many storms. For example, there was the rise of container shipping in the 1980s and then the expansion of our port and shipping facilities in the 1990s. And of course, just recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we have a thriving port and logistics sector with the world’s top 25 logistics companies setting up operations in Singapore, and major companies setting up logistics and supply chain management hubs here.

4.       There’s a saying that, “A ship in a habour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”. Singapore and our transport and logistics centre is like a ship that has always thrived outside the hub; in the safe confines of these harbours is not where we want and ought to be. I shared earlier about how we braved the many storms and the many changes that have buffeted Singapore – both opportunities as well as challenges. Now, may I invite you to join us on our next voyage, which will test our resilience and present new ports of opportunities. So, what do we need on this voyage?

Infrastructure

5.       First, we need good infrastructure – a strong port.

a.       The development of Tuas Port is an important step towards growing our supply chain capacity and developing quality hardware for the future. When it is completed in the 2040s, Tuas Port will be able to handle 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up from its capacity of 37.5 million TEUs in 2021.

b.       We will equip Tuas Port with a state-of-the-art automation and digitalisation tools to help the port enhance its efficiency and productivity. We will put in place Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and electrified automated cranes to transport containers around Tuas Port. This will help to reduce carbon emissions and keep Tuas Port on track to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

c.       Besides expanding our seaport capacity, we also strengthen our air cargo handling capabilities. When Changi East Industrial Zone is ready in the mid-2030s, we expected to double Singapore’s air cargo handling capacity from about 3 million tonnes per year, to up to 5.4 million tonnes per year.

d.       All of these efforts underscore Singapore’s steadfast commitment to maintain our aviation and maritime hub status and remain a critical node in global supply chains.

Digitalisation

6.       The second thing that we need for our voyage, is software – and that’s navigation and maps, to raise productivity and to create good jobs – we need these maps to guide us on how to do so.

a.       Many of you may know that we refreshed our Logistics Industry Transformation Map (ITM) last year, to double down on digitalisation, training, and job redesign. This will help us to achieve annual value-added growth of 2 per cent to $6.9 billion, while introducing 2,000 new jobs by 2025.

b.       We’ve talked a lot about digitalisation, but what are we doing in Singapore? To drive digitalisation, our refreshed the Logistics Industry Digitalisation Plan (IDP) was launched this year to help companies adopt digital solutions, develop a digital training roadmap and seek government support to help them onboard new digital tools in the way that they run their businesses and their operations cycle.

i.      SATSACO is one good example. It is a local transport and logistics company providing freight forwarding, warehousing, and distribution services.

ii.      With Enterprise Singapore’s support, SATSACO sought digital advisory services to help them implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which replaced their original system, which was manual and less efficient in nature.

iii.      This helped SATSACO reduce the time taken for administrative tasks by 50% or more, like sending sales invoices, preparing quotations, and verifying invoices from vendors. SATSACO has saved on manpower and inventory costs, and can provide better customer service now, and focus on targeted marketing to attract new customers.

7.       So that's one navigation system. Another helpful navigation system we have on board is digitalisation. Digitalisation, as all of you already know, can help transform how firms design their workflow and optimise their resources. CVS for example, work together with our friends from Enterprise Singapore to develop a container tracking system.

a.       CDAS, for example, has worked with Enterprise Singapore to develop a Container Tracking System (CTR). CTR helps container haulage companies to track their vehicles in real-time through IOT sensors and trackers, and facilitates vehicle or trailer-sharing across container haulage companies. We expect over 200 transport companies to benefit from the CTR over the next 2 years.

Talent

8.       Next, we need a talented crew on our voyage. That's why we are working with the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), training partners, and trade associations to build a skilled workforce capable of driving industry transformation and taking on in-demand roles.

9.       In July 2023, we launched the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Jobs Transformation Map and Skills Plan to help companies equip their employees with these very skills – skills that are needed for higher value jobs. We also introduced new courses and training programmes to offer on the job training for supply chain and logistics coordinators.

Internationalisation

10.   Once we have a good port, good navigation system and a talented crew, we must be prepared to leave the safe confines of the habour and go overseas.

a.       Besides helping companies internationalise and grow, we have also been working with industry partners, like many of you here, to bring in high-profile events like today for local and international businesses and companies to forge connections, to learn from one another, and to strengthen our supply chains. As Michael mentioned, this event sees about over 130 exhibitors from over 24 countries, and we are expecting over 5,000 trade visitors over three days.

Conclusion

11.   So, we are ready to set sail to leave the harbour and we welcome you to use our ports, maps and navigation systems. We welcome you to work with our crew to explore new and exciting frontiers ahead. Thank you for your strong support for Singapore; thank you for your strong support for this conference and our transport and logistics sector.