Tag: AIBP

Taiwanese Companies Flock to ASEAN for Growth

In the last 6 years, the New Southbound Policy has played an integral role in enabling Taiwanese enterprises to diversify and capture opportunities in one of the fastest growing regions in the world, ASEAN. During the period of January to October 2021, Taiwan invested US$5.3 billion in the ASEAN region, which amounted to 38.7% of the country’s total overseas investments, the highest proportion in 20 years.

In ASEAN, current trends reflect a shift towards customer-driven hyper-personalisation, as well as data-enabled optimisation. Considering the increasing focus on the ASEAN market, growth of Taiwanese enterprises are aligned with these regional trends.

Customer-driven Innovation

ASEAN consumer patterns have shifted in the last few years and enterprises have adapted to meet changing customer needs in the area of health, security and mobility.

Amidst the global pandemic, health has been growing to be a central focus for consumers, with 85% expressing concern over health, according to an Asia-Pacific 2021 survey by Ernst & Young. This has contributed to an increased health and wellness expenditure in Southeast Asia. In the emergence of this trend, ible Technology Inc. has come up with a wearable air purifier to provide purified air surroundings for consumers as they go about their daily lives. This solution adopts ible’s unique Breathing Pathway Eco Ion Technology, and this technology will produce over 20 million negative ions (around 100 times more ions than a forest produces) surrounding user’s face to remove pollutants from the air, including viruses and other airborne particles.

The recent cyberattack and data breach incidents have put personal data protection and security concerns under the spotlight. This topic has never been more relevant in the age of rapid technology adoption and data-driven organisations, with 83% of ASEAN-based organisations being highlighted as data-driven in the AIBP ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Survey 2021/22. In recognition of this, Maktar offers a smart backup solution with an integrated microSD lock encryption feature that prioritises customer data security.

The establishment of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network has provided a collaborative platform where cities from the ten ASEAN Member States can work towards the common goal of smart and sustainable urban development. With advancing smart city initiatives, smart mobility is gaining traction as consumers look towards convenient and user-centric transportation services. Leveraging on IoT, IBASE designed an embedded computing platform for a smart parking metre that provides efficient parking management services such as occupancy detection and online payment, enabling customer mobility needs to be met.

Accelerating Business Outcomes with Frontier Technologies

According to AIBP ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Survey 2021/22, 62.8% of enterprises in ASEAN perceive business intelligence platforms that help make sense of data as the digital transformation investment that will drive the largest benefits to their organisation. Galaxy Software Services (GSS) is one of the major players in this space. In helping Perfirmtex International Co.,Ltd to improve their customer data management process, GSS built a CRM that enabled efficient lateral communication with key stakeholders like customers and partners, boosting customer satisfaction. This was guided by their Insight to Action Model where predictive analytics assists in deriving customer behaviour insights from data and following that, insights are used to optimise customer engagement efforts.

Digitalisation and automation of operations was found to be the top digital transformation focus of ASEAN organisations from a 2021 AIBP survey. In line with this, various enterprises have created tech-enabled solutions to facilitate process optimisation. An AI Edge Server by AAEON supported the smart manufacturing process of a machine manufacturer in the semiconductor industry. Accounting for end user needs, AAEON designed products that were compact and dissipated heat easily.

About AIBP

AIBP serves as an avenue for public and private organisations in Southeast Asia to access and exchange information about growth and innovation within the B2B space. With a current network of over 30,000 stakeholders in Southeast Asia, AIBP continues to develop ecosystems by engaging in activities which create value-adding information for our stakeholders seeking to make transformative impacts within their organisations. For additional information about AIBP, please visit https://iotbusiness-platform.com/.

About Taiwan Excellence Awards

AAEON, IBASE, Galaxy Software Services, ible Technology, and Maktar were recently recognized by the Taiwan Excellence Awards. These awards have been established by the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs since 1993 to celebrate how technological innovation helps people live more rewarding lives. Each year, the Taiwan Excellence Awards select the most innovative products in Taiwan across four major categories: R&D, design, quality, and marketing. As well as recognizing domestic achievement, the awards serve as a benchmark for innovation and excellence in international markets.

Contact:
Mr. Irza Fauzan Suprapto
Email: irza@industry-platform.com
Phone: (+65) 9759 5343

How Technology Contributes to Economical Gaps in Southeast Asia

Nearly half of ASEAN based respondents perceived legacy IT infrastructure and systems to be a challenge to digital transformation (DX) and innovation projects within their own company, according to a survey conducted by AIBP in 2021. The survey counted 206 professionals in the public services sector across the largest economies in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines & Vietnam. The same survey showed that 60.6% of respondents believe that business intelligence software is the DX solution that brings the largest benefits to their organisation.

Sustainability has also been a growing focus in ASEAN, illustrated by the sustainable mobility and energy targets of ASEAN. The Phnom Penh Declaration on Sustainable Urban Mobility is the first Declaration on sustainable transport issued by the ASEAN Transport Ministers focusing on urban and metropolitan regional mobility. The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation demonstrates the region’s commitment to achieving the targets on renewable energy share 23% in total primary energy supply, as well as the 35% share in installed power capacity by 2025. The need for education is underlined as well from a 2021 AIBP survey, where the lack of talent and expertise was ranked as the most significant impediment to digital transformation in ASEAN. In advancing these public interests, tech-powered innovation has and will continue to be key.

Tech-powered innovation has continued to be key in advancing public interests such as mobility, sustainable energy and education.

Taiwanese Companies Contributing to ASEAN Societies

Mobility:
With transport mobility being integral to driving economic and social growth, importance is placed on developing innovations in this area and several companies have stepped up to take the lead. PLANET Technology Corporation has solved key issues pervading public transport networks with their Industrial LoRaWAN Wireless Gateway solution. It facilitates data transmission over long-range distances at low power consumption across urban and rural areas, and supports real-time data collection, enabling vehicle detection and location tracking. This contributed to smart parking solutions and allowed commuters to easily check bus timings, improving the overall public transport system.

Up-and-coming alternative mobility solutions are getting increased attention as well. Advancements made in vehicle electrification have contributed to the lowering cost of electric vehicles (EV). Coupled with an increasing focus on sustainability in ASEAN, EV adoption and the development of an EV ecosystem are growing. Zealio is one of the key players in the EV interior space. Guided by a user-centric approach, Zealio sought to develop EV components that are easy to install, have zero-interference with other vehicle electronics, are energy efficient and recyclable.

Sustainable Energy:
Environmental concerns are increasing in ASEAN. Stakeholders in the energy industry are seeking to pivot to a green energy approach and Advantech is at the forefront of this change. Advantech has observed that power plant and grid owners are most concerned about data accuracy, operational efficiency and asset management. To address these needs, the company has developed a smart energy management solution that includes pre-built related analytics. In helping Singapore’s National Water Agency (PUB) with the monitoring and tracking of their Floating Solar PV System, Advantech partnered with Mirai Electronics to build an IoT framework that gathers critical equipment and environmental data that is sent to the cloud, various dashboard views including green parameters to facilitate data analytics and visualisation, and a system that enables proactive monitoring and response to tough environmental conditions.

Need for Skill Development through Tech-Enabled Education:
A 2021 survey conducted by AIBP showed that 39.4% of public services stakeholders believe people are the principal challenge to becoming data driven. As technology continues to play a key role in innovation efforts, workforce skill levels need to keep up and education is integral to nurturing that talent. Enterprises have recognised this need and are providing tech-enhanced solutions to complement traditional educational methods.

In pursuit of closing the gap, one successful project was delivered by CYP’s Pro AV solutions. CYP integrated their AV solutions together with learning tools such as document cameras, interactive white boards and audio visual devices providing a solution for Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU)’s remote learning programmes. This has enabled the concept of smart classroom, which aims to deliver high-quality classes during distance learning and video conferencing, and let teachers engage both in-class and remote students.

Another technology provider, IPEVO, has also demonstrated strong commitment to provide real-time image capture document cameras to DIGI@Education, driving student engagement in a hybrid setting. On top of education, IPEVO is able to support corporate trainings, legal and healthcare sectors.

About AIBP

AIBP serves as an avenue for public and private organisations in Southeast Asia to access and exchange information about growth and innovation within the B2B space. With a current network of over 30,000 stakeholders in Southeast Asia, AIBP continues to develop ecosystems by engaging in activities which create value-adding information for our stakeholders seeking to make transformative impacts within their organisations. For additional information about AIBP, please visit https://iotbusiness-platform.com/.

About Taiwan Excellence Awards

Advantech, Cypress, IPEVO, PLANET, and Zealio were recently recognized by the Taiwan Excellence Awards. These awards have been established by the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs since 1993 to celebrate how technological innovation helps people live more rewarding lives. Each year, the Taiwan Excellence Awards select the most innovative products in Taiwan across four major categories: R&D, design, quality, and marketing. As well as recognizing domestic achievement, the awards serve as a benchmark for innovation and excellence in international markets. Please visit https://www.taiwanexcellence.org/en for more information.

The Era of Accelerated Digital Innovation Among Enterprises in Southeast Asia – AIBP ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Award Winners Announced

Ten enterprises have emerged as the winners of the 2021 AIBP ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Award. The 5th annual edition of the Award saw over 130 nominations from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam, narrowed down to 27 finalists and 10 final winners.

Winners of the Award are as follows:
– Ayala Land Inc.
– Bangchak Corporation
– Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited
– Bank Mandiri
– Carsem M Sdn Bhd
– Mavin Group
– Manila Electric Company (Meralco)
– PT Transportasi Jakarta
– Sarawak Energy
– Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank)

Commenting on innovation initiatives observed among ASEAN enterprises this year, Irza Suprapto, CEO of Industry Platform said, “We’ve seen ASEAN grow as a region in the past decade, and over the past two years, businesses have had to grapple with uncertertaines around the pandemic. Amidst these challenges, attitudes towards digitalisation and innovation have shifted as they take centre stage in driving growth and development for enterprises in ASEAN, one of the fastest evolving digital economies in the world.”

Among the winning enterprises, highlights from the innovation and digitalisation initiatives in 2021 include implementation of new, cutting-edge technologies and the creation of new business value.

Enhancing Processes with Advanced Technology

Key technologies highlighted by the enterprise winners across different industries include the application of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). At Bangkok Bank, enterprise blockchain digitised the entire trade finance process, revolutionising international trade transactions. In the electric utility sector, Sarawak Energy Berhad is exploring blockchain technology to be applied in the wholesale energy market.

83% of ASEAN enterprises consider their organisations data-driven, with some going beyond to extract more value from data by incorporating AI and ML. Bank Mandiri is a pioneer in Indonesia employing AI and ML to analyse patterns in their ecosystem data for insights to provide personalised financial services. Transjakarta is also exploring the use of technology such as AI, IoT with new data structures that support streaming analytics to optimise bus dispatching services and meet passenger demand.

Low-code platforms were key enablers of several of the winning innovation projects for enterprises like Ayala Land and Bangchak Corporation to ensure configurability and scalability of application development.

Unlocking New Business Value through Innovation and Digitalisation

In the banking and financial services sector, Bangkok Bank and Bank Mandiri seek to maximise customer value with digitalisation. Bangkok Bank is exploring commercialisation of the Distributed Ledger Technology for trade services. Bank Mandiri’s Integrated Value Chain Ecosystem enables understanding of interactions across the wholesale banking ecosystem.

With the launch of their mobile application, Transjakarta seeks to expand their service offerings by scaling the platform into a larger digital ecosystem integrating e-commerce, loyalty programmes, financial services, etc. Bangchak Corporation has also expanded its business to green energy, oil trading and natural resources among others.

As we enter 2022 with improved business processes and renewed optimism, ASEAN’s enterprise digital transformation and innovation journey will continue to scale greater heights as resilience and sustainability become cornerstones of businesses.

For any queries, please contact Vanessa Kwan, Program Lead, email: vanessa@industry-platform.com.

About AIBP ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Award

The Enterprise Innovation Award was established in 2017 by AIBP with the key objective of giving recognition to organisations which have embarked on projects to digitally transform their business through the adoption of innovative technology. The awards are held annually in the following ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. For additional information on the Award, please visit https://iotbusiness-platform.com/award/.

About AIBP

AIBP serves as an avenue for public and private organisations in Southeast Asia to access and exchange information about growth and innovation within the B2B space. With a current network of over 30,000 stakeholders in Southeast Asia, AIBP continues to develop ecosystems by engaging in activities which create value-adding information for our stakeholders seeking to make transformative impacts within their organisations. For additional information about AIBP, please visit https://iotbusiness-platform.com/.

Close to half of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Professionals in Southeast Asia Perceive their Companies to be Lagging the Industry in Digital Transformation

Almost half of the respondents, around 46.6%, believed that their own companies fell behind the industry average when it comes to utilising digital tools as part of business processes, according to a survey conducted by AIBP and Oracle from March to April. The survey counted 193 professionals*, mainly from IT, innovation & business backgrounds in manufacturing and supply chain companies across the largest economies in Southeast Asia: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines & Vietnam.

The manufacturing industry plays a significant role in local economies of Southeast Asian countries, contributing more than 20% of Gross Domestic Products in markets like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Recent US-China trade tensions have also increased expectations of how manufacturing can contribute to markets like Indonesia and Vietnam. Concurrently, local governments are focused on uplifting local manufacturing capabilities by implementing policies to encourage and support initiatives towards Industry 4.0

The survey also found that 46.6% of respondents believed that the top priority of implementing digital solutions should be to drive operational efficiency in a bid to reduce costs, while 16.6% feel that it should be used to increase or create revenue opportunities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen supply chain disruptions across industries – while some companies struggled to come to terms with unusual fluctuations in supply and demand, other companies were better prepared. Thossaporn Petporee, SVP and part of Charoen Pokphand Foods digital committee outlined how Charoen Pokphand Foods have been ahead of the curve when it comes to digital transformation because of their experiences navigating past disruptions like the African swine fever and Avian Influenza. “Each time a pandemic hit, we prepared ourselves better. In our farms, we have the highest level of biosecurity and AI to identify animals across the farm and sales areas. We do well because we keep up to date, keep challenging ourselves.” The recent pandemic has led them to develop innovative online solutions like Vet Online and chatbots which are made available to the farms across their network to allow for diagnosis of animal diseases remotely. Charoen Pokphand Foods saw a net profit increase of 41% in 2020.

Companies from the Manufacturing and Supply Chain industries continue to innovate. In 2020, 3 out of 10 winners of the annual ASEAN Enterprise Innovation Awards were from the Manufacturing and Supply Chain industries, including Kalbe Farma and Astra International. Both companies embarked on digital transformation projects which involved integration of their ERP across business units to allow for a more connected supply chains; enabling real time feedback from across the entire value chain.

“There is an urgent need to reorganize one’s supply chains in the wake of 2020 and the recent Suez Canal blockage, and manufacturers in the region are rightly realising that what they have in-house is not enough when creating robust and resilient logistics processes that keep the business moving efficiently,” said Michael Lim, GTM Leader, ERP & Digital Supply Chain, Oracle. “With new capabilities upgraded onto Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Management each quarter, we are helping our customers streamline logistics to fulfil orders faster, cheaper and more sustainably to deliver the operational excellence they desire.”

*The survey was sent to professionals working in 1,600 publicly listed companies and/or subsidiaries of MNCs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam & Singapore. These companies represent the following sectors: Consumer Durables, Non-Durables, Electronic Technology, Process Industries & Producer Manufacturing.

About AIBP

AIBP serves as an avenue for public and private organisations in Southeast Asia to access and exchange information about growth and innovation within the B2B space. With a current network of over 30,000 stakeholders in Southeast Asia, AIBP continues to develop ecosystems by engaging in activities which create value-adding information for our stakeholders seeking to make transformative impacts within their organisations. AIBP is a business unit of Industry Platform, a growth consulting firm based in Singapore.

About Industry Platform Pte Ltd

We work with public and private organisations to develop value-adding partnerships within the industries and markets which we serve. Our consulting framework advocates pursuing an integrated approach in assisting our clients in their growth and development initiatives. This includes market research, and access through business development strategy formulation and execution.