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Speech for Mr Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, Economic Development Board at the Siemens Com Supplier Summit 2005 on 6 December 2005 at Shangrila Rasa Sentosa at 9am
His Excellency, Mr Karl Heinz Seibert (CFO and member of Siemens Com board)
Mr Dietmar Dresp (CPO and member of Siemens Procurement board)
Mr Hans-Dieter Bott (MD, Siemens Pte Ltd)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning.
1. It is a great pleasure for me to be invited to this international gathering of Siemens' top procurement specialists and suppliers from all over the world. To our overseas visitors, let me extend a warm welcome.
2. As you have heard, Siemens and Singapore share nearly a century-old history of continuous innovation in products and processes. Siemens Singapore today is engaged in various activities along the manufacturing value chain, including R&D, manufacturing and supply chain management.
3. In Singapore, manufacturing has and will continue to be the cornerstone of our economy. That we have a strong manufacturing sector has surprised many. But this sector has been growing and contributing about 25% to our economy. In 2004, manufacturing contributed 28% to our GDP, a record high in the past decade. The electronics manufacturing sector was the largest sector in terms of output, comprising some 40%. Output in consumer electronics and infocomm products was particularly strong, registering a 46% growth to S$14.3 billion.
4. The Prime Minister in 2004, announced our intention to double our total manufacturing output to $300 billion per year by 2018. This is a challenging goal, but it is a strong signal of the government's commitment to grow our manufacturing sector in the coming decade and beyond.
5. This vibrant manufacturing and supply base will certainly benefit this Strategic Procurement Office (SPO) that Siemens Communications Group is setting up today in Singapore. As the command post for Asia Pacific, handling the decision making and strategic directions of various commodity fields and a substantial procurement volume, the SPO will no doubt capitalise on the many strengths within its Singapore office. It can also leverage our world class logistics and the regional supply base to maximise returns. By locating close to the supplier market, it will also be able to make timely strategic decisions that respond to the evolving needs of the consumers. Siemens Com joins other industry players such as IBM, Motorola and Agere who have set up strategic trading and procurement centres in Singapore.
6. Singapore has increasingly developed into a hub for international enterprises. Not only are there 7000 multinational corporations from Europe, Japan and US, there are now more than 1500 Chinese, 1500 Indian and 1200 Australian/New Zealand companies. These large and small companies engaging in various activities and in diverse sectors form a vibrant ecosystem that each member can thrive in.
7. In each cluster of this ecosystem, we want to strengthen it by developing a critical mass of both local and foreign suppliers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Singapore. We have recently announced the Supplier Development Initiative (SDI) which aims to broaden and deepen the base of suppliers in Singapore by leveraging on the large OEM base here.
8. This initiative promotes building of strong partnerships between customers and suppliers so that suppliers can contribute their specialist know-how and grow in tandem with their customers. Specifically, we will provide support to encourage OEMs to work closely with their suppliers to help build up the suppliers' capabilities and introduce new specialist capabilities to Singapore as well as to help bring foreign suppliers to establish a presence in Singapore. This will bring great benefits to all. By strengthening our supplier base we are able to offer a more competitive value proposition to manufacturers. Today, we have 3 companies - Philips Enabling Technologies Group, Unaxis, AEM Evertech Singapore, who have embarked on the SDI programme, working with 5 to 10 suppliers each.
9. In closing, we look forward to many more exciting developments with Siemens to further strengthen our partnership and wish you much success in your new Strategic Procurement operation in Singapore. I wish everyone here a fruitful and enjoyable time at the Suppliers' Summit. Thank you.
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