American multinational consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) today launched its first digital innovation center in Singapore, with Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran present as the guest of honor.
The inaugural e-center, which is P&G’s first outside of the United States, will be established in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).
That is, the consumer goods company will be pumping in US$100 million (S$140 million) over the next five years in a move to strengthen Singapore’s standing as a leading digital and e-commerce hub in the world.
To accomplish the feat, Nicolas Defauw, the VP of Finance and Accounting at its Asia Pacific branch said that it will be training up to 40 employees within the first year to take on digital-related roles within the center’s three capability areas of supply chain management, e-business, and e-analytics.
The group also intends to expand its partnership with local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups, to strengthen digital capabilities and co-develop new digital solutions.
Such partnerships between large and small enterprises, according to the Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran is an important means of catalyzing the adoption of digital technologies
He even cited the example of P&G’s partnership with local SME Golden Wheel Industries which has resulted in improving the productivity of its manufacturing processes. This has allowed the company to boost its services to other clients.
In parallel with the launch of its e-centre, P&G will also be hosting the second edition of its P&G Leadership College to mark the inauguration.
The program is intended to foster collaborations between large organizations and SMEs through knowledge transfer, capability upgrading, co-innovation and test-bedding of innovative solutions. It will be hosted in collaboration with SPRING Singapore for local small and medium enterprises (SME).
“We are pleased that P&G has chosen to establish its first e-center outside of the US, in Singapore. Through digital innovation in supply chain management, e-analytics, and e-businesses, the center will drive the transformation of P&G’s operations in the region,” said Beh Swan Gin, the chairman of EDB.
“This will, in turn, create new jobs in fields such as data analytics that are aligned with Singapore’s efforts to strengthen our digital capabilities,” he added.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of P&G in Singapore. First established as a 100-strong regional sales office in 1987, the Singapore outfit now serves as the Asia-Pacific headquarters with 2000 employees.
“We have deep ties to Singapore and the local community, and our partnerships with various enterprises and institutions here have been instrumental to our success in the region,” said P&G Asia Pacific President, Magesvaran Suranjan.
By Vivian Foo, VCNewsNetwork
