Top Story What is available SCHEME/ASSISTANCE information, which is all in (hard copy) files.” The filing system at Rossi was previously chronological. Employees had to sift through two years of paperwork to obtain information on a client who started tailoring at Rossi two years ago. “You will have a hard time looking through the records and finding out his measurements, the type of fabric he likes, or design that he likes. It was very tedious and not so productive,” explains Mr Lum. “But as a profession, that is the way things get done. Very manual, very paper-based.” After Rossi got its new system, however, things became a lot more efficient. All that the staff need to do is to carry the company’s iPad with them, and they have all the necessary information on its clients at hand. They no longer need to flip through piles of paper to know a particular customer’s preferences and sizing. They just have to key in the customer’s name on the iPad, and information based on the client’s previous interaction with Rossi will appear. “I can instantly pull out all his information – from the new measurements, the fabric he likes, and the like. The whole customer experience changes,” he says. “The downtime is less, and the customer is happier because you are able to respond quickly.” Mr Lum admits that the cost of this system was way out of Rossi’s reach. And with just 15 staff and in Mr Lum’s own words, a “very small” firm, it perhaps did not make sense for Rossi to have such a sophisticated set-up in place. But Rossi believed that the system will help the firm grow bigger, and managed to convince Spring so. “I told Spring, look, the exercise that I am embarking on, I actually cannot afford it because the Singapore market is too small, and I am a niche player, I am not a mass market player. For my size of business, I cannot afford to put in that IT system because it is meant for someone two to three times bigger than me. “But I also told them that I have ambitions to grow, and I need a little bit of help. It’s a chickenand-egg issue. If you don’t jump on the platform, you cannot grow because you will lose track of your customers preferences if you try to expand, since it is so paper-based, and in the end it will just be a mess and you will lose the customers.” However, he quickly goes on to clarify that there is no guarantee of help from Spring. In fact, Rossi had previously been rejected by the agency. He has this advice for other small firms: “Clarity of vision is very important. If you go and talk to Spring, you have to really, really know what it is you are after, and what it is you want to do. “The mindset should be that even if Spring does not come in, you will still be doing this, that you are so convinced about the proposal to Spring that if you don’t get the grant, you will still do it. It is a matter of time, or waiting until your cashflow improves, or when you have saved some money. It cannot be that if Spring gives you the money then you will do the project; and if Spring doesn’t give you the money, then you won’t do it.” He also urges SMEs to be realistic about how much help they can get from the government. “Your business model must be sound. It cannot be that if the government doesn’t help you, then you die.” And lastly, to firms that believe there is little they can do to raise productivity, Mr Lum says: “The fact that something has been done in the same way over the last 20 years doesn’t mean that is the best way, that we can’t find a better way tomorrow. It is sometimes all about changing the mindset.” – by Felda Chay WHAT IT OFFERS Productivity and •Businesses can enjoy 400 per cent tax deduction and/or a cash payout of up to $60,000 for their spending across six types of Innovation Credit productivity improvement activities. •Prescribed equipment list will be updated regularly (based on feedback from businesses). •Equipment not on the list will qualify if it: a) Automates or mechanises work processes. b) Enhances productivity of businesses. •Basic tools will also qualify as long as they raise productivity from status quo, or have not been used in the business before. •IP in-licensing costs now qualify, to help SMEs obtain IP rights under licensing arrangements too and not just via acquisitions. PIC Bonus WHO TO CONTACT IRAS www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/PIcredit.aspx For companies: 1800-356-8622 For self-employed/partnerships: 6351 3574 Businesses that spend a minimum of $5,000 in PIC qualifying activities will get a dollar-for-dollar matching bonus of up to $15,000. This is on top of existing PIC benefits. Capability Development •Supports up to 70 per cent of costs of productivity improvements or capability development. Grant: All Spring •Makes it easier for SMEs to apply for assistance, no longer need to decide which programme to apply for beforehand. Singapore’s grant schemes •Two-page application form & online grant portal. now streamlined into one EnterpriseOne [email protected] 6898 1800 Productivity Advisory SMEs can get free advisory services, attend workshops and clinics at the SME Centres to help them improve productivity. Services SME Centre@ASME (Association of Small and Medium Enterprises) (65) 6513 0388 [email protected] SME Centre@SCCCI (Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry) (65) 6337 8381 [email protected] SME Centre@SICCI (Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) (65) 6508 0147 [email protected] SME Centre@SMCCI (Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry) (65) 6293 3822 smecentre-smcci.sg SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) (65) 6826 3020 [email protected] Innovation and Capability SMEs can get a $5,000 innovation voucher for technology innovation projects in the areas of productivity, human resources development Voucher (ICV) scheme and financial management. EnterpriseOne [email protected] 6898 1800 Collaborative Industry •$100 million over three years. Projects (CIP) •Aims to form consortia of at least three SMEs (solution providers and users) to develop and propose productivity solutions for specific (to be rolled out second sectors that are scalable and have potential for mass adoption, with government co-funding development and adoption costs. half of 2013) •Spring Singapore will launch the scheme in six sectors first: food manufacturing, F&B services, retail, printing & packaging, textile & apparel, and furniture manufacturing. KEEPING COOL ICE cream chain Udders is not a very small business, but it is hardly a large company either with six outlets in Singapore. Being small, however, has not stopped the owners of the ice cream business from setting up a central kitchen and automating it. And it has enjoyed manpower savings as a result. Last year, with some financing help from the government, it bought a machine to pasteurise the milk that it needed for its ice cream. According to founders David Yim and his wife Wong Peck Lin (above), pasteurising used to be done manually. But with the machine, the process is now automised, and the machine can be left on overnight without the need for anyone to be present to manage it. “So in terms of saving on manpower and time, that has been good,” says Ms Wong. Udders now requires three fewer staff to run its central kitchen. Even though the company would have required nine staff members to run its central kitchen after it added outlets to its stable last year, the group is “doing fine” with just six, says Mr Yim. Another area that the ice cream parlour worked on was to change the way that its equipment was cooled. Because the machines that are used to make ice-cream have to be very cold, a lot of electricity is used to cool the machines, and this creates hot air as a by-product. Previously, this hot air was discharged into the kitchen itself, so Udders needed very powerful air conditioning systems to “cancel out the hot air” and ensure that the environment in the kitchen remained cool. That, he says, was very inefficient. So it introduced a new system where hot air would not be released into the kitchen. Instead, it would be pushed out of the kitchen and cooled using cold water. “The whole working environment is cooler, and that is much better for our staff. It used to be very, very hot inside the kitchen. And for a product like ice cream, it doesn’t make sense. So it was very difficult,” says Mr Yim. He agrees that it is not easy for F&B players smaller than Udders, especially those with just one outlet, to automate. “They won’t even be able to have a central kitchen,” he says. Another issue is cost. Such investments are expensive. Udders spent about $300,000 automating its kitchen. Still, there are probably things that one-outlet F&B operators can do to raise efficiency, says Ms Wong. “But they would not be at the scale of automating a central kitchen.” She believes that the way forward for the very small SMEs is to first try and scale the business. She also believes that there are some simple steps that SMEs can take to try to boost productivity. One is to first read the Spring Singapore website. “It is quite comprehensive. But the business owner needs to know what he needs, and work on one thing at a time because as SMEs we can’t work on so many projects at the same time. So once they know the direction they want to take, they just need to look through the website and find the schemes related to it, and the terms and conditions of the schemes.” The next thing to do would then be to contact Spring and speak with an officer, says Ms Wong. Another thing that SMEs can do is to visit the SME Centres, which used to be known as Enterprise Development Centres. Ms Wong has been to one and found the visit useful. “They (the consultants at the centres) are very familiar with the schemes, so if business owners do not know what to do, they can go and have a chat with them and get a feel. They are quite helpful,” she says. – by Felda Chay SME Talent Programme •To help SMEs attract and recruit local talent from ITEs and polytechnics over the next five years, by offering students a study award and job opportunity upon graduation. •SMEs can get up to 70 per cent funding support (covering student’s tuition fee, monthly allowance and a signed-on bonus for final year students). Successful students will be bonded to sponsoring SMEs for two years after graduation. •SMEs will be required to provide training in award recipient’s first year on the job and can get funding support for up to 70 per cent of training costs. Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) Enhanced •$60 million over three years. •Up to 70 per cent funding support for qualifying costs (manpower-related, professional services) of PACT projects. •Aims to foster SME collaborations with large enterprises in areas that involve co-innovation, technology test-bedding, knowledge transfer and sharing of best practices. Eg, by upgrading capabilities of global companies’ local suppliers through the sourcing and qualification processes. •Expanded to include sectors such as food manufacturing, printing, retail and food services, infocomm technology and construction. For local enterprises: EnterpriseOne [email protected] 6898 1800 Land Productivity Grant •$60 million over five years. •Supports companies that are intensifying their use of land in Singapore, or choosing to relocate some operations offshore while retaining core functions in Singapore, with savings of at least 0.1 hectare. •Grant supports consultancy fees, domestic/overseas relocation costs. For non-local enterprises: EDB's Client Services Centre 6832 6832 WorkPro: consolidates and •$170 million over three years. Workforce Development Agency enhances the old Work-Life •Companies can get funding support for age management initiatives, job redesign, on-the-job training, and recruitment and retention efforts. Hotline: 6883 5885 Works! Fund, Flexi-Works! •Companies can also apply for grants to defray the costs of implementing flexible work arrangements and other work-life programmes. [email protected] and ADVANTAGE! schemes There is also an incentive for those that have done so. into one programme Enterprise Training •$20 million over two years. Support (ETS) •Offers companies a holistic HR and training support package for employees’ training, to develop customised training plans and to defray costs of enhancing their HR development and management functions. Singapore Workforce Skills Companies can get higher levels of funding support when they send workers for WSQ courses which train, assess and certify workers Qualifications (WSQ) for the competencies each industry looks for Enhanced Training •An enhanced funding scheme that funds up to 90 per cent of training fees in over 8,000 courses. Support Scheme (ETSS) •Courses funded include certifiable ones supported by the WDA and academic CET (Continuing Education and Training) courses offered by the polytechnics and ITE Colleges. •Includes absentee payroll funding. Technology Adoption Programme (TAP) (from July 2013) •$51 million over three years. •Aims to link companies to solution providers, based on their technology needs. •Companies will receive advice from team of “technology intermediaries” on processes that can be improved with technology, and matched to solution providers who will develop and implement suitable solutions for companies. •Will be piloted in six sectors: construction, food manufacturing, precision engineering, marine, aerospace and retail. Growing Enterprises with Technology Upgrade Programme (GET-Up) SMEs can get a tailored package to upgrade technology capabilities through training, technical assistance and manpower from A*Star Research institutes, as well as financial support. Company-Led Training (CLT) Companies can get funding to train fresh infocomm graduates, to help them transit to specialist-level jobs more quickly. A*Star www.a-star.edu.sg/tabid/98/default.aspx [email protected] [email protected] Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP) Companies can get funding support in course and certification fees to train workers in critical, new & emerging, and hybrid infocomm skill areas. (65) 6324 8737 [email protected] Infocomm Leadership & Development (iLead) (Expanded) Companies can get funding support to train infocomm leaders and experts in high-end, niche infocomm areas. [email protected] Academic CET programmes Companies which send workers for skills upgrading via academic CET programmes at the polytechnics and ITE colleges can get course fee and absentee payroll support. (65) 6872 2220 [email protected] Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) •Streamlines IE Singapore’s schemes for SMEs that are new to going abroad. •Includes the MRA grant, which co-funds 50 per cent of eligible costs, capped at $20,000 per company per year. •The MRA grant will help Singapore-based companies venture overseas by supporting professional services (offered by IE’s panel of partners) for market assessment, market entry and business restructuring through internationalisation. IE Singapore www.iesingapore.com/MRA_Grant Global Company Partnership (GCP) •For companies that have ventured abroad and require more help. •Done by providing help in four areas: capability building, manpower development, facilitating market access and access to financing. IE Singapore www.iesingapore.gov.sg/wps/portal/GCP Compiled by The SME Magazine