SBACC’s Newslet ter Issue 2016 April - May | www.sbacc.org.sg

EmployEE EngagEmEnt - a Key Success Factor for SmEs

+ Building a competitive

Edge through Intellectual

Property

PMC NNECTPMC NNECT

APR - MAY 2016 | 02

CONTENTSApr - May

Singapore Business Advisors and Consultants Council 2 Bukit Merah Central #18-03 , Singapore 159835Tel: +65 6272 3238 Fax: +65 6273 3023

ISO/IEC 17024 Cert No. PC-2015-01

www.sbacc.org.sg | secretariat@sbacc.org.sg |marketing@sbacc.org.sg | www.facebook.com/sbaccsg

editorial SBACC MARKETING DEPARTMENT design UNIT ONE STUDIO

Lau Chuen Wei (MISs)Executive Director

Dear readers,

Singapore Business Advisors & Consultants Council (SBACC) constantly receives emails and calls from companies which are looking for qualified and certified management consultants to consult for their businesses. We are glad that companies recognise the PMC certification as a testament of a management consultant’s experience, competencies and professionalism. While SBACC remains impartial and will not recommend any particular PMC, the recently revamped SBACC website aims to help businesses identify possible PMCs with specific capabilities and specialisations to help them in their businesses. Please take some time to check out the new website here.

For this issue, PMConnect has invited Dr Eric Gan, Director of Capability Development Department of Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to share how the Intellectual Property arena opens up many opportunities for businesses in Singapore. Here is where businesses can leverage the expertise provided by the PMC with a specialisation in Intellectual Property Management.

Read on to learn more about Dr Gan’s views and understand more about Practising Management Consultant-Intellectual Property Management (PMC-IPM) certification scheme from SBACC. This professional certification can also help PMCs with no legal background to move into the IP consulting landscape. Send your enquiries to secretariat@sbacc.org.sg if you are keen to know more about this Domain certification.

In this current business climate, companies are looking for ways to grow their businesses. Aside from the business buzzwords of “Going International’, “Create Value”, “Transform and Innovate“, it is important not to neglect some fundamentals such as Employee Engagement. In the article, “Employee Engagement – A Key Success Factor for SMEs” (Pg8), SPMC Dr Lynda Wee shares how effective and engaged employees can help organisations to move ahead. As well, SPMC Dr Sandy Chong, in the article “Keys to Overseas Growth – Having the Right Advisors” (Pg10), provides insights on why companies planning to move beyond Singapore need to know the targeted overseas market well and be discerning in selecting the right business partner before making that hefty investment.

We hope that all PMCs will continue to remain resilient and be relevant in these challenging times, to provide more innovative solutions to businesses and also to market and re-brand their professional services to their clients.

Happy reading.

COVER STORY Building a competitive edge through Intellectual Property (IP)

NEED TO KNOWSBACC Website – Enhanced with a New Look and Feel

Going Beyond the Generic Certification

PMConnect – Your Opinions Matter

PMC SAYSEmployee Engagement - A Key Success Factor for SMEs

SME STORYKeys to Overseas Growth – Having the Right Advisors Employee

PAST & UPCOMING EVENTS:• “Changing Trends in human resourCes” AND NETWORKING

• Business exCellenCe and serviCe exCellenCe (Bse) Briefing session for ConsulTanTs 2016

• The 2016 WiPo-iPos iP aWards - Calling for NOMINATIONS!

• 10 ComPlimenTary Passes To Channel neWsasia’s PersPeCTives: “The imPaCT of China’s eConomiC sloWdoWn”

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M A N A G E M E N T M E S S A G E

APR - MAY 2016 | 03

C O V E R S T O R Y

I ntellectual Property (IP) management is essential in today’s knowledge economy and contributes to achieving national

economic and socio-cultural objectives. On 31 Dec 2015, a historical milestone was reached with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), with IP forming part of the AEC’s second pillar in transforming South-East Asia into a highly competitive region1. The AEC seeks to integrate the diverse economies of the ten ASEAN Member States (AMSs) into a single market comprising the world’s third largest populace with 622 million consumers and its seventh largest economy with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.6 trillion2.

Integration will transform ASEAN into a regional competitive market and production base with the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labour. ASEAN is also

Singapore’s largest trading partner, accounting for 26.2% of the nation’s total trade worldwide in 2014. This presents a strategic platform and opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs in the region and beyond to catapult ahead through innovation, and compete in the global markets.

As the global economy evolves to be more innovation centric, and with worldwide IP filings increasing year-on-year, national and regional growth in ASEAN cannot be envisaged without taking IP into account. Singapore has identified IP as a growth area and is moving towards establishing itself as a regional IP hub. To create a vibrant IP sector and a hotbed of IP activities, the IP Hub Master Plan was launched in April 2013 to guide Singapore’s development into a global IP hub in Asia, thereby, generating benefits for IP owners and the IP services sector as well as creating high value job opportunities for Singaporeans.

Building a Competitive Edge through Intellectual Property (IP)

By Dr Eric gan, Director of Capability Development Department of Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)

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C O V E R S T O R Y

Singapore’s IP regime is consistently ranked amongst the best in the world. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014/20153, Singapore is ranked second in the world and top in Asia for having the best IP protection. Similarly, the U.S. Global Intellectual Property Center’s International IP Index 20154 has also ranked Singapore top in Asia for its IP environment.

With the commitments that AMSs have undertaken to achieve the AEC, opportunities exist for Singaporeans and businesses. For example, IP service providers will benefit from gaining access into ASEAN, as barriers to AMS’s services markets are withdrawn. Skilled professionals such as IP Management Consultants will profit from having greater opportunities to find business prospects in ASEAN countries. For businesses with IP, benefits include accelerated and better familiarity of registration of trade marks in the region; free access to the ASEAN IP Portal; easier access to seek IP protection in multiple AMSs; significant time and cost savings for patent protection via the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC); and online access to accelerated patent registration in ASEAN.

With such developments and opportunities, manpower capabilities are crucial for knowledge-based industry

IP consulting adds value to

businesses through the

discovery and unlocking of

hidden values residing in IP

assets. Left undiscovered,

businesses could miss out on the

opportunity to monetise

these IP assets, which could

further boost the profitability

and business attractiveness.

sectors such as IP. To sustain the growth of the IP industry, Singapore is building world-class IP manpower capabilities, namely, professionals who are knowledgeable about the IP ecosystem, with expertise in market-relevant areas and who are networked to the region and beyond. As the building of such IP expertise requires time, Singapore has started investing in IP manpower capability development, with some areas even ahead of demand.

As an enabler to the IP Hub Master Plan, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has developed the IP Competency Framework (IPCF) to map out structured multi-disciplinary pathways for IP professionals. Developed by the industry, for the industry, attention has been placed on fostering sought-after, specialised skill sets that will grant Singapore a competitive edge through professionals, such as IP Management Consultants, IP Strategists and IP Valuers, as they grow increasingly in demand to serve IP owners and businesses with their international expertise. The IPCF can also be leveraged to facilitate broader manpower capability growth to support business needs across the

Winston Chan, PMC-IPM

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C O V E R S T O R Y

1www.asean.org/asean-economic-community2Source: ASEAN (2014) “Thinking Globally, Prospering Regionally: ASEAN Economic Community 2015”3 www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf 4www.theglobalipcenter.com/wp-content/themes/gipc/map-index/assets/pdf/2016/GIPC_IP_Index_4th_Edition.pdf

region and create synergistic regional collaborations.

To ensure the quality of service standards and to protect the users of IP services (the public), IPOS is working with various industry bodies to certify professionals who have demonstrated a prescribed level of skills, experience and know-how in their areas of specialisation.

Professional certification schemes established include those of the IP Management Consultant with Singapore Business Advisors and Consultants Council (SBACC) through the Practising Management Consultant – IP Management (PMC-IPM) scheme. Professional certification ensures that the IP professional remains in touch with the latest industry developments and skills set needed to provide services to clients, while gaining personal recognition for their knowledge and experience, differentiation from similar professionals, ability to command higher pay as well as portability to move into related industries.

So, what is the size and value of the industries that IP professionals serve in Singapore? A study of industries in Singapore that have above-average usage of IP shows that they account for almost half of Singapore’s GDP and 47% of international trade. More than 50%

of industries in Singapore have above-average use of IP and generates 42.5% of total jobs (both direct and indirect). With a sizeable IP workforce that commands a 29% premium income over non-IP jobs, there is anticipated hiring for IP manpower in key growth areas such as business services and technology in the next three years.

In conclusion, Singapore is well-positioned to leverage its strengths and provide a unique value proposition as a global IP hub in Asia for its highly qualified IP professionals to support business needs and provide world-class IP services to clients at the national and regional levels. With ASEAN integration and the emerging regional and international IP landscape, Singapore can capitalise on the new opportunities that the AEC furnishes and attract important IP work that will contribute to the economy and create high-value business and employment opportunities.

As a Franchising Consultant, it is highly

relevant and only natural to

add this domain certification

to my existing generic PMC

qualification. It is important to stay at the forefront of

IP development and learning, so

that I can help my clients better.

Cynthia Woo, PMC-IPM

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C O V E R S T O R Y

a case study presented by pmC Robin yeo, robin@consultft.com

Le Petit Society – Leveraging on Intellectual Property to bring Cool Fashion to Children

le Petit society was founded in 2012 by singaporeans robyn liang and dylan ong. frustrated by the lack of availability of great looking children’s clothing at affordable prices in the asian market, robyn and dylan set out to develop their own line. Their objective was always clear: to create childrenswear that celebrates modern asian cool while remaining accessible.

robyn and dylan spent many years living and travelling throughout asia and they drew their inspiration from the aesthetic richness this vast continent offers. le Petit society’s label combines asian flair with european quality for an effortlessly cool look, and, in order to produce beautiful children’s clothing at affordable prices, they decided to localise design, production and distribution entirely in asia.

Issuesas a fashion company, the key intellectual Property (iP) issues faced by le Petit society include the protection of its designs and trademarks in a dynamic and fast paced industry. another key challenge for the company is managing its intellectual capital resources to support the company’s business expansion efforts.

Proposed Solutionsusing the iP Business diagnostics Programme under sPring’s iCv (innovation & Capability

voucher) scheme, PmC robin yeo helped le Petit society to undergo a diagnostic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of its iP deployment and management system.

PmC robin proposed some key strategic moves to le Petite to better leverage and manage its iP to support their business growth plans:

Ip protectionas a growing company in the children’s fashion industry, the protection of designs and trademarks is particularly important for le Petit society.

Coming up with fresh and new designs is the heartbeat of fashion. le Petit society’s unique designs are not limited to its apparel and accessories but also extend to the special packaging options it offers to its customers.

le Petit society identifies the key designs in their products and packaging and protects them under the registered designs or Copyright laws. This acts as deterrence to competitors wanting to copy le Petit society’s key designs, and also enables the company to contest those who do so.

Branding is what draws customers to a fashion label. Customers trust the le Petit society brand for its fashionable, high quality and safe products, and the company has garnered a strong and growing customer base, with its geographic reach now extending beyond asia to the united states and europe. Trademark protection is absolutely critical to protecting the le Petit society brand. it

allows le Petit society to continually exploit its brand commercially. The company registers its trademarks in hong Kong where it warehouses most of its goods, and it is now registering its trademarks in singapore and other key overseas markets.

Ip Channel Developmentle Petit society is continually looking at new channels to leverage its iP to establish its brand in more overseas markets. Currently, the majority of the company’s sales are made through its online store.

other than selling through its online store, franchising is another strategy for le Petit Society to leverage its IP to expand its business, and generate additional revenue streams. franchising also allows le Petit society to enter into overseas markets without incurring hefty capital investments.

Intellectual Capital managementPmC robin also advised that intellectual Capital can be a powerful tool to grow a business through engaging and hiring better employees.

le Petit society has set up a framework to do the following:

(a) give specific incentives and rewards to staff who contribute to iP innovation (e.g. new designs, new marketing ideas).

(b) Provide foundational training to staff on iP issues

impacting the company, such as understanding the benefits and uses of trademarks and registered designs and other means of iP protection.(c) develop an employee handbook to guide employees about iP values and behaviours; this is especially important as the company grows bigger.

Lessons LearntThrough working with PmC robin using the iP Business diagnostic Programme, the team at le Petit society learnt the following:

Recognition and prioritisation of Ip is Critical to the CompanyBy recognising that iP is most critical in the fashion industry, le Petit society can prioritise the different types of iP, hence better manage its financial resources.

Importance of Ip protection through Registered Designs and trademarksThrough registration of designs and trademarks, le Petit society protects its brand equity and strengthens its relationships with its customers and business partners. These will pave the way for business expansion.

Importance of Intellectual Capital for Business growthusing intellectual Capital to implement effective human resource policies have allowed le Petite’s staff to feel more engaged with the business and contribute more effectively.

le Petit society, through applying the lessons they learnt through the iP Business diagnostics Programme, is now able to better manage and leverage on its iP to grow its business.

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N E E D T O K N O W

SBaCC Website – Enhanced with a New Look and Feel

pmConnect – your opinions matter 1 What would you like to read from PmConnect?

________________________________________________________________

2 how often would you like to receive PmConnect? monthly / Bi-monthly / Quarterly

3 do you share PmConnect with your peers or clients? yes / no

Click here to submit your feedback

We are pleased to bring you the brand new SBACC website that aims to provide a more user-friendly browsing experience for our business partners and management consultants.

We have refined the PMC directory and website menu structure to enable better access to information on the PMC Scheme and PMC profiles.

We value your feedback and suggestions to improve any areas of our website, so do drop us an email at secretariat@sbacc.org.sg to give us your feedback and comments.

Visit us at www.sbacc.org.sg

SBACC congratulates newly certified APMC and PMCs (Dec 2015 to Mar 2016)

SBACC congratulates:

mr ang Chek Woon, PmCmr david Koh hiang yong, PmCmr denis Tan Choon lai, PmCms eileen ng lay yoong, PmCmr fong Tat Choy, PmCms lur seok leng, PmCmr mark yeong Khek Chuen, PmCmr melvin ho Keat ru, PmCmr oh Jun xian, PmCmr ong Kheng lee, PmCms rajavelu rajpriya, PmCmr raj singh s/o Karnail singh, PmCmr shanmugam narasimhan, aPmCmr soon Boon Chew, PmCms Tan gwek lynn, PmC

SBACC wishes them a successful and rewarding future in their careers as Practising Management Consultants.

Going Beyond the Generic Certification

Productivity Domain Application Now Open. SBACC is now offering a Domain discount of $749 for PMCs who take up this additional certification by 20 July 2016.

Click here to find out more about this special Domain that can set you apart from other consultants.

For enquiries, please email secretariat@sbacc.org.sg or call SBACC at 6272 3238 to find out more.

APR - MAY 2016 | 08

P M C S A Y S

W hen business is good, companies hire more employees to facilitate their growth. The irony is that,

even with more employees, their revenue does not increase proportionately, resulting in productivity per employee declining as the companies grow larger. Why is this so?

This is a common scenario experienced by many small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. Often, these SMEs may turn to some incentive scheme such as the Capability Development Grant (CDG) and/or Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) from SPRING Singapore, to develop and improve their capabilities and operations. However, it often takes more than the incentive schemes and grants to improve the; SMEs need to look closer at their levels of employee engagement.

PMC SayS

Dr lynda Wee, SpmC lynda.wee@bootstrap.com.sg

Employee Engagement - A Key Success Factor for SMEs

A clear sense of engagement

and enablement go a long way in enhancing employees’

effectiveness through clarity, alignment and accountability.

Not all employees are strategic assets, only effective employees are. A clear sense of engagement and enablement go a long way in enhancing employees’ effectiveness through clarity, alignment and accountability. Table 1 below demonstrates the different types of employees in a company based on the extent of engagement and enablement. Effective Employees refer to those who are engaged and enabled to perform, they are the strategic assets given their high work productivity.

Employees who are enabled to perform but are not engaged feel detached from their companies. Those who are highly engaged but not enabled to perform are frustrated. Ineffective employees refer to those who are neither engaged and nor enabled. These three types of employees bring down work productivity.

to unleash the power of employees in any company, consider these three essentials:

Low engagement High engagement

High enablement

DetachedEmployees Effective Employees

Low enablement

Ineffective Employees Frustrated Employees

taBlE 1: typES oF EmployEES

Essentials Tools

Sense of Purpose 1. Vision

Sense of Belonging 2. Values

Sense of Achievement 3. Skills Development

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P M C S A Y S

1. Vision

Most of the SMEs are preoccupied with business development and management. Due to the lack of manpower, their modus operandi is fire-fighting to cope with the increase in work load. When the company size is small, leaders are able to communicate faster and often in a face-to-face manner. They have line of sight of their team members and operations. Their intentions are understood due to frequent, personal and tight communication.

As they recruit more employees, most tend to focus on operational demands and do not take time to communicate. Line of sight becomes blurred. Over time, the new team members become clueless about where their companies are heading and can only contribute tactically, never strategically.

Management needs to spend time to align everyone’s understanding and vision to be on the same page. Step away from the daily busyness. Take a macro view. Begin with the end in mind – where is the company heading.

Vision helps companies determine if they are on the correct path. Success happens twice; once in the mind, and then in reality. Visualise then actualise. Vision provides energy, focus and clarity of the future. It inspires employees to come to work for a compelling reason beyond that of monetary returns and tactical activities. For example, Apple Retail hires people

who want to change the world through their work. They think differently and innovate. Apple hires the best ones in their chosen fields.

With a compelling vision, employees gain clarity, stay focus with the end in mind and move forward to achieve results that matter. Knowing the end provides them with the space to share strategic inputs on how to get there.

Leaders need to craft and share their visions so that they can attract like-minded employees. Align hiring decisions to corporate vision. Start right at the beginning with people who share the same purpose. The burning question is, do SMEs know what their visions are? If yes, are they inspiring and differentiating enough?

2. Values

Transparency is key if different employees need to work together towards a common goal. Leaders need to make their core values transparent to all employees to foster teamwork and build trust through order and consistency.

Core values are the fundamental beliefs of companies that influence employees’ thoughts and action. They help employees know what is right from wrong. Successful companies identify and adopt core values that impact their company culture, brand and business strategies – making them unique. Guided

by these core values, employees think and act like one to achieve their companies’ vision.

The power of core values has not been fully unlocked as most leaders see core values as lofty and non-essential to their businesses. It is time that SMEs consider core values to leverage the power of oneness.

3. Skills Development

Based on their visions and core values, companies should be clear about what their core business is and who their core customers are. This then influences the types of core skills that they need to deliver their unique brand value proposition.

Skills are fast becoming a new economic currency. With the right skills, employees can perform to achieve desired business results. Leaders must ensure that their employees are equipped with the right skills to sustain and scale their companies’ competitive advantage.

To engage employees to contribute effectively, skills development is the way forward. Why? Skills development is closely linked to work performance and hence, tends to be competency-based. It provides the solutions to better performance through higher competencies.

Most SMEs lack the resources to equip their employees to perform at their peak. Hence, they outsource staff development to external training courses, resulting in the possibility of misalignment to their companies’ core business challenges, vision and value statements. Think Skills Development instead; one that is aligned to business needs and work performance to deliver impact. It is time that staff development is accountable to the achievement of business results.

Successful SMEs who become giants are the pride of any nation. In the journey of birthing of giants, management consultants and mentors can lend a helping hand in shaping the people’s decisions through clarity, alignment and accountability. SMEs do not have to do it alone.

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S M E S t o r Y

ABOVEWilliam Tan showcasing his company’s products.

BOT TOMDr Sandy Chong (left) and William Tan (right) at Singapore Management Consulting Awards’ Gala Dinner, 28 Oct 2015.

KEyS to ovERSEaS gRoWth – havIng thE RIght aDvISoRS

h ock Lian Huat Foodstuff Industry Pte Ltd (HLH) is an 88 year-old food manufacturing business

founded by Mr William Tan’s grandfather, Mr Tan Gim Teh. HLH has experienced huge transformation through industrialisation and innovation. When Mr William Tan took over the management of the business in 1995, he was aware that he was not just taking on the responsibility of running his family’s business, but also the responsibility for carrying a culinary heritage going back more than eight decades and three generations.

In its current premises at Gourmet East Kitchen, there is a diverse and committed team that uses a combination of high technology and traditional techniques to produce their famous Ngoh Hiang. The company was able to simplify its existing processes while maintaining a high standard of quality and hygiene in its food production. To date, HLH still hand-rolls their famous Ngoh Hiang, to preserve its authentic taste and texture, and proudly supplies to 80% of the vendors in food courts and hawker centres in Singapore

Although HLH has been successful manufacturing and wholesaling island-wide, Mr Tan wanted to extend its strong and long-standing reputation beyond Singapore. He felt that it was time to explore new markets and spread this local traditional food across the world. To elevate the firm to the next level, Mr Tan engaged Senior Practicing Management Consultant (SPMC), Dr Sandy Chong of Verity Consulting Pte Ltd, whom he met at IE Singapore’s Export Development Programme.

During the course of training, Dr Chong effectively imparted fundamental and differentiating export strategies to Mr Tan and fellow attendees. Apart from acquiring strategic insights of overseas ventures, Mr Tan learned to develop an export plan that satisfied HLH’s demand for both internal and external growth, met the needs of their changing business, and averted costly mistakes, probably one of the most crucial

learnings gained. The training consisted of steps in preparing

for market and channel selection, entry strategy and branding. Mr Tan also learned that identifying one’s passions and talents would create the driving force that would help him to sustain the business when facing challenges overseas.

After the training, Mr Tan decided to explore the potential of exporting to the Chinese market. The experience was wrought with challenges for a small firm like HLH. The Chinese market is very particular in its tastes and preferences. Being unfamiliar with the new market and facing difficulty in qualifying the right distributor to work with, along with the restrictions on meat imports, Mr Tan learned that entering such a market can be fatal if going

APR - MAY 2016 | 11

S M E S t o r Y

in unprepared. In addition, the high pricing of imported Singaporean goods for which HLH is so successfully known in Singapore when compared to local produce makes it hard to compete in the same market.

After countless trips to and discussions in China, it was the advice of Dr Chong that helped him to avoid major business risks. She had earlier shared with him some of the best practices in international strategy are to strengthen the confidence of their customers and capitalise on their reputation in a positive manner. She also stressed the importance of identifying one’s niche and matching it with the right market before going into negotiation and making huge financial investments.

Guided by Dr Chong, Mr Tan took a step back and held off rushing into China. He started to refocus on regional markets that are more familiar with his products. Mr Tan felt that this was a prudent decision, as he no longer had to choose between compromising HLH’s product quality or having the margins undermined. “Due to her timely advice and

insights of the Chinese market, we saved ourselves hundreds of thousand dollars pursuing a futile path that could have damaged our already delicate bottom-line”.

Dr Chong also advised Mr Tan and his associate, Ms Jasmine Keh about scoping a brand rejuvenation project to get results that would enhance HLH’s image in the long run, and provided directions to implement the brand strategies long after the project ended. Attending Dr Chong’s advanced programme on international branding and tradeshow success were also highly educational for Mr Tan and his team. They were so impressed by the highly interactive and engaging sessions that Mr Tan believes that when it comes to strengthening its export business and branding across borders, Dr Chong is the expert. “She opened our eyes to an array of opportunities to capitalise and boost our existing image to the wider audience, helping us to create meaningful brand relationships with our clients.”

With Dr Chong’s support, Mr Tan began reappraising themselves, reconnecting with the company’s core competency and repositioning their brand. HLH spent the next 2.5 years building best practices in export development, conducting due diligence with partner selection, and choosing the right strategy when dealing with foreign counterparts. Through extensive research into the overseas market, HLH was able to refocus themselves to grow, to learn from their experience and better position themselves for the future.

Dr Chong opened our eyes to an array of

opportunities to capitalise and boost our existing

image to the wider audience, helping us to

create meaningful brand relationships with

our clients.

ABOVEUsing high technology to produce their famous Ngoh Hiang’s mixture.

BOT TOMHLH still hand-roll their famous Ngoh Hiang to preserve its authentic taste and texture.

APR - MAY 2016 | 12

S M E S t o r Y

Key Steps to Preparing for Export:

1. aSSESS youR ExpoRt REaDInESS align internal readiness with external opportunities, choose the right market, learn how to utilise resource and production capacity, make the right export decision.

2. FInD youR taRgEt maRKEt find out who and where they are and provide a valuable proposition. understanding global consumer behaviour takes more than reviewing a country’s gdP and economic indicator. validate the market size and needs before entering.

3. aRtICulatE youR gloBal appEal & maKE an ImpRESSIon

Branding is more than a fancy logo and design. making an impression is just a start. Cultivating brand relationship is the key that lasts.

4. FInD thE RIght moDE oF EntRy Timing, choice of entry strategies and anticipating constraints are all critical decisions that would differentiate a successful entry from a failed one.

5. EngagE thE RIght paRtnER having the right partner definitely allows one to take more risks. identifying the criteria of a suitable partner is as important as finding them.

6. nEgotIatE aCRoSS CultuRES navigating through market exclusivity, performance requirement, payment terms and exit clauses are key terms to minimise risks. Cultural acumen and sensitivity are key enablers to closing deals.

7. pRESEntIng WIth ImpaCtyour international audience has shorter attention span than your local ones. Pick a focus and grab the audience.

8. gloBal outREaCh vIa DIgItal StRatEgy Communication is at the heart of e-commerce and community. leverage the global playing field by tapping into online communities. hard-selling doesn’t work, viral and social marketing does.

“We are now a lot more aware of what entry strategy to use, negotiation skills to have, the right cost projections and the clever use of media, including social media to promote our products” says Mr Tan.

Another aspect of the company which has changed since engaging Dr Chong is the awareness and growing emphasis on sustainability and responsibility towards the wider community. At the forefront of recognising good corporate citizenship in international expansion, HLH became the winner of the Asia Pacific Brand Award and the Singapore Brand Award in 2012. Both Awards recognised the strength of the brand and its commitment to corporate social responsibility, particularly in the case of reducing packaging waste. Also, the SME1 Prominent Award recognized their efforts in building a sustainable business and being a responsible employer.

For over 7 years, Dr Chong constantly gives Mr Tan tools and techniques to develop concrete and practical strategy that would help HLH in promoting their offering and pitching itself effectively beyond borders. Even after the completion of their export building exercise, she remained committed to the company and was willing to provide time and expertise to give them an edge at local and international tradeshows.

Mr Tan said “Dr Chong’s integrity, profound respect for her mentor and passing the knowledge to others made me realise that other than making money in business, there is a higher calling for one to pursue one’s dreams and missions. She has further affirmed my belief that there is immense power in being a good enterprise if one possesses strong determination and good faith.”

HLH Ngoh Hiang still brings to mind the great nostalgic taste of Mr Tan’s mother’s cooking. His dream is to have everyone enjoying HLH’s Ngoh Hiang at parties and gatherings or as gifts. Mr Tan is now much more confident that they are well-positioned to make their mark and further spread Singaporean culture and food worldwide.

APR - MAY 2016 | 13

P A S T & U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Business Excellence and Service Excellence (BSE) Briefing Session for Consultants 2016

6 MaY 2016 26 February 2016

upcoming eventPast event

“Changing Trends in Human Resources” and Networking

S BACC kicked off the first PMC Sharing and Networking Session in 2016 with PMC Elizabeth

Chan giving her views on the “Changing Trends in Human Resources”. Elizabeth shared the macro views of the changing trends, and later narrowed it down to how using a good competency framework can help organisations to measure employees’ performance as performance is after all, still key to ensuring any orgainsation’s daily operations and progress.

The 2016 WIPO-IPOS IP Awards - Calling for Nominations!Nomination Period Open from:

1 April 2016 - 31 May 2016

I POS invites PMC-IPM to nominate distinguished organisations in Singapore in the three categories:

Design Innovation, Technology Patent, and Trade Mark Portfolio. The nomination period starts from 1 April 2016 and ends on 31 May 2016. All nominations will be judged by a distinguished panel comprising industry experts, scientists, professors and management from the academia, as well as representatives from trade associations and government bodies. Please click here to see the award details and the nomination form.

T he Business and Service Excellence (BSE) Consultant Briefing is for consultants who are interested in

having a better understanding of the mechanisms of the following grants:

a) Capability Development Grant (CDG) – Business Excellence (BE)b) Capability Development Grant (CDG) – Customer Centric Initiative (CCI)

PMCs attending the briefing can expect to learn the grant application process, the deliverables of the grant, and its claim process.

Programme

for registration, please click here.

3.00pm Event Starts

3.10pm The BE Framework

3.30pm Capability Development Grant – Business Excellence (BE)

3.45pm Capability Development Grant – Customer Centric Initiative (CCI)

4.15pm Combined Q&A Session

4.30pm End

APR - MAY 2016 | 14

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

I n support of Channel NewsAsia(CNA)’s “Perspectives”,

a live business talk show, and also to expand the scope of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for PMCs, SBACC is giving out 10 complimentary live-recording passes to the next show on “ The Impact of China’s Economic Slowdown.

“Perspectives” is a high-level panel discussion programme which will be recorded in front of a live audience at the Singapore Management University’s SMU LABS (located at the corner of Armenian Street and Stamford Road, previously the MPH building).

Synopsis

After growing at more than 7% annually for the quarter century from 1990 to 2015, things in China are slowing down. As China normalizes and transitions into a more mature economy, how will this affect the rest of the world in the years to come? Who will be the biggest winners and the biggest losers? What

10 Complimentary Passes to Channel NewsAsia’s Perspectives: “The Impact of China’s Economic Slowdown”, 6th May 2016

is in store for China, the world’s second largest economy, and its development?

Panel members

• Ho Kwon Ping Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Holdings Limited Chairman, Singapore Management University Board of Trustees • Kirk Wagar US Ambassador to Singapore

• Associate Professor Henry Gao School of Law Singapore Management University

• Song Seng Wun Economist and Director CIMB Private Banking

All attending guests are to be seated by 10:15pm on 6 May 2016. Latecomers will not be admitted.

registration is on a first come first served basis, for the firsT 10 PmCs to register for the show. Please click here to register by 22 April 2016.

We encourage and welcome PMCs to contribute articles on management consultancy and SME success stories. Each article should be about 800 words and SBACC reserves the right to select and edit the articles. By contributing these articles, free of charge to SBACC, the author agrees to give SBACC the right to use, archive or reproduce them in any way and in any medium.

For the time and effort put into these articles, your contribution will be accorded 5 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Hours.

E-mail us at marketing@sbacc.org.sg

upcoming event

PMC 1 CPD Hour Credit

Non-Core, Unstructured

CallinG all PMCs!