SBACC’s Newslet ter Issue 2015 December - 2016 January | www.sbacc.org.sg

PMC NNECT

SMC Awards GAL A EVENT - aN EVENING OF CELEBR ATION

SMC Awards GAL A EVENT - aN EVENING OF CELEBR ATION

DEC 2015 - JAN 2016 | 02

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

PAST EVENT SMC AWARDS GALA DINNER

WINNERS’ STORIES • Promising Management Consultant of the Year, Jack Ser’s Perspective on Success• Management Consultant of the Year, Dr Buck Tang’s Perspective on Consulting• Management Consultancy Project of the Year, Atlas Branding & Omni-Channel Strategy by So-Young Kang of Awaken Group Pte Ltd

NEED TO KNOW • SBACC Launches Practising Management Consultant (PMC) Card• Board Room Rental in SBACC• Extension of CPD Hours Submission• Introduction of “Additional Working Language – Chinese” Certification• Ms Isabella Loh – First Independent Director for AIG Singapore• Productivity Tools for PMCs• SBACC signs MOU on Training Activities for Productivity

PMC SAYS The Sustainability Megatrend

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTCY PROJECT OF THE YEAR Paving the Way for a New Customer Experience

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CONTENTSDec - Jan

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

Practising Management Consultants - Unsung Heroes in the Business WorldSBACC reached an

important milestone in the last quarter of 2015 when it presented the Singapore Management Consulting (SMC) Awards Gala Event. SBACC had an exciting evening at the Inaugural Singapore Management Consulting (SMC) Awards on the 28 October at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The Guest of Honour was Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say.

Management consultants work hard with business leaders to transform and nurture their organisations. But their work is often in the background and unseen by the public. It’s time this changed. The SMC Awards promotes good management consultants and highlights the value and contributions they make.

We congratulate all Finalists, Merit Award Winners and Winners of the inaugural SMC Awards for achieving the recognition that are so well-deserved. We have caught up with the winners to find out what their winning formulae are, and their thoughts on their wins.

SBACC thanks IPOS, SPRING Singapore, WDA, all major business chambers and associations and our PMCs for their support in the SMC Awards.

As we wrap up the year, SBACC wishes you a happy holiday season.

Click here if you cannot view the video.

http://www.sbacc.org.sgmailto:secretariat%40sbacc.org.sg?subject=mailto:secretariat%40sbacc.org.sg?subject=https://www.facebook.com/sbaccsghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_pVVJS4hcY&feature=youtu.be

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p a s t e v e n t

SMC Awards Gala Dinner

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It was an exciting evening on 28 October 2015 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel as SBACC celebrated the Inaugural Singapore Management Consulting Awards with Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say as the Guest of Honour (GOH). His Excellency, the British High Commissioner to Singapore and Patron to CMI, Mr Scott Wightman was also present at this joint event with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) which conferred the International Management Action Awards.

The Gala Event was attended by close to 300 guests from the public and private sectors, and business chambers. It was a joyous occasion for all guests - winners and finalists celebrating another milestone in their management consultancy careers, and guests rekindling relationships and establishing new contacts.

SBACC thanks all supporting organisations and parties in helping to make this inaugural SMC Awards a success.

1. Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore, delivering his Welcome Address.

2. Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say, chatting with VIPs.

3. Arrival of Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say, accompanied by Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore

4. (Top left to right) Mr Koh Tat Liang, Assistant Executive Director, Singapore Business Federation; Ms Choy Sauw Kook, Assistant Chief Executive, Quality & Excellence, SPRING Singapore ; Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council of SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore; Mr James Kwek, Member of Practising Management Consultant- Certification Board (PMC-CB); Mr Lim Sah Soon, Member of PMC-CB; Mr Kwek Theng Swee, Appeals & Disciplinary Panel of SBACC; (Bottom left to right) Mr Bunani Azlan, Honorary Secretary, Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Mrs Perlita G.Tiro Member of PMC-CB; Mr Tan Tee Jim, Member of PMC-CB; Dr Eric Gan, Director, Capability Development, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore; Ms Frances Cheang, Deputy Chairman of PMC-CB.

5 The SMC Awards Gala Dinner drew close to 300 guests from the public and private sectors, and business chambers.

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P A S T E V E N T

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6. (Left to right) Mr Ted Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore; Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, Founding Member, SBACC; Mr Brett Hall ,Member, Board of Directors, SBACC.

7. (Left to right) Merit Award winners from the category of “Management Consultant of the Year”. Dr Sandy Chong and Ms So-Young Kang; Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore; Mr Scott Wightman CMG, the British High Commissioner to Singapore; finalist from the category of “Management Consultancy Project of the Year”, Mr Colin Anderson and finalist from the category of “Promising Management Consultant of the Year”, Mr Prem Kumar.

8. Jack Ser (standing, 2nd from left), Promising Management Consultant of the Year, celebrates with his guests.

9. Guest of Honour, Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say congratulated and praised the finalists and winners of Singapore Management Consulting Awards.

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10. Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore, speaking to Mr Scott Wightman CMG, the British High Commissioner to Singapore, and Ms Ann Francke, CEO of CMI.

11. (Top left to right) Mr Eugene Wong, 9th IMAA Winner, Ms Isabella Loh, Chairman, Practising Management Consultant-Certification Board (PMC-CB); Ms Tan Poh Hong, Chief Executive Officer, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority; Mr Chua Chin Kiat; Mr Kenny Yap; Mr Terence Yap, 9th IMAA Winner; Mr Saw Ken Wye, Chairman, SMC Awards Assessment Committee; Professor Cheong Hee Kiat; Founding Member, SBACC; Professor Arnoud De Meyer, Singapore Management University; Mr Liau Beng Chai, Honorary Chairman, CMI Singapore;(Bottom left to right) Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore; Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say; Ms Ann Francke, CEO of CMI; Mr Scott Wightman CMG, the British High Commissioner to Singapore, Mr Ted Tan, Deputy Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore; Mr Brett Hall,Member, Board of Directors, SBACC.

12. So-young (5th from left), lead consultant of the Management Consultancy Project of the Year, and her guests rejoicing over their victory.

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W I N N E R S ’ S T O R i e s

A fter seven years as a strategy consultant at companies such as Accenture, during which he worked on projects for telecommunication providers, mining companies and Australian banks, Mr Jack Ser ventured forth on his own. With his experience in business development, compliance reporting, Enterprise Resource Planning, accounting and payroll management, Jack and his team took on projects in Singapore and across the region.

Jack’s major projects include an online employee portal he designed for luxury retailer Atelier Groupe. The system has enabled staff across Atelier Groupe’s 11 subsidiaries to manage their own payroll and leave applications.

Despite his youth, 31-year-old Jack has built an impressive portfolio for himself with his deep analytical and problem-solving abilities, as well as exceptional interpersonal skills. His strong work ethics makes him go the extra mile for his clients, spending extensive time understanding their pain points and needs. He does not believe in selling his clients what they do not need, but concentrates on guiding them through all stages of their projects, clearly identifying

needs and wants so that they are able to realise the best returns on their investments.

Embrace Spirit of

Consulting

Consulting work provides a sense of fulfillment for Jack. Every new project is a fresh, exciting journey that he fully engages and immerses in. “When I was a consultant at Accenture, I led projects across a wide spectrum of industries and relied on my keen analytical and systems thinking skills to quickly grasp industry insights before deep-diving into specific clients’ issues and devising both quick win solutions and mapping out medium and long term plans.”

Leveraging his ability to think and work systematically as well as his strong interpersonal skills, Jack now works closely with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) where stakeholders’ interactions are generally more frequent and intense.

Winning this Award further spurs Jack and his team to keep striving to provide excellent consulting services for their clients. “I will continue to engage my staff throughout all stages of the projects, and work closely with clients to map out their end-to-end processes, identify gaps with the intention to meet

Promising Management Consultant of the Year

most of them even if they fall outside my scope of work,” Jack commits.

Jack also has a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, having carried out pro bono work for organisations such as the Singapore Women’s Association, the Inter-Religious Organisation Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore. He says, “I believe that giving back to the society is

Every new project is a fresh, exciting

journey that he fully engages and

immerses in.

only excels at work but also in life. And success in life is not something that can be easily measured. Success is multifaceted, and is also very subjective. Success is never just about the one who ends up at the top of the corporate food chain. Neither is it about the one who has the deepest pockets or largest asset base. Success of a person is beyond the surface, beyond the facade that one conjures up for the world to see. It is about having the tenacity and appetite to take risks and push yourself beyond your limits, and no matter what the end outcome, to take the results in your stride and be contented with what you managed to achieve. A successful man is marked by the skillsets and values he possesses, not the dollars and cents that he makes. Building and maintaining a supportive and close knit family and group of friends who will always have your back despite your flaws ensures that you are always grounded and contented. To me this is success. The ability to strike a balance between my hobbies and interests, yet maintaining a good balance with work commitments is also a measure of success.“ Wise words indeed, from a young man.

Jack Ser’s Perspective on Success

important, and even when a company is at its infancy stage one should not forget this. I am always eager to give back to society and despite running a small start-up, we have already been working with non-profits on a pro bono basis in areas that my team and I are passionate about.”

A few parting words from Jack: “To me, a successful management consultant not

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W I N N E R S ’ S T O R i e s

W ith over 20 years of practice and delivery in service experience design consultancy, Dr Buck Tang clinched the title of “Management Consultant of the Year 2015” in the inaugural Singapore Management Consultancy (SMC) Awards on 28 October 2015.

Dr Tang is a strong advocator of the importance of delivering signature customer experience by design and not by chance. Adopting his own tried and tested consulting methodology, he partners his clients to develop service strategies and inculcate service-oriented mindsets across all hierarchies of the organizations.

“My clients and I work like partners. Careful analysis is done to understand the clients’ operations and challenges before developing a customized intervention. We work closely with clients to fine tune and achieve results together,” says Dr Tang.

Specializing in the area of service leadership and management for the past 25 years, Dr Tang has developed and delivered customer experience related training and consulting interventions to more than 500 companies in 20 countries. His clients are organizations from the aviation, automotive, retail, property management, hospitality, financial, healthcare industries, public service sector and more.

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service-oriented mindset across all

hierarchies of an organization to help them achieve their

common goals.

Dr Buck Tang’s Perspective on Consulting

Management Consultant of the Year

LEFTDr Buck Tang receiving winning trophy from Minister for Manpower, Mr Lim Swee Say, accompanied by Mr George Huang, Chairman, Governing Council, SBACC and Chairman, Board of Governors, CMI Singapore.

RIGHTDr Buck Tang, standing 3rd from left, Management Consultant of the Year, and guests.

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W I N N E R S ’ S T O R i e s

F ounded in 2009 by Ms So-Young Kang, Awaken Group is a multi-disciplinary management consultancy that integrates strategy, leadership and innovation to create new experiences. Companies and brands it has worked with include HDB, SilverKris and Sentosa.

Awaken Group continued its capability-building journey with Atlas Sound & Vision, an audiovisual equipment retailer, since being engaged for a project in 2012 when the company was grappling with low employee engagement, resource constraints and an unclear business strategy.

Over 24 weeks, Awaken Group conducted an analysis of customers and operations, and created an omni-channel and branding strategy that enabled Atlas Sound & Vision to reshape customer engagement, improve workflow and create a new corporate culture that led to better ties between senior management and employees. It also helped Atlas Sound & Vision to re-position itself from its traditional identity as a “Bose distributor” with a singular focus on the sound

space into a carrier of multiple major sound and vision brands.

Atlas Sound & Vision also has a presence in Malaysia and Brunei, and with a re-designed corporate structure, enjoys better revenues across multiple channels, audience segments and product lines. Thanks to the new branding strategy crafted by Awaken Group, Atlas Sound & Vision has expanded its customer segment to include the youth market.

Excellence Requires

Commitment

So-Young believes in being personable, holistic and sustainable. Her team values building trusted relationships and chooses to engage its clients personally, not just in a vendor-client relationship.

“I am happy that the team feels a sense of pride and accomplishment as consulting is more of a long-term value proposition.” She is grateful for the Award as it validates the hard work that her team has put in over the years and says, “The Award opens new doors for us locally and globally as companies and the

Management Consultancy Project of the Year

government see the impact that good management consultants can have on customers, staff, organisations and society.”

Consulting work is hard work. So-Young spends long hours to provide clarity through rigorous critical thinking, alignment of the leaders and their people through coaching, facilitation and capability building and designing innovative solutions using a human-centered design process. And “the special sauce is the ability to

Thanks to the new branding

strategy crafted by Awaken Group,

Atlas Sound & Vision has

expanded its customer segment

to include the youth market.

know what tools are needed given the context and objectives of (our) clients. (We) don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.”

PMCONNECT: The work that you and your team did for Atlas Sound & Vision was great. Can you tell us what special qualities or requirements are necessary to do a good job?“First, thought leadership. This is about constantly investing in research, publishing and pushing the boundaries in terms of thought leadership. People development is equally important because people are the assets in management consulting. Excellence can also be achieved when we are maniacal about the details that matter. Having the rigour in the process from critical thinking to execution are key to achieving sustainable impact.”

Read the article on this award-winning management consultancy project, Atlas Branding & Omni-Channel Strategy on page 12.

Atlas Branding & Omni-Channel Strategy

by So-Young Kang of Awaken Group Pte Ltd

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N E E D T O K N O W

On 8 October 2015, SBACC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) to promote The Operations MaNagement Innovation (OMNI) programme at the MPTC Annual Conference and Technology Exhibition 2015, during which OMNI@LITE (Lean Implementation towards Excellence) was launched.

This OMNI programme, funded by Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), is beneficial for PMCs who can

apply what they have learnt to various sectors.

SBACC had also signed Collaboration Projects Agreements with Human Capital Singapore (HCS) and Singapore Manufacturing Federation-Centre for Corporate Learning (SMF-CCL) on 27 April and 15 April 2015 respectively to promote training programmes for productivity consultants.

PMCs who are interested in these training programmes may email Kim Lian at kimlian@sbacc.org.sg for further information.

SBACC signs MOU on Training Activities for Productivity

Signing Ceremony (from left to right) Mr Chang Keen Weng, Managing Director of Alpha Consulting & Training Pte Ltd; Ms Lim Lee Chin, General Manager of Electronics Industries Training Centre (ELITC); Mr Neo Tiong Wee, General Manager of Kaizen Consulting Group; Dr Zeng XianTing, SIMTech; Ms Lau Chuen Wei, Executive Director of SBACC; Ms Josephine Lee, Principal General Manager of Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business. Witnessed by Prof Raj Thampuran, Managing Director, A*STAR; Dr Lim Ser Yong, Executive Director, SIMTech; Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower; Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA.

SBACC Launches Practising Management Consultant (PMC) Card

SBACC is pleased to launch the Practising Management Consultant (PMC) Card. This Card identifies and celebrates the professionalism of the PMCs who have been certified by SBACC.

Take this card with you wherever you go – meetings, networking sessions, consultations with your clients, and even when you are taking care of your personal needs.

We are very happy to have the support of business partners who recognize your worth and who would like to help you take care of some of your professional and personal needs. Click here to find out about the benefits from these partners.

SBACC has received requests from PMCs for the use of SBACC’s Boardroom for them to meet with their clients. SBACC is pleased to announce that SBACC’s Boardroom will be available for booking by PMCs and Non-PMCs starting January 2016.

Board Room Rental in SBACC

The charges are as follows:

PMCs Non-PMCs

S$60 / per hour S$80 / per hour

• The booking is strictly for business meetings and short training courses.• Bookings will be accepted for occupancy from Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.

Please click here for more information.

mailto:kimlian%40sbacc.org.sg?subject=Registeration%20for%20Traininghttp://staging.sbacc.org.sg/Marketing/The%20PMC%20Card.pdfhttp://sbacc.org.sg/news/board-room-rental-in-sbacc.html

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N E E D T O K N O W

Ms Isabella Loh – First Independent Director for AIG Singapore

Introduction of “Additional Working Language – Chinese” Certification

SBACC is re-branding the Bilingual Chinese domain as “Additional Working Language - Chinese”, with English being the primary working language. The framework for this “Additional Working Language – Chinese” certification is:

Criteria

• Minimum Level 4 pass in the Business Chinese Course (Listening, Reading & Writing) conducted by Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Institution of Business (SCCIOB) or its equivalent. • If the applicant does not have the relevant qualifications, he will need to go for a Business Mandarin Placement Test (Comprehensive Upper Intermediate) conducted by SCCIOB, priced at $53.50, to verify his proficiency in the language.

Certification Fee* $400

Re-Certification Fee* $200

* Note: Fees are exclusive of 7% GST.

Re-Certification Criteria

20 out of the 100 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours required for PMC re-certification must pertain to Chinese language, culture or business environment.

The existing PMC-BCs will no longer carry the PMC-BC branding in future. Instead, they will have “Additional Working Language - Chinese” indicated on their certificates.

For further information, please contact SBACC at marketing@sbacc.org.sg.

Extension of CPD Hours SubmissionContinuing Professional Development (CPD) is vital to ensure relevant and applicable competencies. If you are unable to fulfil the required CPD hours in time for re-certification, SBACC allows an extension period capped at a maximum of 6 months (after the re-certification date) for up to 20% of the required CPD hours.

Please note that there will be an administrative charge of $214 (inclusive of 7% GST) should you avail yourself of this extension period

M s Isabella Loh, Chairman of SBACC’s Practising Management Consultant Certification Board, and Member of SBACC Board of Directors, was recently appointed as an Independent Director to AIG Asia Pacific Insurance on October 15, 2015 for a three-year term. This is the first time that AIG Singapore has appointed independent directors. The other independent director is Mr Shirish Apte, who is also currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Handlowy in Poland and Citibank Japan Ltd.

Isabella, as an independent director, will strengthen the company’s corporate governance practice while bringing an external perspective to help steer the AIG Singapore’s corporate strategy. Mr Matt Harris, Chief Executive of AIG Singapore said: “We warmly welcome our newly appointed independent directors. We look forward to drawing on their diverse experiences, views and ideas to support our efforts to be our customers’ and partners’ most valued insurer.”

Fees

Productivity Tools for PMCs

B izEquity is pegged as the world’s largest business valuation software which helps create business valuation and performance reports within minutes.

BizEquity, through their valuation and performance reports, has helped management consultants to attract more business owners as clients, create new revenue streams and increase client retention.

A complimentary preview session will be conducted on 18 December 2015, 3pm to 5pm. SBACC encourages

PMCs to attend and find out how this productivity tool can help you to increase business and provide better value and insights for your clients.

BizEquity is offering a special price for the software for SBACC PMCs. Find out more at the preview session by BizEquity. Light refreshments will be provided.

To enquire about the business valuation software, you can contact BizEquity at tel: 8405 4295.

Click here to register and find out more about the detail.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y_iZiXtVxg5C3sva34Tn4E_EBg1Ul48ej_KPJa26xUM/viewform

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P M C S A Y S

Sustainability is fast becoming a business imperative for global businesses. It is making its mark as a market driver with the potential to grow profits and present opportunities for value creation – a dramatic move from businesses’ traditional focus on efficiency, cost, corporate social responsibility compliance and risk management.

In the Harvard Business Review article “The Sustainability Imperative” by David A. Lubin and Daniel C. Esty, the authors argued that sustainability has emerged as one of the megatrends of the world over the last decade.

The combined realities of climate change, industrial pollution, food safety, and natural resource depletion have made sustainability a vital consideration at the global level. Further fueling this megatrend, thousands of companies are placing strategic bets on innovations in energy efficiency, renewable power, resource productivity and pollution control.

Sustainability consulting is riding on this megatrend by becoming a mainstream business for the Big-4s and many other management consulting firms. Based on research by UK-based Verdantix, sustainability consulting engagements will grow to exceed US$1 billion by 2019. In 2015, large corporations are projected to spend US$877 million on management consulting advice relating to sustainability reporting, energy efficiency, sustainability risk assessment, sustainability strategy, sustainable supply chains and product sustainability.

THE SUSTAINABILITY MEGATREND

PMC SAYS

Patrick Chanpatrickchan@visionedge.biz

In the future, companies that make sustainability a corporate goal will gain competitive advantages.

By identifying such market specific and forward-looking trends, and drawing the strategic conclusions, a company will be able to bundle its business activities into areas which can demonstrate high potential for business growth and thus offer attractive investment opportunities for local and foreign investors.

In the future, companies that make sustainability a corporate goal will gain competitive advantages. This would mean rethinking the business models as well as products, technologies, and processes. Sustainability should therefore be a touchstone for all innovation. It is not sufficient to merely introduce one or a few key innovative measures, policies or product features to promote sustainability within the company. To take the lead, a company must introduce outstanding or unique measures, policies or product features. At the same time, it must be able to successfully integrate innovation for sustainability within its organisational culture and across its value chain.

An outstanding local example is Samwoh Corporation which has demonstrated continuous innovation in sustainable development. It has undertaken a number of high impact sustainability research projects through collaborations with various government agencies to develop new and innovative green solutions for construction application. The continuous efforts have shown tangible results yielding useful products such as Engineered Aggregates from recycled Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerator ash waste which can be used for road base construction, asphalt and concrete application, land reclamation, backfill

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P M C S A Y S

A company must be able to invest in innovative solutions to meet environmental challenges,

deliver valuable products and services to customers and at the

same time generate profitable growth for the company.

for road trenches, etc. It has also yielded other green pavement products and cool paint, a heat insulation paint applied to concrete or metal surfaces to reduce heat in buildings. These have played a significant role in helping Singapore reduce its reliance on imported raw materials, divert materials from landfills and save building and construction costs through the use of recycled products with energy saving features.

Another outstanding local company is City Development Limited (CDL) where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been an integral part of its corporate vision and mission since 1990s, with full management support from its managing director. The company has a comprehensive policy on CSR initiatives engaging different stakeholders including investors, customers, employees, contractors & suppliers, tenants, the business community, and the community-at-large.

CDL has also been included in the FTSE4Good index since 2002, and was ranked as the top Singapore Company in the CSR Asia Business Barometer on CSR disclosure in 2008 and more recently amongst the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.

On top of these, the company designed its carbon strategy, starting with the participation in Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and engaging with Carbon Neutral to implement zero-carbon initiatives for many of its activities.

It is important to have the commitment and proactiveness of management and internal stakeholders for the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. There should also be regular engagement strategies and communication channels with external stakeholders such as suppliers and the community pertaining to sustainability

disclosure and reporting. This often means commitment to invest resources in CSR programme, measurement, performance evaluation and review.

A company must be able to invest in innovative solutions to meet environmental challenges, deliver valuable products and services to customers and at the same time generate profitable growth for the company. There is much to be gained in terms of cost savings, increased market share, improved service, customer satisfaction, brand value, and increased profitability from adopting a sustainability policy.

To achieve a company’s goals of profitable growth and long-term value creation, companies are encouraged to monitor and ensure that the activities continue to be sustainable. This means not only developing innovative products and solutions tailored to individual customer needs and requirements, but also adopting a holistic approach in the company’s strategy, programme and reviewing the process to integrate with the sustainable development considerations within its business planning cycle.

Such efficient sustainability management requires clear structures and a consistent integration of the sustainability strategy.

Sustainable practices help improve the bottom line and give multiple tangible and in-tangible benefits including protection of reputation, risk mitigation, etc. The route to outstanding sustainable business practices, however, is still a long journey for many Singapore companies. Through the counsel of competent and qualified management consultants in devising a sustainability framework, it is hoped that more Singapore companies will be able to scale the peak of excellence in sustainability and ride on the megatrend of sustainability towards business success in the new green economy.

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M A N A G E M E N T C O N S U L T A N C Y P R O J E C T O F T H E Y E A R

S ince its founding in 1963, Atlas has provided high quality sound and vision lifestyle solutions in Singapore and is the sole distributor of premier sound and vision brands including Bose, Ad Notam, and Loewe in Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. With its expanding customer base throughout the region, the company recognized the need to meet and exceed customer expectations through providing a more integrated Omni-Channel Strategy.

Customers today have multiple ways of experiencing brands and purchasing products, which require consistent brand messaging and customer experiences. The Omni-Channel Strategy therefore focused on intentionally and seamlessly guiding customers across and between existing and new channels — whether online or offline.

The project included a new brand strategy for Atlas that complemented the Omni-Channel Strategy. The objective of the brand strategy was to create a unique identity for Atlas in the market. The questions the project sought to address included:

• What does Atlas want to be known for, given their values and vision?• How does Atlas want to differentiate itself in a highly competitive market?• How does Atlas position and prepare itself to expand into new markets (e.g. youth market, geographical presence)?

Co-creation is critical for success

This was a highly collaborative project with solutions co-created with the client, Atlas. Awaken Group met with Atlas’ senior management team at least once a month for steering committee meetings, and also with various product and brand experts within the company to gain better understanding and insight of Atlas’ business. Co-creation of solutions and buy-in from the organisation were critical to the success of the project. A Design Mentor met with Atlas’ management team weekly to coach, develop, and support their team to ensure the client’s longer-term success.

PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEFrom May to October 2014, Awaken Group designed an Omni-

Channel (FY15 – FY18 strategy) and Brand Strategy for Atlas

Sound & Vision’s new customer experience. This was Awaken

Group’s fifth project with Atlas since 2012.

A ‘WOW’ customer experience

It all began with understanding Atlas’ dreams and vision for a ‘WOW’ Omni-Channel customer experience. Over 35 interviews and 18 mystery audits were conducted to understand customers’ and staff members’ underlying needs. This led to the discovery of three key underlying needs for each group (customers, staff).

Target market segments and customer personas were identified to enable Atlas to meet unique customer needs in more personal, customized ways. 7 customer journeys were designed for target segments with the purpose of providing a new integrated customer experience for all existing and new channels cutting across retail, online, social media, and channel partners.

TOPBrand Meeting.

BELOWDreaming Together

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M A N A G E M E N T C O N S U L T A N C Y P R O J E C T O F T H E Y E A R

Over 100 potential ideas were generated and these were narrowed down to a few for testing with real customers. Two rounds of prototype sessions with real customers were conducted to test a new retail store concept, online experience, and customer service. These enabled Atlas to gain direct customer insight and feedback. A detailed three-year Omni-Channel Strategy plan (FY15-FY18) was developed to guide Atlas on their journey. Recommendations included key enablers such as a new organisation structure, KPIs, as well as financial projections up to FY18. A quarterly strategic execution plan was developed to help the Atlas team move forward with clear targets.

The New Brand

Informed by new customer insights and research into Atlas’ target market segments, three new brands were created: one major brand and two sub-brands. These will enable Atlas to serve its different customer market segments in a more targeted and personalised manner. Awaken Group designed brand personalities, stories and brand guides for each of the three distinct brands.

The roadmap that Awaken designed for Atlas is flexible and will allow Atlas to make adjustments, as needed, based on available resources. This is critical for an SME that has to maximise its manpower and other resources. In terms of branding and competitiveness, the solution creates a unique positioning and brand story that is authentic and will help Atlas to stand out from the crowd as competition increases. The two sub-brands are also positioned to enable growth beyond existing segments into the new untapped customer segments.

Mr Chia Shih Koon, APMCMr Johaness Chen Yihan, APMCMs Wong Ee Lin, APMCMr Abdul Samad Abdul Kader, PMCMs Celestine Koh Siew Min, PMCMs Layanya D/O Novem, PMCMs Lim Lay Lay, PMCMs Lin Chengwei, PMC

SBACC congratulates 15 newly certified APMCs, PMCs and SPMCs (June to Nov 2015)

Mr Low Yee Chang, PMCMs Subhalakshmi Iyer Narayanan, PMCMr Tan Tze Chong, PMCMr Terence Kwok Him Chee, PMCMr Tiong Kheng Hua, PMCMr Wong Wee Teck, PMCMr Keoy Soo Earn, SPMC

SBACC congratulates:

It was always a pleasure to work with Awaken Group.

From the many projects that we have worked

together previously, I have never hesitated to raise my concerns and engage the

consultants on a friend-to-friend basis. This form of relationship is important

and unique ascompared to a formal vendor-customer relationship. Also, Patrick

Joseph’s role as our mentor has definitely brought

some unique capabilities to the project as he is able

to re-focus and shape clarifications in the

leadership team outside of the project meetings.

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

Transformation

There have been at least 7 areas of transformation and the impact of this project includes:

1 28% increase in growth in 2015 alone.

2 Increase in management capabilities through co-creation and ongoing coaching. With the new strategic direction, the team was clear and focused on attaining its goals.

3 Innovative customer experiences by channel and persona and across channels have been designed based on customer touchpoints; execution is underway to increase levels of service provided.

4 Level of innovation is escalated with staff taking ownership and contributing to ideas

5 Corporate structure was redesigned to support the omni-channel initiative

6 Atlas’ new brand identity is being rolled out

7 More collaborative workflow across the organisation to create more effective solutions for their customers - Atlas Senior Management

assessment after project completion.