Manufacturing is a key sector for Singapore, contributing to 20.9% of the country’s GDP in 2019. The many competitive advantages such as the strategic location and advanced automation remain important but Singapore faces a growing competition in the regional and global markets. In addition, many manufacturing companies have not digitalised their operations as fully as expected. The Precision Engineering and General Manufacturing sectors cover 79% of Singapore Manufacturing SMEs but are in the bottom 25% in terms of EDB’s Smart Industry Readiness Index. This is mainly due to the lack of knowledge, which makes it often difficult to even begin their Industry 4.0 journey. Both the government and private sector have launched initiatives to plug the knowledge gap but much work is still needed. Another major challenge is ensuring that the companies’ stakeholders are aligned with the vision of making digitalisation a key part of their processes and strategic planning and not just another IT project.
So, how can Singapore prepare itself ahead of the growing challenges? How can Digital Infrastructure benefit Singapore’s manufacturing future to meet Industry 4.0 goals?