Case Study 3.1: Asia Polyurethane Manufacturing Pte Ltd (APU): innovating through the downturn

Established in 1985, APU is an SME with less than 50 employees and a chemical manufacturer specialising in the blending and supply of customer designed polyurethane (an organic polymer) resins and manufacture of polyurethane blended components for a wide range of industries, such as domestic appliances, automotive components, petrochemical insulation projects, furniture industries, general construction and many others. Following the direction of the Montreal protocol, APU has been supplying cyclopentane systems since 1997. In 2004 APU received its first ‘Enterprise 50’ award and in the following year it was certified under the Singapore Quality Class, a testament to the commitment of the entire company to service and quality. APU was recently ranked in the SME 500 list of Singapore companies. Priority to customers, passion for excellence, people enhancement, partnership focus and involvement in community activity, are the core values of APU.

The post-2008 economic downturn was challenging for APU. There was lower demand for products, uncertainty over the prospects for recovery of the market, issues about ensuring sufficient cash flow and problems in HRM areas, such as managing employees, expectations, retention and attracting talent. APU realised that if there was a decrease in demand for the items that they had been producing, then there was a need to revisit the product line and it was better to go back to basics. For example, APU faced decreased demands for refrigerants due to high costs, so it embarked on an alternative, thermo ware, which was more cost effective and helped to better address the demands of the mass market. Demand for this product increased remarkably, which according to the CEO, gave rise to a ‘happy problem’.

According to the CEO, Mr Erman Tan, business sustainability boils down to sufficiency of cash flow to operate an organisation. It is about remaining profitable and maintaining a buffer to be able to sustain at least for the next six to twelve months. As he put it: ‘Irrespective of good or bad times, organisations need to emphasise on cost-management, retain current staff and strive towards attracting new talents. Economic downturn brings along challenges as well as opportunities. This is the period to source (raw materials) aggressively, develop quality yet cost competitive products, sell more and reap the profits back to buy more.’ Mr Tan believes that the greatest challenges facing APU will be to write off old stock, proper planning with respect to expansion and diversification and implementing a just-in-time strategy. ‘(Now) it is the fast fish that will eat slow fish. Act fast!’ he concludes.

Case Study 3.2: Atlas Sound & Vision Pte Ltd: RIPE in action

Established in 1962, Atlas is a Singaporean SME with 65 employees and a premier provider of quality sound and vision lifestyle solutions. The founder of the company, the late Mr A. B. Tien, branched out from the record library business into offering advice for sound systems and eventually to providing premium equipment for quality sound. During the late 1960s Atlas secured the Bose distributorship and imported Bose 901 speakers. Since then Atlas has built a strong reputation as a leading premium audio visual retailer and distributor and is the sole distributor for the brands like Bose, Loewe, Kimberkable and Noo’ance. It is a niche player in the audio visual industry, active in both B2B and B2C markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Following the founder’s death in 2003, his son Michael took over the business as CEO. In 2006, Atlas HiFi was re-branded as Atlas Sound & Vision to sharpen the company’s competitive edge in providing quality sound and vision by creating extraordinary experiences for customers. It also unveiled a new generation of stores under the ‘Atlas Experience’ concept. The core values of Atlas rest on the four pillars of: Respect, Integrity, Passion and Excellence (RIPE). As stated by the CEO: ‘Atlas had undergone many ups and downs. It has learnt lessons from the previous downturns. There are two kinds of mistakes business fall prey to a) commission – unknowingly committing a mistake and b) omission – consciously ignoring certain actions that affect business outcome. It is during the good times that businesses usually make the worst decisions. Business sustainability to us is thus constantly reviewing processes to protect the company from committing such mistakes and differentiating one’s approaches from other market players. A successful business needs to offer more than a quality product or service a better customer experience.’

Over the past 20 years Atlas set the target of 20 per cent growth year on year and a doubling of turnover every five years. It was able to ride through the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the downturn in 2005. For many years Atlas reinvested 100 per cent of profits back into the company. Today the company has a capital reserve that is equal to two years of operational expenses. Atlas has been monitoring external market conditions and was prepared for the post-2008 crisis even before it happened. Atlas has a no retrenchment or pay cut policy. The challenges were to keep this promise when sales were affected due to the downturn, and how to maintain growth.

Atlas has a 3R risk management strategy: Retain (employees and customers), Redevelop (employees’ skills) and Reinforce (the brand). It is through these strategies that it nurtures relationships both with employees as well as customers. Average employee turnover is much lower than the industry average. Each year Atlas sponsors 10 per cent of its employees to pursue higher education. It is interesting to note that even though there is no bond or clause on returning to the company, such employees stay. It seems it is all about trust between employer and employee.

Atlas has a reputation for retaining their customers (up to 70 per cent). To regularly maintain these connections, each year Atlas identifies the 100 top customers and sends them a bottle of wine on a special occasion to show the company’s appreciation of the trust such customers have regarding Atlas. When traced back it was found that at least 10 per cent of these customers returned to purchase more products from Atlas stores.

For their good efforts in establishing their brands, in 2007 Atlas was conferred the Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA), jointly given by the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises and Lianhe Zaobao, a Chinese newspaper. The SPBA recognises and honours Singaporean organisations that have developed and managed their brands effectively through various branding initiatives.

The focus for Atlas is not only on making profits, but also on giving something back to society, its CSR. Atlas’ innovative initiative, ‘In Harmony with Education’, is particularly noteworthy in this regard. This is an interdisciplinary children’s music programme to teach basic mathematics and science using music. Atlas has also pledged to give 10 per cent of annual profits to bring the programme to Singapore schools for free. A full time Atlas member of staff is engaged to run the programme. As part of its CSR Atlas adopted Assisi Hospice and has dedicated 25th September as its CSR Day. As Mr Tien, CEO explained: ‘Look at the good times and be prepared for the bad times. Atlas believes in team work and synergy which is achieved by helping the last person cross the finishing Line. This is how a business can sustain!’

Case Study 3.3: Centre for Seniors (CFS): the mantra of staying relevant

As we noted in an earlier chapter, Singapore is facing labour market and demographic challenges. Singapore is one of the most rapidly ageing nations in the world. In order to become a leading organisation for seniors by promoting their total well-being, the CFS was established in 2006, with Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Minister in charge of ageing issues, as convenor. The CFS’ less than 50 staff are committed to promoting the total well-being of seniors, particularly their vocational, financial and psycho-social well-being. The CFC’s three goals are to: (1) enhance the employability of mature employees through on-going training; (2) facilitate, promote and enable mature workers to remain in active employment for as long as possible; (3) equip HR personnel, managers, supervisors and union leaders with a deeper understanding of the ageing process and issues so that they will be able to manage and optimise the abilities of older employees more effectively.

In 2007 the CFS started running its first Seniors Employability Programme (SEP). SEP is the umbrella grouping of employment and employability courses for seniors and managers of seniors. The CFS added public education programmes to educate the public, including seniors, on the myths and facts of ageing, as well as to offer strategies and tips to age optimally. Indeed one such programme to encourage older employees to continue working beyond retirement age involves: Re-employment: Equipping And Developing Yourself (READY)™.

During the uncertain economic conditions of the post-2008 crisis, financial viability remained one of the greatest challenges for the CFS, along with its constant endeavour to remain relevant to its clients. Being flexible and adaptable towards meeting customer needs, keeping the costs of operations down, product differentiation and keeping products and services affordable, are the four key measures that CFS focuses on.

CFS is a member of the National Council of Social Service. As a non-profit VWO, CFS depends largely on the support of well-wishers, members of the public and corporations to fund its programmes and services. Thus, ‘If a product/ service are a necessity or “must-have”, the demand will still be there. The challenge emerges when consumers perceive the product/service as “good to have”. For an organisation like ours business sustainability is about financial viability’, notes Ms Helen Ko, Executive Director, CFS.

Case Study 3.4: Egyii: establishing a business foothold

Incorporated in 2009 in Singapore, Egyii is a learning and development consultancy of less than 50 staff. It helps financial organisations gain better results through their peoples’ relationship skills. Egyii derives its name from Borneo’s Kapuas mud snake (Enhydris Gyii), which can change its colour spontaneously, symbolising adaptability.

Financial organisations faced many challenges post-2008 and one of the biggest was enabling their people to perform at their optimum level. Thus, the organisation employed a hard, results-oriented approach to peak performance and soft skills. For Egyii, business sustainability refers to survival. Thus: ‘Sustainability is a broad concept that goes beyond mere growth. To sustain is to maintain a presence in the market. Innovation and creativity plays a major role in making an organisation sustainable. Innovation should not be solely concerned with products. Instead, innovation should be about getting every employee to be innovative and proactive, and not wait for their bosses to find solutions to problems’ stated Mr Trip Allen, Director, Egyii.

As client organisation’s dilemmas tend to be more financial, rather than people-focused, these impact on the business of Egyii. For example, client budget freezes for employee training and development in turn affected Egyii’s cash flow. Egyii is, however, very cost-conscious, using new media platforms like social networks, blogs and word-of-mouth, etc., to promote itself. It also focuses on niche areas to stay competitive.

Being small, Egyii members keep each other motivated. They have learnt how to manage their responses to events, especially negative ones like bad sales meetings. They choose to see setbacks as opportunities. Egyii focuses on cost-management and identifying niches in order to establish a business foothold.

Case Study 3.5: iqDynamics Pte Ltd: mitigating risk

in 1994, iqDynamics is a 50 employee IT company. It offers and deploys affordable enterprise solutions such as HR, talent, student and club and resort management. It also offers white papers, information brochures, the latest HR news, software development and outsourcing advice. The company provides one-stop integrated software solutions to businesses across Asia, serving over 300 customers with offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, as well as partner alliances in China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

The company has a vision to be the market leader for software solutions in the mid-market such as HR, education and hospitality segments. It clinches projects from many clients and sectors, including MNCs in manufacturing, distribution and services sectors, local large and medium-size companies, the government, universities, international schools, premier golf clubs in Singapore and the region, to name just a few. The quality work and service delivery helped the company secure third place for ‘Best Outsourcing Vendor’ in Human Resources Magazine, Singapore in 2006.

The iqDynamics philosophy is based on four principles: (1) awareness of change and its impact; (2) responsibility to people they are working with; (3) commitment to getting the job done; (4) action in transforming ideas into deliverables. The company believes business sustainability is about maintaining a constant flow of revenue and having a strong customer base which makes it easier to survive crises. Redeployment of resources, managing costs and focusing on innovative new products and services were some of the key challenges iqDynamics faced during the post-2008 economic downturn. The company constantly endeavoured to foray into newer markets and diversify products and services whenever feasible to manage their business risks. Furthermore, the company established more open communications with their employees to further boost the morale of their employees and reinforce the fact that the company management was in support of its employees in both good and bad times. This was a proactive approach of the management to have a happy and engaged workforce. This resulted in lower employee turnover and increased overall customer service levels.

Case Study 3.6: Jason Electronics Pte Ltd: embracing long-termism

Established in 1976, long-termism is the mantra of sustainability for this 160 staff SME. Headquartered in Singapore, having overseas representative offices in South-East, South and East Asia, Jason specialises in the design, supply, installation and service of maritime electronics solutions for shipping, offshore/onshore and the oil and gas industries. It was conceived as a sole proprietor company to service the marine electronics industry as Jason Marine and two years from its inception was incorporated into a private limited company. Jason Electronics is the wholly owned subsidiary of Jason Marine. Its customers are from the international shipping market – deep sea ships, coastal and inland shipping, dredging, government and military, offshore (oil and gas), mega yacht shipyards and fisheries. The organisation is driven by the Jason 3Cs: Character: responsibility, integrity, honesty, reliability, hardworking, discipline; Competence: innovative, experience, continuous improvement, committed to quality; Commitment: passionate, perseverance. The company was awarded the ‘Singapore SME 500’ and ‘Enterprise 50 Awards’ in 2004.

Jason was among the first Singapore companies to be certified with the Technical Reference (TR) 19:2005 standard in Business Continuity Management (BCM) which has helped them in withstanding the post-2008 crisis situation. The TR19:2005 is a BCM standard – published by SPRING Singapore in 2005, providing Singapore-based enterprises with a framework to respond to, and recover from, potential disruptions. It covers disciplines such as risk management, disaster recovery and crisis management. It is a preventive measure meant to help organisations stay vigilant and resilient; thereby enabling them to run their business uninterrupted even in the event of a crisis.

With the post-2008 economic downturn, Jason put more emphasis on inventory management and control to reduce waste and increase operational efficiency. This was achieved by helping employees identify their training needs in order to better manage inventory and streamline operations accordingly. It also focused on employee engagement and increased the frequency of internal communications between management and employees. Jason conducted dialogue sessions with employees and promoted open communications which helped in keeping employees motivated as the employees felt more involved by partnering the company management in the progress of the organisation.

With the aspiration to be an employer of choice, Jason is a firm believer in work-life balance. For example, it has been steadfastly running various programmes for employees to enhance their overall welfare. Such commitment to employee well-being was recognised when it received the ‘Family Friendly Employer Award’ in 2004 and ‘Singapore Health Award’ (Bronze and Silver) consecutively for 2004, 2005 and 2006. Jason’s two in-house committees, Recreation Club and Workplace Health Club, take charge of helping employees maintain a better work-life balance. These committees regularly arrange activities, such as year-end parties, health talks, healthy sandwich competitions, yoga lessons, nautical runs and bowling competitions.

Furthermore, Jason Marine, the parent company, has an in-house CSR committee, JE@Heart, formed in 1996 in the belief that strong family values are the crucial foundation of society. JE@Heart activities are based on three core beliefs: (1) promoting strong family values; (2) volunteering in community projects; (3) supporting youth development. The organisation seeks to act as the bridge for employees to engage in community service.

Jason recognised that this approach is not just about monetary contributions, but the opportunity for employees to share their passion with the people around them. Jason is one of the inaugural signatories to the Singapore Compact, which is a participant of the United Nations’ Global Compact. As was stated: ‘Business Sustainability is about making decisions on a long-term philosophy even at the expense of short-term financial goals. (Over the years) the company has learned to adapt to changes in market conditions and environment and is proud to be serving the highly sophisticated marine electronics industry in the Asian region. The company’s philosophy has always been to excel in all her pursuits whether in innovation, leadership or customer service but never at the expense of human dignity, honesty and integrity. Jason is also a firm that practices social responsibility in society’, Mr Ooi Chee Kong, Chief HR Officer.

Case Study 3.7: KH Security Agency Pte Ltd: building relationships

KH is a private security company founded in 1998. KH’s vision is to have a strong capacity to work and develop prudent and responsible procurement relationships for buyers, police and private individuals – gearing towards total security and professionalism. In one of the comprehensive and stringent grading exercises by the Security Industry Regulatory Department, which is part of Singapore police force, KH was graded ‘A’ (Excellent).

KH is a unionised company under the Union of Security Employees with 169 staff. It is one of the signatories of the tripartite guidelines for fair employment practices in Singapore. The company firmly believes in recruiting the right talent based on fair employment practices, establishing long term relationships with clients and rendering services efficiently and effectively. KH took the opportunity stemming from the post-2008 economic downturn and emphasised building relationships with their client companies.

KH also decided not to cut wages or to make employees redundant, no matter how bad the situation became. Such initiatives helped KH strengthen its brand image for both internal, as well as external, stakeholders. KH focuses on the needs of each individual employee. It takes advantage of its small size to achieve this through a more informal and personalised structure. It also provides working opportunities to mature workers. KH supports employees by providing them with varying choices to cater to differing family and personal needs. One example is KH providing a two-day working week for a 67-year old employee, Mr Ho, who wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren but at the same time to continue working.

In order to embed the good practices internally, the company has a mentor-buddy system. Under this initiative a senior staff member is allocated to each new joiner for a one month period to help them through the initial phases of employment and familiarise themselves with corporate culture. The mentor is usually of a similar family background and same gender.

During the post-2008 economic downturn KH also obtained available government funding to maintain their staff costs. One of the other key measures KH took during the downturn was training employees to keep them abreast of the ever-changing environment. All employees completed the Security Workforce Skills Qualifications provided by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (the statutory board under the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore) for the private security industry. KT’s constant endeavours and people-focused practices helped the organisation not only stay afloat, but also win many accolades like:

Thus, to sum up, for Mr Gary Harris, Senior Business Development Manager: ‘Business sustainability is about branding the products and services of the company to reach closer to the stakeholders.’

Case Study 3.8: Nuvista Technologies Pte Ltd: expanding into newer markets

NuVista is a 35-employee, ISO 9001:2000 certified engineering and IT outsourcing SME established in Singapore in 2002. It provides services in the engineering, manufacturing and banking sectors. The core value of the company rests on four pillars: (1) understanding customers’ requirements and market needs; (2) understanding staff capabilities and implementing training to ensure the fullest realisation of their potential; (3) implementing cost-effective and efficient operations; (4) setting effective quality objectives to continually improve the quality management system.

In 2006 NuVista was awarded a contract by Honeywell to provide commissioning and site engineers for projects based in Qatar and South Korea. A year later Nuvista Technologies Pte Ltd incorporated Nuvista Staffing Solutions Pte Ltd (providing executive search in engineering and IT). In 2008 Nuvista Technologies opened offices in Pune to cater to their Middle East and Indian clients. In 2009 an agreement with engineering companies in the Middle East to provide recruitment and procurement services was signed. NuVista was included as a representative for International Enterprise’s (IE) business mission to the Middle East to explore business opportunities. IE Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economy.

Thus: ‘The current recession has not lent a great impact on the company as we are in a niche market and the life cycle of the projects that we were into are long. We responded fast to change as per the changing external conditions and explored into newer markets. For example, NuVista is focusing on expanding its business in the Middle-East like Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Business sustainability is about maintaining revenue by optimising cost of operation. Customer satisfaction is of topmost priority and NuVista strives towards it by providing defect-free solutions and services, on-time and every time, at an optimum price’ states Mr Vijay Bareja, Director.

Case Study 3.9: TME System Pte Ltd: focusing on employee development

Established in Singapore in 1986 with six employees, TME has come a long way, expanding the business, albeit with still less than 50 staff, to represent more than 30 product lines and establishing a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. TME is a premier hightech solutions and services provider. Its core capabilities are in the distribution of world class and cutting edge technology products and solutions in testing and measurement and embedded computing and industrial automation solutions.

TME believes business sustainability boils down to sustainable business practices that can be applied in other areas in the organisation, such as having a business model that would sustain itself in its profitability as well as to grow and expand in the long run. To do this, there is a strong need for corporate governance and direction driven from the top and implemented at the operations level. For example, during the post-2008 economic downturn, TME saw a drastic reduction in demand for its goods and services. TME realised the need to be more strategic in the deployment of resources and to stay even more competitive. Management played a critical role in leading staff to a common vision and roadmap to recovery for when the economy picked up. In other words, the management of the organisation shared their vision with their employees and also established a two-way communication system where employees also expressed their expectations from the workplace. This ensured that the goals of management and employees were well aligned. Cost-management measures were put in place to ensure the company came out of the recession faster and it is highly effective in its business execution. These include more cautious approaches to business travel during recession, seeking alternatives to travel like web conferences to fulfil business objectives, and so on.

The greatest challenge for TME is developing a business model that has a vision and roadmap for growth and expansion. This entails three aspects: (1) a compelling mission and vision; (2) a robust and attractive set of corporate values that would attract the right talent; (3) firm and decisive leadership and management to execute the business plan to fulfil its mission and vision.

With over 20 years of experience in the supply chain of these core markets, TME has accumulated immense expertise in identifying technology trends and market needs and meeting these needs. The company’s continual success is attributed to the strong commitment to the following triple sales value proposition: (1) partnership – partnering with customers to determine their needs and working with vendors to exceed the expectations of customers; (2) differentiation – differentiating from the competition to deliver the best quality products and services to customers; (3) innovation – providing innovative technology solutions that are effective for customers’ deployment. In 2008, TME was awarded ‘Singapore SME 500 Company’ status by DP Information Group.

Importantly, TME also believes HR can play a strategic role in its sustainability by constantly facilitating communications between top management and employees and helping them meet their mutual workplace expectations. HR also plays a pivotal role in managing relationships with stakeholders, adding value to the productivity and profitability of the organisation. HR is not seen as a sunk cost. Thus: ‘For an SME like ours to grow, we are always trying to retain talents by giving them ample opportunities to develop their skill sets as well as add value to their personal and professional lives. We also see it as one of the ways to develop notable employees as part of succession planning’ argues Mr Ronald Soo, Managing Director, TME.

Case Study 3.10: Heatec Jietong Pte Ltd: managing risk by training locals

Heatec is the Singapore-based leading large organisation in the marine, oil and gas industry, providing expert services in the field of heat transfer and piping systems. It employs 650 people. Its history goes back to 1990 when JieTong Engineering was formed with 14 staff to provide piping services to local shipyards, mainly the Keppel Shipyard. In 1994 Heatec Asia Pacific Pte Ltd was founded with 10 employees catering for the heat exchanger needs of the marine market in Singapore. In 2001 Heatec Asia Pacific and JieTong Engineering merged to form Heatec JieTong Pte Ltd. In the subsequent years Heatec extended its market outside Singapore. A service facility, Heatec Shanghai Co Ltd, opened in China, the start of Heatec’s pursuit of a global presence.

In the context of Heatec, a labour-intensive company where 90 per cent of workers are foreigners, business sustainability requires a constant supply of HR, managing of the culturally diverse group of workers and maintaining social cohesion within the workplace. For Heatec, business sustainability is the ability of the organisation to survive both in good and bad times. The post-2008 economic downturn posed a set of challenges, such as searching for a large and diversified client base, managing high fixed costs and regulatory obligations. For instance, Heatec usually needed employees who were skilled in a very niche area. Locally, it was difficult to acquire or develop such a HR pool within limited periods of time. So, Heatec relied on foreign workers and made efforts to retain them in good and bad times, hence it had to maintain high fixed costs. For example, in Singapore organisations employing foreign employees pay the Foreign Worker Levy (FWL), a pricing mechanism to control the number of foreign (including domestic) workers. The challenge for Heatec was to keep paying the FWL even when the business was not as good as in previous years. Indeed, Heatec felt that the levy had increased very fast in the good times, but had not been revised during the bad times. In fact, the FWL will be gradually raised and the tiers tightened over the next few years as the government moves to reduce dependence on foreign workers further.

Thus: ‘The core values of Heatec Jietong are to strive to achieve and enhance customer satisfaction by on-time delivery of quality products and services through competent resources. We constantly focus on customer satisfaction, process conformity, product conformity, supplier evaluation and resource competency. Going forward, the company is devising risk management strategies focusing to search for a large and diversified client base as well as training locals with the required skill-sets to reduce dependency on foreign workers’, states Ms Jacqueline Soon, HR Manager.

Case Study 3.11: KTL Offshore Pte Ltd: roping in growth

KTL Offshore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of KTL Global Ltd, is one of the leading players in the oil and gas support services sector, with offices in Singapore, Vietnam and Dubai. Once a traditional family business, KTL evolved and enhanced its expertise to serve its clients in the Asia-Pacific region in a more professional manner. KTL was listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited in 2007, with a turnover in 2008 of S$63 million (approximately US$49 million).

Despite stiff competition from both within Singapore and abroad, KTL was selected to supply the complete heavy lift package for the prestigious project of the decommissioning of topsides, steel support jackets and a section of the associated 12 inch gas export pipeline which lay in 150 metres of water at an offshore field 40 kilometres east of Naraha Cho, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. Weighing more than 20,000 metric tonnes, this was the largest platform to be decommissioned in Japan to date.

Indeed, KTL in 2011 will be amongst the top three suppliers in the world to the offshore oil and gas and related industries for wire rope, rigging and heavy lift products and services. This success is attained by delivering their five core principles of business philosophy: (1) implementation of market expansion and penetration strategies which are focused, pinpoint and effective; (2) providing wire rope and rigging products and services on a scale that cannot easily be matched by competitors in terms of size, quantity and availability; (3) delivering the highest quality products and services and the most reputable brand name in the industry; (4) providing a total solutions concept for the most demanding problems faced by the market, through innovation, commitment and professionalism; (5) developing personnel through investment in training to become experts in their field.

Thus: ‘Business sustainability is all about the capability to survive at any time by improving the service standards and attracting more clients. One of the key challenges faced during economic downturn was to offer relevant services to the highly competitive market. We had a constant focus on sales and made all efforts reaching out to clients’ states Ms Vanise Koh, HR Assistant Manager.

Case Study 3.12: Autodesk Inc.: innovating and growing

Autodesk, a US MNC, focuses on 2D and 3D design software for use in architecture, engineering and building construction, manufacturing and media and entertainment. Founded in 1982 by John Walker (a co-author of early versions of the company’s flagship CAD software product, AutoCAD) and 12 others, it is the world’s largest design software company, with more than 9 million users throughout the world. It is headquartered in California and has approximately 6,600 employees worldwide.

Autodesk’s first notable product was AutoCAD, an application designed to run on the systems known as microcomputers at the time, including those running the 8-bit CP/M operating system and two of the new 16-bit systems, the Victor 9000 and the IBM personal computer. This CAD tool allowed users to create detailed technical drawings, and was affordable for many smaller design, engineering and architecture companies.

With the purchase of Softdesk in 1997, Autodesk started to develop specialty versions of AutoCAD targeted at broad industry segments, including architecture, civil engineering and manufacturing. Since the late 1990s the company has added a number of significant non-AutoCAD based products, including Inventor, an internally developed parametric mechanical design CAD application in 1999, Revit, a parametric building modelling application acquired in 2002, etc. In 2006, Autodesk acquired Alias. In the same year, Autodesk was named by Fortune magazine as one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’. The organisation’s acquisition spree continued in 2007 with Skymatter Inc, developer of Mudbox and the technology and product assets of Opticore AB, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and California-based PlassoTech, developers of CAE applications. In 2008 Autodesk acquired Kynogon SA, the privately held maker of Kynapse artificial intelligence middleware and REALVIZ S.A., Avid’s Softimage, Co. As can be seen from the above, Autodesk is forging ahead on a growth path. It was recently listed number 25 on Fast Company’s ‘The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies’.

Autodesk’s foundation rests on its core values of: respect, teamwork, flexibility and risk taking and with a vision to provide solutions that allow customers to realise their ideas. Thus: ‘For businesses to be sustainable, it is important to think long-term rather than adopt short-term measures. It is probably time to go back to the basics and think of eliminating the elements in excess from the business processes so that the system can run efficiently,’ says Doug Kelly, Talent Acquisition Manager, Autodesk Singapore.

During the post-2008 economic downturn the challenge that Autodesk faced was the dilemma of laying off employees as a cost-cutting initiative. The company believes that managing innovation and innovative employees is going to be the greatest challenge facing the organisation. Thus: ‘As an industry leader we do not intend to simply weather this economic storm. We are taking actions to improve our cost structure and enhance our design technology, which in turn will help our customers become more efficient and provide them with a competitive advantage. As we look at our business today, we are confident that our technological leadership, brand recognition, breadth of product line, and large installed base position us well for success and the eventual recovery of the economy’ states Carl Bass, Chief Executive Officer and President, Autodesk Inc.

Case Study 3.13: Fuji Xerox Singapore Pte Ltd: collaborate to compete

The origin of Fuji Xerox Singapore dates back to 1965 when it was still part of Rank Xerox, a joint venture (JV) between Rank Organisation and Xerox Corporation. The Singapore branch was first incorporated as Rank Xerox (Overseas) Pte Ltd, later renamed Rank Xerox (Singapore) Pte Ltd in 1985. In 1991 Rank Xerox Singapore was sold to Fuji Xerox Company Ltd of Japan, (itself a 50–50 JV company between Fuji Photo Co. Ltd and Xerox Corporation) and renamed Fuji Xerox Singapore Pte Ltd. In 2001 Xerox sold 50 per cent of its stake in Fuji Xerox to Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. and retained 25 per cent ownership interest. Fuji Xerox Singapore Pte Ltd is now a wholly-owned company of Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, together with other operating companies in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

For over 40 years Fuji Xerox Singapore has stood out as a premier document production and processing equipment leader with a significant share of the markets for advanced colour printers and multi-function document systems. From a history as a copier company, Fuji Xerox has evolved to become the leading provider of document and knowledge management solutions. Today the company provides cutting edge software, hardware, consulting and business services that effectively help businesses to capture, archive, retrieve and distribute knowledge residing in multi-faceted document forms. As the key innovator in the enterprise content management arena, Fuji Xerox provides a suite of solutions ranging from document management, content management to knowledge management. Supported by a team of consultants and solution architects, the organisation’s commitment is to help businesses transform complex information and experience into knowledge with innovative solutions to enhance competitiveness, accelerate growth and increase revenue.

In recent years Fuji Xerox experienced tremendous growth and underwent a massive transformation from merely a device manufacturer to become a provider of document management solutions. Headed by President/Managing Director Bert Wong, Fuji Xerox Singapore experienced robust growth when it widened its focus from selling devices to forming long-term partnerships with companies and organisations that use its solutions and services. To better represent the new direction of its changing business, Fuji Xerox launched a new corporate logo in April 2008. This sphere-shaped symbol, called ‘Sphere of Connectivity’, symbolised partnerships with customers and society as well as being a global brand image. The new logo was designed with soft, curved lines to emphasise close relations and affinity with customers and society. The new logo represents innovative changes, enterprising spirit, vigor and dynamism and shows that Fuji Xerox has gone beyond just the document arena.

The company has gained market leadership in all of its main business areas, including digital devices, colour devices, solutions and services. The most notable recent achievement for Fuji Xerox Singapore has been a much coveted Singapore government award. Fuji Xerox Singapore consolidated its status as a lead partner in the One Meridian Consortium that won the US$1 billion Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOEasy) project that involves standardising the operating environment across the whole government on a similar platform. This will enable government staff to concentrate on being productive and doing what they need to do instead of handling thousands of different devices from different brands. Fuji Xerox has the ability to transform the whole government from a device-based organisation to a service-led organisation in terms of their document output through managed print services. The company hopes to use this project as a showcase for other governments around the world. The company’s innovative approach to create and deliver value has paid off.

According to the company, business sustainability is about how an organisation can continue to add value to stakeholders and community in the mid-and long-term. The post-2008 economic downturn posed challenges for the company, such as maintaining a balance between business profitability and sustainability, ability to sustain customers and keeping employees motivated and engaged.

The culture of the company is based on its four core values of: (1) fighting spirit; (2) collaborate to compete; (3) innovation and learning; (4) care and concern. It believes that aligning its corporate culture with the core values have helped them create a strong sense of belonging for staff and an environment to continue to learn and innovate. It is especially important during the bad times to have strong team-bonding with a high fighting spirit, it is argued. The company has also taken the key measures of focusing on critical areas, working capital and cash flow management, customer satisfaction and employee engagement and is also focusing on business continuity plans, talent management and succession plans as risk management strategies. These, Fuji Xerox believes, will help them meet their future challenges of business transformation, the changing customer landscape and talent and succession management.

Case Study 3.14: Givaudan Singapore Pte Ltd: glorifying a rich heritage

This Swiss MNC was founded in 1895 when young chemist Leon Givaudan established a perfumery company in Vernier on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland, the headquarters of Givaudan. In 1924 the company acquired Burton T. Bush of New Jersey. In 1948, Givaudan expanded its presence by acquiring Esrolko SA, a strategic move that opened the door to the flavour industry. In 1963 Givaudan joined HoffmannLaRoche as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swiss pharmaceutical firm. Soon after this the company opened a perfumery school which today has the distinction of training one in three of all creative perfumers in the industry. Givaudan remains one of the most respected companies in the sector and has over 8,700 employees worldwide. It was the first company to establish itself as a creator of tastes and scents. Givaudan’s wide range of expertise is categorised under the four innovation pillars of: (1) Sensory Intelligence; (2) Sensory Creation; (3) Sensory Technology; (4) Sensory Science.

From the early 1980s Givaudan expanded its presence into Asian and other global markets. In the late 1980s Givaudan bought Riedel Arom, a German flavour company based in Dortmund. In 1991 Givaudan bought Fritzsche, Dodge and Olcott, a well-respected US based F&F company, whose origins dated back to the late 1700s. Then Givaudan and Roure merged to create Givaudan-Roure. The merger was completed with the acquisition of Tastemaker in 1997, making Givaudan the largest flavour company in the world. In 2000 Givaudan became an independent company, entering the SMI on the Swiss stock exchange. Givaudan acquired FIS, the flavour business of Nestlé in 2002 and IBF, a leading cheese flavour company in 2003. In 2006 Givaudan acquired the F&F business Quest International from ICI Plc.

With the vision to be the essential source of sensory innovation for its customers and driven by a passion for excellence, Givaudan has dominated the F&F industry for centuries. The four core values which have enabled the company to grow and maintain its rich heritage are: (1) passion for customers; (2) performance; (3) innovation; (4) people. These values are the keys to achieving company objectives.

Givaudan has weathered several earlier economic crises. The key challenge faced during the post-2008 economic downturn was how to save resources for the future and cut requirements while maintaining high productivity. Thus: ‘To remain sustainable, businesses must acknowledge individual responsibilities towards employees; promote healthy organisational culture, focus on product development, more importantly environment friendly products consequently improving on market share. Givaudan has consistently delivered long-term sustainable growth through its focus on innovation, customers and operational excellence and that is what we believe to be the secret of business sustainability’ states Mr Johnathon Ng, HR Manager.

Case Study 3.15: Polaris Software Lab Ltd: banking on technology

Polaris is a leading financial technology Indian MNC with a comprehensive portfolio of products, services and consulting. Incorporated in 1993, it is in the business of providing world class technology infrastructure to the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry. Polaris strives to be a leader in this financial technology infrastructure space by constantly investing in superior technology, offering better functionality and enabling efficient business processes through strong focus on building expertise in their people.

Soon after its inception Polaris developed an end-to-end retail banking solution for Citibank India, thereafter setting up operations in the US. In the late 1990s its first overseas development centre was commissioned to cater to the needs of Citibank. Later, Polaris formed a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore and the US. During this period its initial public offering was launched, which was oversubscribed 21 times. It was then that Polaris was rated amongst the world’s best small companies by Forbes magazine.

In the early 2000s Polaris became the world’s first CMMi level 5 company. Polaris opened a business continuity centre in Singapore and launched its subsidiary Adrenalin, which later merged with OrbiTech (a Citigroup subsidiary). Now the company has 9,200 employees spread over 23 international offices, four global near-shore development centres and seven business solution centres focusing on micro-verticals in BFSI. Polaris attributes its fast growth to its business strategy which rests on the seven strategic levers of: domain knowledge; (2) technology; (3) platform; (4) methodology and tools; (5) processes; (6) reusability; (7) energy, and also the five value creation areas of: (1) cost; quality; (3) reliability; (4) speed; (5) flexibility. It is these strategic levers and value creation areas that Polaris believes are the essence of business sustainability.

The Polaris culture puts a lot of emphasis on learning. The Polaris ethos is that talent must be ‘Humble, Hungry and Smart’; humble in attitude, hungry to learn more and smart in their approach. Polaris has made a huge shift by propagating a culture of a 360 degree learning environment where the learning sources include teammates, peers and customers. Thus: ‘Polaris foresaw early in its journey that the future was never for “generalists” or “pure cost arbitrage” business. Polaris singularly focused in the BFSI segment through products and “solutioning” approach. The people expertise is developed in Polaris’ Centres of Excellence. This kind of “expertise” culture is difficult to replicate and grows significantly only when it continues to accumulate the wealth of knowledge and expertise over time. Polaris has created an atmosphere akin to a university to promote continuous learning and specialized learning to be able to understand the customer pain points and create solutions to address it, and thereby create value’ says Mr Nagaraj Prasadh, Director HR.

Polaris also believes in balancing business profitability and CSR. As part of their CSR initiatives the company started the Ullas trust in 1997 to nurture dreams and encourage a ‘can do’ spirit among economically challenged adolescent students. Polaris associates support and manage this trust. The trust organises educative and informative sessions for the students, where volunteers from Polaris teach computer and internet basics and counsel on career prospects. The company received many awards and accolades including the ‘Mother Teresa Corporate Citizen’ award for the successful operation of their initiative.

The company notes that the key challenge faced during the post-2008 economic downturn was how to maintain a level of trust between employers and employees. Thus: ‘At times, to survive the downturn, companies have to implement policies that may not be employee friendly. Employees may not be able to see things from an employer’s point of view and may misunderstand the company’s objective’ argues Mr. Prasadh. Polaris strives to offer a high performance workplace to its employees. It provides opportunities and stimulus packages that can trigger learning and development to enable professional and personal growth for their employees. Thus: ‘History teaches that all big institutions are a result of major changes. This is an opportunity of changing leadership at the market place. Polaris being an expertise-centric organisation will have an edge,’ concludes Mr Prasadh.

Case Study 3.16: Teradata Corporation: technology matters

Teradata Corporation is a hardware and software US MNC with 6,000 staff worldwide that develops and sells a relational database management system with the same name. It specialises in data warehousing and analytic applications. The concept of Teradata grew out of research at the California Institute of Technology and the discussions of Citibank’s advanced technology group. It was incorporated in 1979.

In 1986 Fortune magazine named Teradata ‘Product of the Year’. In 1989 Teradata Corporation partnered with NCR Corporation to build the next generation of database computers. NCR was acquired by AT&T in September 1991. In December 1991 NCR announced its acquisition of Teradata. In 1992 the company pioneered the first system over 1 terabyte (a trillion bytes) that went live at Wal-Mart. In 1996 Teradata database was named the world’s largest database, with 11 terabytes (11 trillion bytes) of data. In 1998 Teradata was ported to Microsoft Windows NT. In 2000 Teradata’s first enterprise class application for detailed customer profitability measurement, Value Analyzer, was launched at Royal Bank of Canada. In 2001 Teradata more than doubled the lines of code (from 1.6 to 3.8 million) and later introduced its Financial Management Solution, an analytic architecture made up of hardware, software, professional consulting and support services. In 2003 more than 120 industry leading companies migrated from Oracle to Teradata after the launch of the Oracle-to-Teradata migration programme. Teradata University Network was created to advance awareness of data warehousing in the academic community. Nearly 170 universities from 27 countries were represented in the network. In 2004 Teradata and SAP announced a technology partnership agreement to deliver analytic solutions to industries with high data volume requirements. In the same year Teradata and Siebel Systems, Inc. (now Oracle Business Intelligence) announced a strategic partnership to immediately make available integrated and optimised products. Microsoft Corporation and Teradata formed a strategic alliance in 2006. In 2007 NCR announced its intention to separate into two independent companies to create two market leading companies – NCR and Teradata, each focusing on different businesses. In the same year, Teradata launched Teradata 12, an innovative, advanced database delivering traditional data warehousing for strategic planning, along with usable intelligence to frontline operations throughout the enterprise.

In 2009, InformationWeek ranked Teradata number 22 in its annual list of the ‘250 Top Innovators’ in implementing IT. It was also selected for the seventh consecutive time by Intelligent Enterprise for the magazine’s 2009 Editors’ choice awards ‘The Dozen’ – their elite list of the most influential vendors that will drive the intelligent enterprise in 2009. In 2009 Teradata was included in Business Week’s ‘InfoTech 100’, the world’s best-performing technology companies.

Ms Wendy Soh, HR Manager, Teradata Singapore, believes: ‘For businesses to be sustainable, there should be an improvement of existing products and development of new products. Doing so will allow businesses to gain a broader market share and ensures sustainability in the long run.’ Having survived previous recessions, Teradata was more prepared to deal with the post-2008 one. Having a vision for a consistent, unified representation of business operations, the organisation adopted cost management, selective knowledge management and focus on leadership development as some of their risk management strategies. However, the company recognised that there was a constant challenge to hire the best talent for key positions and training employees and developing skills essential for business success.

The company also has a strong focus on CSR. This includes the Teradata Cares Program. This encourages and supports employee engagement in building strong and vibrant communities, improving quality of life, and making a positive difference where they live and work. ‘Every day the company with its 6,000 odd workforce (worldwide) pushes analytical intelligence deeper into operational execution, enhancing efficiency and transforming corporate culture reinforcing their company mantra – Teradata … Smarter.Faster.Wins.™’

Case Study 3.17: Yum! Brands Inc: vouching for its success formula

With a vision to become the defining global company that feeds the world, Yum Brands! the US MNC began in 1997 as Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. It acquired Long John Silver’s and A&W All American Food Restaurants in 2002. Tricon underwent a name change in 2002 to Yum! Brands, the world’s biggest fast food restaurant MNC in terms of system units, with over 36,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories and a revenue of more than US$11 billion and 900,000 employees worldwide, including company-owned and franchise operations. The company operates or licenses world famous fast food brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s and Taco Bell.

Within just a few years of its existence in the early 2000s, Yum! climbed to 15th place in Fortune’s ‘Top 50 Best Companies for Minorities’. It had created the first Global Customer Appreciation Day to celebrate customers and recognise restaurant leaders for providing great service. It was during this period that the company was ranked in Fortune’s ‘Top 50 Best Employers for Women’. In 2007 the company topped Institutional Investor magazine’s corporate rankings of America’s most shareholder-friendly company and best CEO in the restaurant industry. Soon after this Yum! Brands launched a global movement to stop world hunger in support of the United Nations’ World Food Programme. Some 5 million volunteer hours and US$17.5 million in overall donations were gathered. During this period, Yum! Brands China was named one of the ‘Top 10 Best Employers’ by China Central TV.

The company also issued its first CSR report, Serving the World, reviewing the company’s global social, environmental and economic impact. As part of the company’s CSR, its KFC and Taco Bell outlets operated the first ‘green’ restaurants. Over the years, Yum! found ways to be more ‘green’ when it came to energy and resource usage. It also eliminated transfat from the food sold by its fast food companies. It is these efforts that helped the company appear in the Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine’s ‘100 Best Corporate Citizens’ list.

Thus, Mr C.K. Mohan, Senior Director, HR, Yum! Brands, Singapore acknowledges that: ‘For businesses to be sustainable, they must stay relevant to their customers, even during tough times. Tough times are not entirely bad for the company as they bring opportunities. For example, tough times are good for negotiating and expanding. In order to remain sustainable an organisation must stay relevant to its customers. Thus business sustainability is all about staying relevant.’

During the post-2008 economic downturn Yum! Brands had its own share of challenges of managing costs and finding ways to increase sales and provide value to customers. The company’s major risk management strategies were: aggressive international expansion and building strong brands everywhere, but with a special focus on China. There was dramatic improvement in its US brand positions and returns.

The company continued training its employees and kept looking for opportunities to grow the business. Employees were seemingly happy since the business was doing fine and no one lost their jobs. Though the company was sailing through the period, it foresaw a few challenges ahead, such as energy usage in restaurants, waste management, packaging and sustainable building design and especially HR-related challenges, notably talent attraction, training talent across all levels and leadership development.

How does the company deal with all these challenges? Mr. Mohan reveals the secret formula as: ‘Our formula for success is working. When we put people capability first, then we satisfy more customers — and profitability will follow! This is the formula of how the company wins together: they believe in All people, they are customer Maniacs, they go for breakthrough solutions; build know-how, Recognise! Recognise! and Recognise!’