Future of Manufacturing Summit

Countries across Asia are in widely varying stages of the pandemic and there is no coronavirus playbook to follow. As businesses adjust to the next normal, industry leaders are grappling with the longer-term question: How will manufacturing and its supply chains look after COVID-19?
Asia is unlikely to ever return completely to its pre-pandemic ways. During the months of lockdown, we have been, in fact, writing a new future. COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities and accelerated shifts in global supply chains, creating an imperative for manufacturers to transform their operations. Many will need to move away from old practices and build a resilient operating model that will continue to generate value through disruptions, economic and social shifts, and future crises. This keynote will explore the forces re-shaping global supply chains and actions to build resilience – from re-thinking operating and business models, to improving digital capabilities and riding the Industry 4.0 wave.

by Matteo Mancini, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Manufacturing Capacities for a Sustained Come-Back
The pandemic has not only drastically reset the operating landscape for industries and businesses in APAC but also led to new opportunities emerging with the shift of production and trade away from traditional centres like China to regional economies in response to global supply chain disruptions. But while industries and businesses increasingly shift towards re-balancing and diversifying sources of supply and demand, rethinking networks and partnerships in the production and trading ecosystem, what are the capabilities and capacities that are needed to establish foundations for the longer term and to stay ahead? What considerations are industry & business leaders facing in planning for resilience and agility i.e. whether through investing in Industry 4.0 tech and solutions or skills for the workforce? How are various industry sectors approaching this? What proactive steps can APAC’s industry ecosystem take in anticipation of a more dynamic/ volatile landscape for manufacturing in the region?

Panelists:
Douglas Foo, President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation & Chairman and Founder, Sakae Holdings, Singapore
Ms May Yap, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Jabil
Mrs Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, CEO, Sintesa Group & Vice Chairwoman, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Datuk Michael Kang, President, SME Association of Malaysia

Moderator:
Alpesh Patel, Partner & Leader, Digital Capability Centres APAC, McKinsey & Company

Panel Discussion:
Tapping into the Post-Pandemic Opportunity Space – Are ASEAN Businesses Ready?
This panel session will focus on the “opportunity space” and examine how ASEAN businesses are responding to the ‘new normal’ in terms of adjusting to the new realities of the operating landscape and identifying opportunities. In light of ongoing challenges, many may still be facing challenges – as such, discussions in this panel might address how ASEAN businesses could work past barriers such as depressed sentiments and adopt more transformative mindsets to tap shifted markets/demand, identify new avenues for collaboration, learn to better manage resource constraints and other issues. This panel will also look critically at the readiness and contextual constraints of different industry sectors and the manufacturing ecosystem across ASEAN (e.g. large enterprises versus SMEs and startups), what are their challenges and how they could bridge gaps to take advantage of opportunities, drawing on relevant examples of steps or initiatives undertaken by some of the panelists.

Panelists:
Datuk Naguib Mohd Noor, CEO, Strand Aerospace and President, Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA)
Anne Patricia Sutanto, Vice CEO, PT. Pan Brothers Tbk, Indonesia
Mrs Thuy Huong Do, Executive Board Member, Vietnam Electronics Industry Association
Chew Men Leong, Chief Marketing Officer, ST Engineering, Singapore

Moderator:
Dennis Ling, Group Director, Industry Development Group, Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR)

Panel Discussion:
A Mindset Issue or More? Getting SMEs on Board the Opportunity for Change

The operating landscape for SMEs has been challenging even before the massive disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This wide-ranging panel featuring business heads of SMEs from across the manufacturing value chain will consider their perspectives and experiences in navigating current challenges faced at the operational level. Discussion will consider how disruptions and impacts on manufacturing demand impacted their organisations, what adjustments they made to tackle immediate business concerns, their thoughts on agility and building resilience going forward, and how Industry 4.0 has or can help them and their partners.
On potential opportunities, they will share their views on prospects in their respective sectors in the new normal and how this impacts their plans going forward. Panelists may also discuss how and why many SMEs remain resistant to adopting Industry 4.0 and what are the real barriers faced, what resilience means to them, and the skills and resources needed to transition and sustain changes.

Panelists:
Willy Koh, CEO, Racer Technology
Eugene Goh, Managing Director, JM Vistec System, Singapore
Dr Yeong Che Fai, Co-Founder & Director, DF Automation, Malaysia

Moderator:
Glen Tan, Managing Partner, FT Consulting, Singapore

Resilience has become a priority for industries and businesses but it can mean different things e.g. resource adequacy or alternatives, redundancy, adequate reserves, agility, capacity for absorbing shocks etc. This keynote will frame resilience from the perspective of an industry leader in terms of business and environmental sustainability practices, how principles of sustainability are woven into the business proposition fundamentally, how and why it makes sense, and the lessons other organisations may draw from their experience.

by Deepak Subramaniam, VP for Marketing (Homecare, Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand), Unilever

Panel Discussion:
What Will Make Sustainability a Priority for APAC Businesses & Manufacturers?
This panel discussion will highlight business and environmentally sustainable approaches that have taken off in Asia, how the enterprises made the initial transition and made it a viable proposition from a business perspective. Panelists will discuss what are common preconceptions or barriers for manufacturing businesses to be more environmentally sustainable, how changes in the consumer/business/regulatory landscape could help, and what governments and industries need to do to make a substantive impact in APAC

Panelists:
Prof. Seeram Ramakrishna, Chair, Circular Economy Taskforce, NUS and Chair, Future of Manufacturing, Institution of Engineers Singapore
Pamela Mar, Executive VP, Supply Chain Futures at Fung Academy & Director of Sustainability, Fung Group, Hong Kong
Seah Kian Hoe, Founder & Managing Director, Heng Hiap Industries, Malaysia
Dr Michael Schmidt, Head of Innovation APAC, Covestro, Asia Pacific

Moderator:
Sathishkumar Nagarajan, Sustainability Lead, Tembusu Asia Consulting