Singapore Prestige Brand Awards 2018 launched

Singapore

THE Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) 2018 was officially launched on Thursday, now in its 17th year of honouring the best of local brands.

Jointly organised by the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) and Lianhe Zaobao, the awards give recognition to homegrown brands that are innovative, transformative and well-poised to achieve greater growth in Singapore and beyond.

The theme for the awards this year is "Innovate. Transform. Internationalise" - key components for brands to build a brighter and sustainable future, according to an SPBA statement.

Chew Lee Ching, chairman of the SPBA 2018 Organising Committee, pointed out that disruptive technology brings increased competition for businesses, which can be "intense and challenging".

"Forward-looking brands, however, see this as an opportunity. They innovate and transform and some even become disruptors themselves. They invest in developing a deeper understanding of their customers' needs and continue to deliver products and services that are unique and sought after," she said.

This enables them to compete more effectively and grow further locally and abroad, she added.

Ms Chew gave an example of a past SPBA winner, steel processing provider Hock Seng Hoe Metal Company, that has successfully transformed itself to go international.

Previously, the brand faced various challenges that hindered business productivity. The company took the initiative to transform itself, by implementing ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions and RFID (radio-frequency identification) technologies for its operations.

"It can now keep track of inventory stock with almost 100 per cent accuracy, shorten collection time from an average of one hour to 10 minutes and reduce all shipping documentation and scheduling from three days to one day," said Ms Chew.

Today, the company is exporting to six countries with the recent inclusion of the Philippines and Myanmar.

All winners of the SPBA 2018 will be announced in September, with the overall winner of each category - with the exception of SPBA-Micro Brands and SPBA-Special Merit - will be announced at the award presentation ceremony in November.

RHB Bank Singapore returns as the official bank for the SPBA 2018, while Singapore Airlines is the official airline for SPBA 2018.

Supporting organisations include Enterprise Singapore and IPOS (Intellectual Property Office of Singapore).