Lifting productivity in Singapore's retail, F&B

IN RECENT years, there has been increased recognition among policymakers for the need to build up Singapore's indigenous productive capabilities - especially those of its SMEs.

In a report released in 2010, the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) - a government committee set up to help provide strategic direction for the economy's growth in the coming decade - identified SMEs as a key driver of productivity-driven growth. However, measuring productivity is often considered a difficult task for industries in the service sectors. While the ESC report set a target of doubling the number of local SMEs with revenues of over S$100 million to 1,000 in 10 years, attainment of the target has still quite some way to go.

One important initiative albeit lesser known, is the applied research studies being carried out by the Singapore Productivity Centre (SGPC) to investigate and reflect key issues facing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Retail and F&B sectors that are known to be laggards in productivity improvement.