Tag: digitalisation
CNA Documentary: Colours of the Sea

CNA Documentary: Colours of the Sea

By |

As a 60-year-old company, Eng Hup Shipping was used to manual processes and reactive maintenance. Now, we are leveraging technology to digitalise and automate our processes so that we can boost efficiency, stay resilient and be future-ready.

In this Channel News Asia (CNA) documentary commissioned by Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), we shared about our digitalisation journey alongside three other inspiring counterparts from the maritime industry.

Meeting with Eng Hup Shipping’s Digital Core Team

Eng Hup Shipping approached its digital transformation process in small but practical steps. From online vessel booking to mobile scanning and digital generation of passenger manifests, the company has reduced manually intensive and error-prone processes and successfully achieved improved productivity levels and better customer experience.

“We realise that digitalisation might just be our key to long-term sustainable growth and profitability.”

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development), Eng Hup Shipping

Moving forward, Eng Hup Shipping is building up its predictive maintenance capabilities in order to minimise vessel downtime and to provide a higher service level availability.

“Digitalisation of vessel status and records will allow us to preempt any defects before they even occur.”

Ho Jun De, Digital Core Team, Eng Hup Shipping

Watch the full video here.
MSC Connexions Forum 2019

MSC Connexions Forum 2019

By |

As one of the panel speakers, we had the opportunity to share our personal journey on the path towards digitalisation and workplace transformation.

In face of a weakening economic climate and low charter rates, Eng Hup Shipping embarked on digitalisation as a pathway to long term growth and sustainable profitability. The team had a grand vision of achieving a high technology console to oversee and manage all of their 70 vessels. However, this was met with multiple setbacks.

Despite the initial challenges, Eng Hup Shipping regrouped and took on a different approach – to identify the company’s pain points and target them one step at a time by digitalising simple manual processes that were affecting productivity. With this mindset shift, the team started seeing tangible benefits such as increased efficiencies and reduced manpower costs.

“You need to have a realistic expectation of what digitalisation and transformation can bring, it is not a magic wand, it is a long process.”

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development), Eng Hup Shipping

However, these are only the first steps towards digitalisation. Eng Hup Shipping believes that there are many more untapped opportunities awaiting to be explored, and the company will continuously innovate, create and transform itself to become a truly future-ready organisation.

Read highlights of the event here.
Digitalisation Interview Feature by StarHub

Digitalisation Interview Feature by StarHub

By |

Digitalisation has become a business buzzword in the recent years, but is it really worth the hype?

Eng Hup Shipping had the opportunity to be interviewed by Singapore Telco, StarHub, in this article that featured takeaways and insights from local SMEs on the topic of digitalisation.

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development) of Eng Hup Shipping noted that the shipping industry is facing intense pressure to reevaluate the ways business is conducted as customers become more digitally sophisticated and expectations of transparency and efficiency rise.

Amidst these challenges, the Eng Hup Shipping team recognised that digitalisation is a necessity to ensure that the company stays relevant today and tomorrow.

“We embarked on our digital transformation plan two years back. After a detailed analysis of current processes, we uncovered opportunities that technology can step in to help eliminate inefficiencies and drive productivity.”

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development), Eng Hup Shipping

Many SMEs are deterred by the high costs of investment in adopting new technologies, however, Eng Hup Shipping chose to focus on a longer term perspective of improved revenues and greater cost savings.

“There are initial costs to develop digital solutions and teething issues to manage after launching the systems. However, today we have gained the benefits in terms of efficiency and productivity. Enterprise Singapore has also been very supportive in aiding us through this process.”

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development), Eng Hup Shipping

Understanding that successful digital transformation cannot be a top-down approach, Eng Hup Shipping ensured that all employees from operational staff to vessel crew are on board by holding regular briefing sessions.

“Our aim is to develop our employees to become digital change agents. With a strong sense of ownership to the cause, they will take responsibility to ensure smooth implementation. Cultivating the digital-first mindset in them also trains them to find opportunities in their work processes that technology can help to enhance.”

Tommy Phun, Director (Business Development), Eng Hup Shipping

Digitalisation is a strategic move to navigate today’s tech-driven economy. Eng Hup Shipping’s digital efforts have provided us with a strong value proposition to our clients. We continue to take on a long horizon perspective to ready ourselves for future challenges and ensure long-term growth.

Read the full article here.