Overview of Singapore’s Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing Scene

Singapore’s manufacturing sector remains a key economic pillar. It comprises close to 9000 establishments, providing jobs for 12% of Singapore’s workforce and continues to contribute 21% of our total GDP today. Singapore is the world's fourth largest exporter of high value goods and home to leading companies in various manufacturing sub-sectors. In the 2021 Bloomberg innovation index, Singapore ranked third globally for manufacturing value-add.

Looking ahead, our vision for Manufacturing 2030 is for Singapore to become a global business, innovation, and talent hub for advanced manufacturing.

Our suite of tools and networks to catalyse adoption of technology and drive future of manufacturing

To ensure Singapore companies stay competitive, agile and adaptable to global supply chain shifts, the first step was to demystify Industry 4.0 technology adoption at the enterprise level. To help companies familiarise with what Industry 4.0 (i4.0) means to their business, Singapore’s Economic Development Board, in partnership with TÜV SÜD, launched a world’s first I 4.0 diagnostic tool – the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI). To date, more than 300 companies in Singapore have used this index to better understand industry 4.0 concepts, assess their readiness to adopt new technologies, as well as help them develop their transformation roadmap.

Building on this diagnostic tool, the Prioritization Matrix and the SIRI Assessor Programme was developed to further catalyse transformation of the manufacturing sector and groom a pool of assessors who can help manufacturers start, scale and sustain their manufacturing transformation journeys. Click here to find out more about SIRI and how it can support a company’s digitalisation journey.

Use of standards to optimise efficiency and implement smart manufacturing solutions

Standards are key to enable smart and autonomous technologies to operate in a seamless and secure way. Referencing the 14 Key Performance Indicators in the SIRI Prioritization Matrix, Enterprise Singapore has developed the Standards for Industry 4.0 tool as a guide on key standards, use cases and training courses to support Manufacturers, System Integrators and Solutions Providers involved in the adoption of smart manufacturing solutions. To find out more about how standards support smart manufacturing, Click here.

Knowledge exchange platforms to accelerate technology adoption among manufacturing players

The Industry Transformation Asia Pacific (ITAP) in Singapore is an annual regional platform to bring together stakeholders supporting digital transformation of manufacturers in Asia Pacific to encourage sharing of industry insights and ideas. The programme includes a range of technical workshops, market-specific sessions, product demos, networking and crowdsourcing features to promote B2B co-innovation to address corporate needs in smart manufacturing.

Singapore has also developed capacity development programmes to share with regional governments about Singapore’s Industry 4.0 efforts and digitalisation strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These programmes include a mix of virtual tours, panel discussions and workshops to equip regional agencies the know-how and tools to sustainably implement i4.0 initiatives in their respective countries. Workshops from earlier sessions, and upcoming capacity development programmes will also be showcased in the Virtual Zone.

Features of the Singapore i4.0 Showcase

Enterprise Singapore has partnered CII to identify and curate practical insights and relevant solutions that will meet the Indian industries’ needs and environment.

This will cover 5 aspects:

1. E-Directory – A comprehensive online listing of technology and solution providers categorised by key technology areas, focus sectors with solution applications and track record. This can serve as a discovery tool for end-users and CII to facilitate technology-matching for CII members.
2. Case Studies – A map-based view of I4.0 case studies across the APAC region including Southeast Asia and India. This will offer more details on how I4.0 technologies have been applied in specific industries, key considerations in the implementation process, and benefits achieved by the manufacturer end-users
3. Demo Centers – Showcase of demo centre by Singapore companies, where end-users can have a chance to experience and understand how the solutions are applied to existing processes and manufacturing lines. Follow-up request for site visit can be arranged.
4. Virtual Zone – A listing of upcoming training programmes and activities associated with I 4.0/Industrial IoT and automation. These programmes are curated for Indian industry, industry partners and associations, as well as policy makers.
5. Repository – Library of resources, reports and whitepapers associated with I4.0/Industrial IoT and automation.

This collaboration with the CII marks the start in the shared journey to accelerate technology adoption to enhance manufacturing capacity and advancement in India and in Singapore. The Singapore i4.0 showcase will serve as a bridge for Indian and Singapore manufacturing industry to connect, build greater familiarity, explore areas for collaboration in product co-innovation, process optimisation and innovation, and supply chain partnerships.