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  • Singapore to invest $70 million in research, innovation and enterprise

    Singapore to invest $70 million in research, innovation and enterprise

    Speaking at the opening address of the ATxSummit, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat announced that Singapore will be stepping up investments to unlock the full potential of the digital revolution through collective action.

    Investment in research and innovation is key to building solutions for the future and staying at the forefront of the digital economy. Singapore will invest close to S$70 million (US$50 million) under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan, to launch our first national Future Communications Research & Development Programme (FCP).

    The FCP supports cutting-edge communications and connectivity research, and will in turn grow local capability to translate that into innovative products, services, and companies. This will be accomplished through the setup of new communications testbeds in 5G and beyond-5G, and support technology development, translation and training, while building up the talent pool in the areas of communications and connectivity technologies. As a start, the FCP has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the 6G Flagship of Finland.

    As the Global-Asia node for technology and innovation, such digital cooperation with like-minded partners reaffirms Singapore’s role in bolstering growth opportunities in the global digital economy. Singapore Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with Japan and an MOU with Thailand, at the sidelines of the ATxSummit.

    The MOC seeks to strengthen ICT collaboration between Singapore and Japan, enabling closer policy alignment and regulation on businesses. The MOC will facilitate a pilot project on electronic transferable records and the exchange of information on best practices and policies relating to the Digital Economy, Artificial Intelligence, and cybersecurity. It also includes closer collaborations through joint training and programs on AI implementation, AI governance and ethics, as well as cybersecurity capacity building.

    The longstanding Thailand-Singapore relationship will deepen with the signing of this MOU, which has been expanded to include new areas of cooperation in the Digital Economy such as digital connectivity, smart cities and AI governance. Both sides are also exploring interoperability between digital systems and frameworks that enable e-documentation.

    The pandemic has accelerated the overall shift to digital. Building a common “digital infrastructure” to underpin and ease data sharing will enable multiple stakeholders to come together and drive economic transformation. A new common data infrastructure and framework, the Singapore Trade Data Exchange, or SGTraDex was therefore launched to enable this trusted sharing of trade data. Designed as a neutral and open digital infrastructure through a public-private partnership, it was conceptualized by the Alliance for Action (AfA) on Supply Chain Digitalisation. SGTraDex will support ecosystem-wide digital transformation, connecting supply chain ecosystems both locally and globally.

    Three initial use cases were developed to push the boundaries of a trusted data exchange. The use cases demonstrated how SGTraDex can enable participants to strengthen the financing integrity of trade flows, enhance operational efficiency by optimizing logistics functions across partners, and provide visibility on supply chain transactions. The use cases have the potential to unlock more than S$200 million (US$150 million) of value annually when fully developed.

    SGTraDex will continue to build on this initial momentum, develop more use cases, and drive adoption locally and globally. SGTraDex also has the flexibility to be the data infrastructure for many other sectors ranging from construction to aviation, unlocking even more potential value. This is part of a suite of digital infrastructure and utilities being developed, including the SGFinDex for the financial sector, that provides a strong foundation for Singapore’s Digital Economy.

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  • 7 Web Design Best Practices to Improve Your eShop

    7 Web Design Best Practices to Improve Your eShop

    In order to have a successful eShop, your website must follow certain best practices that will put you way ahead of your competition and provide your website traffic with better user experience.

    The rule of thirds

    The rule of thirds originates from photography and is a type of composition in which an image is vertically and horizontally evenly divided into thirds. When it comes to website design, the rule of thirds proves to be useful as it allows UX and UI designers to strategically allocate website content to improve conversions.

    This is a commonly used tool that helps by creating balance and a well-structured composition for your website. The rule of thirds allows you to highlight elements and will automatically catch the attention of your consumer if placed in the right sweet spots.

    Human face effect

    Adding a human face to your website is a powerful tool that shouldn’t be underestimated.

    Humans are unconsciously looking for familiarities all the time, and by using the face of a human on your website that your visitors can relate to, you can create an emotional connection with your visitors and exude trust and authority.

    Besides making them trust your service, the emotional connection you leave them with is an effective tool for making your visitors remember you. Humans remember better after an emotional reaction has been created. Nowadays, websites like This Person Does Not Exist allow you to easily find human faces… generated by AI.

    If you can strategically manage to place a face on your website that will trigger emotions or guide their line of sight, that will completely transform your website’s UX.

    Simple navigation

    Creating a website that is simple and easy to navigate should be your top priority.

    It is one of the main factors that will determine whether your visitors have had a good user experience or not. User experience is crucial for your company, and if you intend on attracting traffic and generating sales on your website, you should consider making your website simple to navigate before anything else. That’s where UI (user interface) and visual design are important to make sure that the navigational structure allows the user to find relevant information and content fast.

    It will determine whether or not they will visit your website again.

    Loading times

    Your website loading speed can have a huge impact on the engagement of your visitors and therefore the number of conversions you’ll make.

    If it takes more than 2 seconds for your page to load, it could potentially cost you sales and missed revenue as people would bounce off your page and look for your service elsewhere, reported Akamai back in… 2009. What about now?

    Steps you can take to speed up your loading time could be limiting the use of images, use a content delivery network (CDN), minimise HTTP requests, reduce and combine files, loading JavaScript and CSS files asynchronously, and clean up plugins and files you don’t use.

    Colours & contrasts

    You can use colours and contrasts to fully enhance the visual look of your website, both for to make it more appealing to the eye and keeping your visitors’ interest, but also for the 4% of the population who suffer from colour-blindness.

    Using colours and contrast the right way can help you bring out elements and make the overall navigation of your website easier, which will ultimately improve your website’s UX and conversion rate. It is important to keep it simple and choose colours that complement each other. You wouldn’t want yellow writing on a white background, but choosing a black background with white writing can really help bring out the text.

    Call to action & visual elements

    Call to action buttons on your website are essential elements you’d want to bring onto your design. It provides users with a clear direction of what their next step should be when browsing around your website, and by visualising it (by for example using colour and contrasts) and using strong verbs, it is an effective tool that can lead to great user experience and conversions through easy accessibility.

    It is important to take the placement of the elements into mind as well. You would want to place them in a very prominent and strategic area where your visitor will notice them.

    Responsive design

    Internet users are going to be accessing your website through a wide range of devices including mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers, laptops and other.

    If you want to provide your users with the best shopping experience and maximise your website conversions, you need to make sure that your website has a responsive design and note that Google provides tools for you to check whether your website is mobile-friendly.

    Having a successful website in a competitive and saturated market can prove to be quite difficult. However, making sure that you follow best practices like having a responsive website design and a fast loading website will put you ahead of your competition. This will not only result in a lower bounce rate but will likely increase your website’s UX and conversion rates.

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  • Scale of Stanley hawker’s counterfeit goods business surprises Customs

    Scale of Stanley hawker’s counterfeit goods business surprises Customs

    Hong Kong Customs who raided a mobile hawker selling counterfeit goods in Stanley on Friday was surprised by the scale of the operation behind it.

    Some 6900 items of suspected counterfeit goods were seized, including clothing, caps, and shoes, with an estimated market value of $420,000.

    But what made this raid stand out was that it was the first-ever case detected of a single mobile hawker selling counterfeit items using multiple mobile-storage facilities.

    After raiding the single stall they discovered 13 storage facilities in nearby alleys linked to the stall.

    A 44-year-old female stall owner was arrested.

    The enforcement activity followed a tipoff alleging the sale of suspected counterfeit items at Stanley. After an in-depth investigation with the assistance of trademark owners, the raid was carried out.

    A Customs spokesperson said inspection and enforcement activity to combat the sale of counterfeit goods will be stepped up during the summer holiday.

    “Customs reminds traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the sale of counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions. Customs also reminds consumers to procure goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorized agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.”

    Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells, or possesses for sale, any goods with a forged trademark commits an offense. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a $500,000 fine and five years imprisonment.

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  • Boots Chain Closing Down 200 Stores

    Boots Chain Closing Down 200 Stores

    The Boots chain of health & beauty stores is looking to cull as many as 200 outlets in its home UK market as its US parent embarks on a strategic review.

    Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) says the Boots business saw profits fall 20 percent to £398 million for the year to August 31. Sales slipped 0.8 percent to £6.7 billion during the period.

    Many of the Boots chain stores would close when their current leases expire. Others which are performing badly, would be shuttered more quickly, especially in smaller towns where there are two stores operating yet one would suffice.

    WBA will review the future of 2500 stores worldwide, including about 200 in the UK, which is equivalent to about 10 percent of Boots’ local network.

    Patrick O’Brien, UK retail-research director at GlobalData, said the Boots closures are overdue.

    “It has taken Boots a long time to address the midmarket squeeze that has wrought so much damage to major multichannel retailers in other sectors such as food, fashion and department stores. Shoppers have been trading down to discounters, and trading up to higher-end retailers for more expensive treats and gifts,” he said.

    “Like Tesco and M&S it has actually been in this predicament for years, but unlike them, it has done little to address the issue until very recently, and now we have to wonder if Boots has left it too late to halt its market share decline.”

    O’Brien said a long-term lack of investment in stores has become more noticeable to shoppers.

    “Its dated approach also extends to pricing, where multi-buy promotions and a generous loyalty scheme have made its shelf edge prices uncompetitive with discounters such as Aldi, Lidl and Savers, who have all been eating into its market share in health & beauty,” he concluded.

  • Kale Logistics collaborates with Celebi Delhi cargo terminal

    Kale Logistics collaborates with Celebi Delhi cargo terminal

    Celebi Delhi Cargo terminal went live with Kale’s Galaxy (Domestic module) Cargo Management system as part of the phase wise implementation of the entire suite of Galaxy Air Cargo management software system comprising of EXIM operations, Warehouse Management, UD, Invoice and Accounts and Domestic Operations. The new age domestic module incorporates next generation features like Mobile App, Customer Portal, Hand-held based app and EDI with Airlines.

    Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India Pvt. Ltd., is a Joint Venture between Delhi International Airport Private Ltd (DIAL) and Celebi Ground Handling Turkey which along with domestic operations also provides cargo handling and warehousing services to approximately fifty international schedule carriers. Celebi Delhi is the largest operations in Air Cargo for Celebi worldwide. In order to keep pace with the ever-increasing domestic cargo demands, Celebi Delhi has partnered with Kale Logistics Solutions to automate their Air Cargo and terminal operations.

    Air Cargo industry has reached a crucial point where a fast-track approach to digitalization is required to keep pace with competitive modes of transport. It is undergoing a tremendous transformation – moving from legacy systems to agile technologies in order to streamline its operations, reduce costs and optimize efficiencies.

    Ramesh Mamidala, CEO of Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management quoted, “Modern day freight challenges need technology to enable innovative practices to move businesses forward. With our domestic operations going live on Galaxy, we look forward to greater automation of our operational processes and getting quick and comprehensive information on consignment and cargo tracking. This significant development will help to speed up shipment times, improve efficiency and reduce costs.”

    Being the capital of the country, Delhi has maximum number of flight operations and Celebi – Delhi operates one of the largest volume of domestic cargo movement out of Delhi airport. Topographically, Delhi is surrounded by many states and with a boom in e-commerce business, there is additional domestic freight movement which makes Delhi a top e-commerce hub of India.

    Speaking more on this scenario, Mamidala added, “Celebi – Delhi’s current domestic handling system was challenged by an increased load of cargo and connectivity issues. Hence we decided to move forward with the latest technology solution to cater to this demand. Kale’s Galaxy is the perfect solution, which, with minor customizations fulfilled all our requirements. We would soon be going live on our international operations”.

    Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions says, “We are delighted to partner with Celebi and are extremely confident that our system will address all their concerns and realize the benefits of GALAXY in near future. Galaxy is a global application that is being used by worldwide airports that incorporate global best practices and prepare the industry to manage the demands of e-commerce”.