Soma Somasundaram, chief technology officer of US-based software firm Infor, said the latest era of digital transformation, DX 2.0, will define the way humans work with machines using artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and other tools.

For businesses and industries, new enterprise applications will be mainly cloud-based, allowing management to introduce new services quickly and more cost-effectively.

For example, Singapore Airlines has introduced an app for its customers that incorporates Grab ride-hailing service on its platform to increase passenger convenience.

Speaking at a recent Infor conference in Singapore, Sandra Ng, a group vice president of IDC, said there has been a significant progress in the last 15 months in digital transformation among businesses and industries in the region.

However, there are also multiple challenges for DX 2.0 that need solutions. Among these issues are outdated KPIs (key performance indicators), lack of cross-department databases, insufficient budgets, limited expertise, and the lack of innovation re-architecture.

In DX 2.0, autonomous vehicles will likely gain popularity with impacts on car ownership, automotive insurance and other sectors, while the adoption of micro-power grids will allow a new form of electricity distribution to retail users.

Other examples include logistics and last-mile delivery services for food and beverage and other sectors, along with new banking, insurance, payment and other related services.

We are now in a renivention mode to create enterprises for the new economies, according to Ng.

As a result of DX 2.0, the future of customers, culture, leadership and organisational structure, among other forces, will be re-shaped and so new KPIs are needed for employees to measure their performance.

Ng cited Swedish furniture maker Ikea as an example for cross-collaboration in DX 2.0. The company created a multi-discipline innovation lab to respond to fast-changing consumer behaviour.

A new challenge is that customers prefer to change their home furniture sooner, say, every two years.

In the banking sector, DBS of Singapore, for example, has come up with a digital banking portal for electricity retailing, payments, along with financial services for construction companies and more.

Another example is China’s Leo Paper, which has used Infor software for digital transformation. It started with solving the issue of data silos that did not talk to each other.

After standardising the database, the firm installed IoT sensors and radio-frequency identification (RFID) on factory equipment for faster, cheaper and smarter ways to manufacture paper products.

The firm also had to prepare its people for the big change as automation helped to reduce costs while increasing product quality and other competitive advantages.

Regarding the future of work, Ng said, work space and workforces are heading towards the era of human-machine collaboration using augmented intelligence.

On the new KPIs, she said, what matters in DX 2.0 are the innovation rates covering business growth and commercialisation, the customer advocacy rate on branding, as well as the data capitalisation ratio.

Regarding the future of customers, she said, empathy at scale is a key feature as customers prefer to share their feeling with others, while data analytics on customer profiles and personalities will play a bigger role in serving the target groups.

Somasundaram, the Infor CTO, said more automation processes will be used for daily routine tasks in DX 2.0, while human specialists such as surgeons will work more closely with their robotic assistants.

According to Somasundaram, Infor is strong in software for logistics, government services, infrastructure asset management, healthcare, and workforce management in Asean markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia as well as Australia.

Energy Mahanakhon is a market leader in providing electric charging stations, under the trademarked EA Anywhere. It is now on a mission to install 1,000 electrical charging service stations nationwide to support plug-in hybrid and pure EVs by the end of 2019.

EA deputy chief executive officer Amorn Sapthaweekul said the company is confident that the partnership can fulfil consumers needs with charging stations available not only in Caltex petrol stations and Bridgestone Automotive Centres but CP All-operated 7-Eleven shops (21 banches with 24-hour charging service), Robinson department stores and even restaurants.

The cooperation mainly involves the use of trademark rights for the promotion of LUX and ALVA products and joint public relation activities. Lux Asia Pacific will be a supporting partner of the FC Bayern Youth Cup Thailand.

Jorg Wacker, FC Bayern Munchen’s executive board member for internationalisation and strategy said: “We are delighted to welcome Lux Asia Pacific as regional partner. Both FC Bayern and Lux Asia Pacific have a strong presence in Asia and stand for sustainability. Both brands represent standards of the highest quality. Tradition and innovation are a perfect match.”

“The partnership with FC Bayern is an ideal addition to our marketing activities and will help us enhance our water purification systems business. We will be able to get new customer groups interested in our products through FC Bayern’s prominence, ” said Alexander Holl, CEO of Lux Asia Pacific.

The record soccer champions have been active in Asia for a long time, staging youth initiatives and fan events, and also on digital channels. The first team have played a number of matches in China and Singapore in recent years. In addition, two international offices in focus markets USA (New York City) and China (Shanghai) strengthen FC Bayern’s international activities.

Lux Asia Pacific is a renowned brand in premium household appliances and has been active in the region for more than 40 years. Over the last few years, the company has become one of the leading suppliers of premium water purification systems for private households.

The company continues to expand in the high-end market with new electrical appliances including refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners in response to shifting lifestyles.

It expects to reach its business target of 50 per cent growth and Bt5 billion in revenue at the end of this year.

“We believe our success this year is a consequence of the exceedingly hot weather in the country, which became a positive factor for our sales growth in all product lines, especially the cooling and air-conditioning segments,” said Zhang Zhenghui, president of Haier Electrical Appliances (Thailand), which distributes Haier products.

“In air-conditioners alone, we gained approximately Bt1.54 billion, a 50-per-cent increase. The refrigerator segment saw a 29-per-cent increase, accounting for around Bt434 million. Washing machines saw a remarkable Bt323 million growth, or 38 per cent, while freezers reached total revenue of Bt209 million for a 19-per-cent increase.

“Other products earned Bt84 million, representing 9-per-cent growth comparing to the same period last year.”

Zhang said today’s highly competitive market demands that manufacturers adapt and focus on product development to acquire a larger market share and meet customers’ requirements as much as possible.

Haier also sells clothes dryers, freezers, television sets, water heaters, air-fryers, cooker hoods and electric and gas stoves.

This year it will launch its latest refrigerator line, the Navi Cooling Plus Series, which it says is considered the industry’s “Generation 3” model.

The Navi Cooling Plus comes with a sleek and classy design and superior functions. A Smart Temp Control offers more convenience in temperature control via a touch screen.

Adding to the existing five modes of Smart Freezers from the last series is a third space, a partition where the temperature can be adjusted from minus-18 to 5 degrees Celsius according to the food and drink stored there.

The Soft Frozen Mode with a constant temperature of minus-7C is suitable for fresh meat and fish, maintaining their taste and texture.

The Flake Ice Maker is ideal for texturing drinks with a guarantee of safety and no risk of the container breaking in the freezer.

In addition, 3 Room Separate Technology makes the cooling room, freezer and Magic Room work independently, thereby ensuring safety and more effective cooling system for different uses.

“Regarding business strategy this year, we will put great emphasis on integrated marketing and PR on different media platforms, including TV and social media,” said Zhang.

“CSR, special promotions and business roadshows across the country will also be continued. In addition, we also launched new marketing channels with 24-hour smart-laundry services at the Smart Plus by Haier and Haier Brand Shop to serve as a Haier Experience Centre. This is expected to increase sales for electric appliances including refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners to Bt5 billion of revenue, as targeted.”

Central DFS Co Ltd. has signed a contract with the Royal Thai Navy to operate retail and service areas at Terminal 2 of U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport, covering 1,400.5 square metresin area, with a retail and services concession running for 10 years.

Central DFS director Yuwadee Chirathivat said that the company was confident in the potential of U-Tapao International Airport, as part of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) special economic zone, being an important regional airport with a capacity of 3 million passengers annually. There are obvious opportunities for a strong collaboration between the two companies bidding for the retail and services concession. Central Group has over 72 years of retail expertise and has now expanded to many business sectors with more than 3,700 stores in Thailand and operations in an additional 17 countries around the world. DFS Ventures Singapore has been in the luxury tourist retail industry for more than 59 years and is a world-class operator of duty-free and retail spaces in airports and downtown duty-free outlets in 13 countries on four continents, including Singapore’s Changi Airport, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles Airport in the USA.

The retail and service outlets include Auntie Anne’s, KFC, Segafredo, Mr. Cup T, Amazon, Coffee World, New York Deli, and Drinks & Quick Bites. The Eatery Gardens offers freshly cooked dishes with open-kitchen style restaurants, in a relaxing atmosphere. Shops include the Central DFS Shop with Thai souvenirs, fashion, cosmetics and travelling products, catering to tourist tastes. The Thai Favourites chain offers renowned Thai food products and snacks, alongside B2S, Boots and souvenir shops. There are also currency exchange counters and a mobile phone SIM shop, for the convenience of tourists and customers at the airport.

The clarity, transparency and accountability of the Royal Thai Navy’s concession bidding process is considered a standard for such auctions. Central is committed to develop and promote the commercial space at U-Tapao International Airport together with the Royal Thai Navy, as an important destination and gateway to Thailand’s eastern seaboard, which will attract tourists, international business people and Thais to experience an impressive and memorable diversity of products and services.

U-Tapao International Airport Director, Vice Adm. Luechai Sri-eamgool, said that the government had a policy to develop U-Tapao International Airport as the country’s third major commercial airport, to deal with the growth of both domestic and international aviation. This has resulted in the construction of a second passenger terminal to increase the airport’s passenger capacity. In developing the airport to international standards, it has been necessary to provide facilities and enhance the quality of services for the convenience of passengers. Bidding was thus invited from Thai companies in the retail and service sectors. The auction resulted in the airport granting concession rights to Central DFS for its plan to invest in, and develop, 1,400.5sqm of space for retail and service outlets at Terminal 2.

Up until May, the airport served as a hub for 16 airlines, offering 32 routes from China, Russia, Malaysia and the UK and servicing more than 1 million passengers. These are made up of 45 per cent domestic and 55 per cent international passengers (50 per cent Russian, 40 per cent Chinese, 3 per cent Kazakh and 3 per cent Malaysian). Most Russian tourists arrive as part of a group tour, whilst domestic travellers are foreign individual tourists. More than 2 million passengers are expected in 2019.

Central DFS says it is confident that U-Tapao International Airport will become another important place for tourism and logistic systems, due to its location just 30 km from Pattaya, one of the country’s key tourist destinations. U-Tapao International Airport is administered by the Royal Thai Navy and is located in the vicinity of many industrial sites in Rayong and Chonburi. As such it is convenient for travel to the East of Thailand and will become another major Thai airport bringing revenue into Thailand.

Related News: AOT signs duty-free concession contract with King Power

He added that a meeting among top executives of THAI and its allies, comprising Thai Smile and Nok Air, was held to seek greater collaboration and assistance in many areas, such as marketing and route arrangements.

“We will collaborate with Nok Air, which is facing management problems, and will help it rebuild confidence, including negotiations with trading partners. Our collaboration will also offer THAI’s credibility when it comes to Nok Air purchasing new aircraft,” Sumeth said, adding that the assistance was not financial in nature.

As for progress in THAI’s plans to acquire 30 aircraft worth a total of Bt150 billion, Sumeth said the airline has already submitted the proposal to the Transport Ministry.

“We need to wait for the new Cabinet to approve the plan. Though the delay in the purchase of new aircraft will have a negative impact on THAI’s revenue, we are adjusting some business plans to ease the impact, such as renting new aircraft,” Sumeth said.

“At the group meeting, we also discussed the obstacles faced by THAI, especially unfair practices related to the ‘open skies’ policy. Thailand has opened its skies to foreign airlines, but we have found that many countries do not open their skies to Thai airlines. This is an unfair practice and will have a negative impact on our tourism industry,” he said.

Sumeth added that THAI, along with other local airlines, will soon hold a forum to seek solutions to such “open skies” problems and will come up with proposals for the Transport Ministry and other related agencies so the problem can be solved as soon as possible.

A box of 20 pieces of the bite-sized Krispy Kreme’s signature doughnut coated with special glaze goes for only Bt159.

The promotion is not available at Krispy Kreme branches at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.

The projects related to the airport and the city to grow around it come under the development scheme for the flagship economic zone. Part of the plan features high-speed rail connections serving urban expansion plans that will enable the area’s growth into an aviation-themed metropolis within 10 years.

Kanis Saengsuphan, the secretary general of the committee, said there are two projects within the scheme that are facing difficulties.

While some bidders have been tardy in submitting documents for the U-Tapao project, several bidders have made mistakes related to the signatures for documents for the third phase of the Laem Chabang deep sea port – another major development planned for the economic zone.

Papers have been filed in relation to both cases with the appeal-review committee of the Administrative Court in order to bring the conflict between bidders and the committee to an end, Kanis said.

“If the committee doesn’t stick to the rules, then other bidders may file a lawsuit, so the best way is to stick to the biding regulations,” Kanis said. “Nevertheless, we believe that bidding for every EEC project will be completed within August this year.”

According to a source, the EEC selection committee has opened a second set of documents covering the technical details and business plans of the three bidders.

The bidders are Grand Consortium (Grand Asset Hotels and Property PCL, Thai Air Asia Co Ltd and Christiani and Nielsen); BBS Group Consortium (BTS Group Holdings, Bangkok Aviation PCL and Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction); and. He Pokphand Group-led Thana Holding Consortium (Thana Holding Co Ltd, B. Grimm Joint Venture Holdings Co Ltd, Italian-Thai Development PCL, Ch. Karnchang PCL and Orient Success International Co Ltd).

The source said that CP Group’s second set of documents has not been opened due to its late submission and the review is ongoing.

“Respect the environment” is one of Fast Retailing’s six priorities for sustainability, and the Group is proceeding to eliminate all forms of waste and to establish a business with minimal impact on the environment.

Environmental pollution from plastic waste is a growing concern worldwide, and Fast Retailing will take action to reduce unnecessary single-use plastic from its operations, the company pledged in a news release on Friday. This will help minimise the environmental impact of its business, while offering products and services customers can use with confidence.

From September 1, 2019 stores in 12 markets worldwide including Japan, where plastic shopping bags are currently in use, will begin switching to “eco-friendly” paper bags made of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper or recycled paper.

Stores in markets where paper shopping bags are currently in use, including UNIQLO stores in Europe, as well as Group brands Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, and PLST, will begin switching to “eco-friendly” paper shopping bags from September 2019.

With the aim to reduce shopping bags, and to make effective use of resources including paper, all UNIQLO and GU stores in Japan and abroad, as well as Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam stores worldwide, will begin selling branded “eco-friendly” reusable bags from September 2019.

To promote the use of reusable bags, all UNIQLO and GU stores in Japan will begin charging for shopping bags at a price of 10 yen (about Bt3) plus tax per bag from January 14, 2020. UNIQLO and GU in 16 markets across North America, Europe and Asia will charge for shopping bags after September 2019.

Talun Theng, the managing director of Royal Paragon Hall, said the Royal Paragon Hall is aiming for 10 per cent growth, with private companies and government agencies now focused on organising more events.

To prepare for the growth, the hall has been upgrading the management team by developing expertise in both domestic and international marketing, as well as adding additional services, said Talun.

“All these considerations have led to the Royal Paragon Hall maintaining its position as the leading Bangkok venue,” said Talun.

An industry overview for this year’s events sees an expected growth of 5-10 per cent, for a total value of Bt1.2 billion, “which is considered a good growth rate”, said Talun.

This year’s marketing strategy for the hall maintains a 70 per cent focus on the domestic market, with 30 per cent devoted to international markets.

The venue puts an emphasis on developing staff, particularly service staff, to ensure a strong internal management system. Staff members are sent on international courses recognised in the global MICE sector in order to enhance the hall’s service standards, said Talun.

Currently, the venue leads the Thai industry in the numbers of staff taking international training programmes.

Numerous awards and recognition have been bestowed on the Royal Paragon Hall, including the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award 2018. It won in two categories in that prestigious regional award – the Corporate Excellence Award for successful organisations proven to be business leaders with continuous growth and having implemented a sustainable and concrete management policy, and the Outstanding Management Award given to leaders of organisations that have achieved excellence in management matters, and have managed with determination and the intention to lead the organisation to sustainable growth.