Port operators, manufacturers work to counter supply chain risks ahead of 2025

SINGAPORE: Port operator PSA Singapore is gearing up for the year ahead with more advanced technology. 

Automated vehicles at Tuas Port will be getting a 5G upgrade so they can track the movement of cargo from berths to ships in real time, with the help of telcos Singtel and Ericsson.

PSA’s moves are in line with plans to build the world’s largest fully automated port in about two decades to meet the rapidly rising demand for global trans-shipment. 

Over the next three years, PSA will also be exploring 5G applications in areas such as predictive maintenance, which involves drone-based surveillance and extended reality applications.

This will help the operator to detect potential issues in a more timely fashion and pre-empt equipment failure, improving efficiency and reducing costly downtime.

Such advanced solutions could come in handy in the event of incidents that shocked the sector earlier this year, like the Red Sea attacks.

Ships were forced to reroute, resulting in delays. In May, vessels that used to take less than a day to dock were waiting up to a week in Singapore. 

Going into 2025, manufacturers in Singapore are similarly doubling down on tech adoption to secure supply chains and predict potential shocks.

CHANGES ON THE HORIZON

Firms will have to continue cushioning themselves against geopolitical tensions, supply chain diversification and the impact of technology including artificial intelligence, said Associate Professor Goh Puay Guan from the Department of Analytics and Operations at the National University of Singapore Business School.

He added that uncertainties remain over the resilience of global supply chains, given the promise of tariffs from Donald Trump who will be sworn in as the United States president next month.

Trump late last month pledged big tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China.

He said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until they clamp down on fentanyl and migrants crossing the border.

He also outlined an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports from China. He had previously said he would end China's most-favoured-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports of over 60 per cent - much higher than those imposed during his first term.

Companies in the US will stockpile in anticipation of an increase in tariffs, said Assoc Prof Goh. 

“In the short term, that may actually cause a spike in imports and therefore, potentially shipping rates will go up in the short term,” he added.

Firms will also have to prepare for changes in government regulations along with the leadership transition in America.

“Potentially with US regulations changing with the new administration, it could also mean that there's a little bit more volatility when companies need to react very quickly to changes in government regulations between countries or changes in tariff structures,” said Assoc Prof Goh.

“That may mean that they have to import more goods to stock up (and) source from other countries.”

IMPACT ON LOCAL MANUFACTURERS

Local manufacturers that import raw materials or have overseas production may be hit the most when tariffs are raised, said Singapore Manufacturing Federation president Melvin Tan.

“If I'm trapped in a situation where I manufactured for a main market in the US and most of my raw materials come from a country that's not favoured, we could be at risk of being blocked from selling,” he noted.

He added that firms may find their raw materials and, in turn, finished products costing more to export, which would reduce Singapore’s global competitiveness.

Amid such changes, some firms have turned to technology to get better oversight of their supply chains and improve their processes.

For instance, Epicor Software’s products can predict demand and track products and shipment, so that companies can adjust their inventory accordingly.

Security and sustainability are firms’ main concerns, said the firm’s country manager for Singapore and the Philippines Lorraine Wee.

“Businesses are very open to cloud solutions these days, and we can see a lot more are a lot faster … in putting their solutions in place, without having to waste time to take care of security concerns, infrastructure problems,” she said.

“We're working with climatic technologies to bring in carbon data so that they can do their calculation (which) makes it easier for them to integrate that data into our system, to produce reports (and) produce analytics,” she added.