Supply Chain

Future-proof your Supply Chain

Against a backdrop of increasing uncertainties, addressing unprecedented challenges in the age of Industry 4.0 and post-COVID-19 is pertinent to industry players, as well as to the larger economy.

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Supply Chain Shocks
For every 3.7 years, 1+ month of supply chain disruption occurs

Aging pop

Ageing Population
By 2030, 1 in 4 Singaporeans will be above 65 years old

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Changing Consumer Models
In 5 years, Southeast Asia's e-commerce gross merchandise value is projected to almost double (~US$254 billion)

Supply Chain FP1

Supply Chain Footprint
As supply chains become increasingly complex, their footprint is becoming larger while incurring heavy financial and environmental costs

Supply Chain 4.0, initiated by A*STAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) helps businesses to integrate technological innovations into their operations, to deal with the additional diverse challenges posed by growing supply chains.

What sets Supply Chain 4.0 apart from existing commercial solutions?

Ecosystem effort for translational R&D
  • We have a team of experienced supply chain and I4.0 research scientists and engineers to work with you
  • Collaboration opportunities with Institutes of Higher Learning
  • Partnership with commercial solution leaders to leverage additional R&D capabilities
  • Development of modular solutions highly-customised to individual industry use cases, to fill existing technological gaps
  • Learning and training platforms dedicated to the latest supply chain happenings
  • Regular events that bring industry players and R&D experts together, generating ideas for the next potential breakthrough
Supply Chain Control Tower (SCCT)
  • Testbed for newly developed solutions at ARTC’s Supply Chain Control Tower before and in line with commercial adoption to de-risk investment

Our work packages

WP 1
Federated Microservice-based Supply Chain Collaborative Platform

More Information here

 

WP01-2_wp2691567
Authentication & Onboarding Framework for Massive IoT Devices

More Information here

 

WP02-1_wp4165404
Dynamic Network Configuration & Simulation

More Information here

 

WP 4
Flexible Order Management & Re-planning

More Information here

 


wp 5
Predictive Analytics in Supply and Demand Planning

More Information here

 

WP03-1_wp3610494
Autovanning & Devanning

More Information here

 

wp 7
Warehouse Control Platform

More Information here

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the goal of Supply Chain 4.0?

SC4.0 is a 2-year programme funded under RIE2025 to look at developing digital and automation technologies, together with industry partners who can contribute their knowledge and data to any of the 7 Work Packages that they want to participate in. This will in turn benefit companies who contributed as the development is based on their data/solutions, reducing customization required if they intend to adopt/deploy the technologies.

What kind of commitment is expected from companies taking part in the Supply Chain 4.0 Programme?

i) If any of the 7 Work Packages are of value and interest to companies, ARTC will arrange regular updates and discussions with them It is preferable to appoint a Point-of-Contact to work with A*STAR. Companies do not need to commit financially to be involved in SC4.0.

ii) They can also contribute by giving in-kind contributions to the research themes they wish to participate in, whether software or hardware, so that A*STAR development can be built on top of their solutions and data.

iii) If they wish to take our development further by customizing to their company’s business processes and operations, ARTC can scope it as a project, then develop & deploy it for the company. This will require financial commitment as the Engineers/Scientists will need to be reimbursed for their time to develop the solutions.

When is the deadline for the call of industry participation for the programme?

There is no deadline set, and companies are free to participate throughout the whole duration of the SC4.0 programme (2 years, starting from Nov 2021).

Who owns the intellectual property for the 7 work packages in the programme?

As this programme is funded by public monies in Singapore, A*STAR owns the intellectual property developed in the 7 work packages of the Supply Chain 4.0 Programme.

Will companies who participated and contributed (Cash/In-Kind) in this programme be able to use the IP to develop solutions with or on top of A*STAR development?

There are various options to explore:

i) Licensing option
Companies who intend to commercialize/sell the solution developed in the Work Packages can work with A*STAR on securing the licensing rights (exclusive/non-exclusive).

ii) Companies owning the Foreground IP (FIP)
Companies may want to adopt certain  Work Packages for further development with A*STAR, customized to their requirements and processes. In that case, the IP developed from the Work Packages will be considered as Background IP (BIP), owned by A*STAR and documented in the Project Agreement. New development/process derived as the outcome of this project with the companies will be considered Foreground IP (FIP). Companies can work with A*STAR to negotiate the terms to own the FIP.

We understand the default A*STAR IP positioning in “Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA)” does not allow companies to fully own the FIP in the projects. What are the ways to own the FIP?

For the Foreground IP (FIP), the default IP position in A*STAR project agreements using RCA is either “Jointly-Developed, Jointly Owned” or “Sole-Developed, Solely-Owned”, which either allows the IP to be co-owned with A*STAR or fully owned by A*STAR. For companies who would like to own the FIP, an escalation process is to be made subject to approval by our Deputy Chief Executive (DCE, A*STAR).

Alternatively, if companies join as an ARTC member (consortium membership model), we have 3 types of Project Agreements.1 of which allows companies to own the FIP, namely:
i)   Schedule 4 - MEMBER OWNED FOREGROUND IP AND FOREGROUND KNOW-HOW
ii)  Schedule 5 - ARTC OWNED FOREGROUND IP AND FOREGROUND KNOW-HOW
iii) Schedule 6 - JOINTLY OWNED FOREGROUND IP AND FOREGROUND KNOW-HOW

Is the project done in collaboration with other companies (both MNCs, LLEs and SMEs), or just with A*STAR?

The main development for each Project will be led by A*STAR Engineers/Scientist to achieve the deliverables highlighted under each Project. The team will be working with companies in the development to ensure relevance to industry needs and opportunity to proliferate the technologies back to the industry. This is an open platform. It is both an invitation for companies to work with us in this programme, and for companies to be able to network and collaborate.

Do companies pick one of the projects to work on? Is it limited to any of the 7 packages?

i) Are the problem statements fixed?
The Work Packages are meant to solve problem statements gathered from extensive industry feedback. We also understand that each company has its own challenges and is at different technological maturity/stage. Hence, we are open to exploring and discussing with the companies on how we can work on their problem statements as a one-to-one project.It can be both ways. An example could be a company working with us on 1 of the 7 Work Packages, but also engaging us in parallel on a project that is looking at utilising AGV for their warehouse/production.

ii) For the work deliverables of each Project, are those existing solutions that ARTC has, which ARTC would like to test out with companies?
No, they are not existing solutions. They are what we plan to develop in 2 years. But companies do not have to wait 2 years for us to develop before they get to test it out. There are multiple Minimal Viable Products (MVP) milestones set up for each Work Package that companies can take and test out. We are able to share more with the companies.

Is there funding to send companies’ workforce for training regarding Supply Chain related courses?

Training courses have been developed and are currently in the process of seeking WSG subsides.