86 | theceomagazine.com
“SCALA operates within the Supply Chain City ecosystem with YCH.
This has enabled us to provide a richer learning experience through
visits to YCH’s state-of-the-art warehouse at Fusionaris®, showcasing
the use of technology in the supply chain industry.” – Ian Dyason, CEO,
Supply Chain And Logistics Academy“We take a different approach to business, where
every staff member is treated the same and as if they
were family,” he says. “We ensure that the values
important to us are at the heart of the organisation.
It makes it a good journey.”
To Robert, the most important thing in his
business is training and people. “It’s vital to honour
people’s skills and help them develop – in doing so,
you can effectively transform operations and grow as a
company,” he says. “You have to invest in the future by
investing in your people and we are proud to do so.”
Speaking of investing in the future, the company
has developed the LEARN™ ecosystem, the
engine behind the facade, created as a knowledge
ecosystem designed to stimulate innovation through
collaboration while refining the standards for supply
chain excellence. This will help inspire, transform
and define new standards for excellence within supply
chain management in the Asia–Pacific region, as
well as spark interaction and encouraging effective
professional partnerships. Through the ecosystem,
YCH synergises various business activities to create
a dynamic and vibrant community. The company is
looking to build 10 Supply Chain Cities® in ASEAN
in the next 5–10 years.
Robert says the company is moving forward- not just as one entity, but by trying to build with
other companies as well. “Businesses work only if
the supply chain is well connected,” he says. “To do
this, you must be forward-thinking. If you’re not
and you’re still ‘old school’ in your train of thought
and sticking with doing things a particular way, you
can’t succeed.”
Speaking to Robert, it’s clear he finds the supply
chain domain exciting, and even motivational. “The
supply chain connects everything,’ he enthuses. “It’s
planning, sourcing, manufacturing and understanding
how everything reaches the consumer; it really does
influence everything. This is what I’m trying to
encompass and by building this pool of highly
intelligent supply chain professionals, we’ll be able
to take this industry to the next level.”
Naturally competitive, Robert always stays one
step ahead and strives for excellence and innovative
solutions. “I’m not just competing to win for
winning’s sake,” he says. “I want to show the things
I’m capable of. I want to show the type of business
we have built and push to become even more socially
responsible. We like to showcase things no other
company has done.”
During his tenure as Chairman of ASEAN
Business Advisory Council, Robert also created
an initiative called Smart Growth Connect
(SGConnect™), an initiative to tackle rapidly
developing growth which Robert explains will
“implement modern supply chain solutions to
support the consumption needs of rapidly urbanising
ASEAN cities”. Robert describes its intent to help
cities expand without the usual growing pains.
“Once a city grows it faces challenges,” he
explains. “There are things like traffic congestion
or pollution. This incentive will help cities plan for