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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, at the Opening Ceremony of Li & Fung Institute of Supply Chain Management and Logistics today (November 8) (English only):
Professor (Lawrence) Lau, Dr (William) Fung, Mr (Benedict) Chang, Professor (Waiman) Cheung, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning! I am honored to be invited to witness the opening of the Li & Fung Institute of Supply Chain Management and Logistics.
With the rapid expansion of global sourcing and increasing specialisation in production on comparative advantages, supply chain management becomes a key driver in enhancing efficiency, adding value, minimising costs, and maximising growth and profit.
The quest for supply chain integration and excellence is particularly relevant to Hong Kong as we climb up the value chain to maintain our status as the leading logistics hub in the region.
In recent years we have seen Hong Kong enterprises embracing advanced technologies and innovative applications such as RFID, GPS and inventory management and control systems in the supply chain business process in order to stay ahead in the ever-increasingly competitive business environment. The Government also has been working closely with the industry through the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council in the pursuit of enhanced e-logistics. The Digital Trade and Transportation Network System, or DTTN, launched in December last year, provides an open, neutral and secure e-platform to facilitate information exchange along the supply chain in an efficient and reliable manner. We are also jointly running a pilot study on an On-Board Trucker Information System, or OBTIS, with the Hong Kong Productivity Council, which seeks to help integrate the trucking process in the supply chain through better exchange of information between truckers and other players in the industry.
I am therefore most pleased to see the establishment of the Li & Fung Institute for Supply Chain Management & Logistics. The Institute will play an important part in the search for advanced technologies to facilitate supply chain integration and in the promotion of best practices. The Institute, which consolidates three existing centres established under different faculties, brings together cross-disciplinary researchers to create synergy. The establishment of the Institute itself is already a real case of service integration in action.
I understand that the industry particularly welcomes the approach adopted by the Institute which places special emphasis on marrying academic knowledge with practical needs of the industry. To that end, industrial partners would be engaged in the development of enterprise solution technologies, and technological know-how would be disseminated to practitioners through forums and training programmes. The Institute will also be a useful training ground for researchers on logistics studies, providing the logistics sector with much needed expertise and specialised trained personnel. This has been made possible by the generous sponsorship by the Li & Fung Group. (Thank you William!)
Economic growth on the Mainland will continue to open up opportunities for our logistics industry in the provision of efficient, reliable, value-for-money, and integrated services. I am sure that with the close collaboration between academia and the industry, Hong Kong will be able to capitalise on these opportunities fully.
In closing, I wish the Li & Fung Institute of Supply Chain Management and Logistics all the success in its pursuit of supply chain management excellence. Thank you.
Ends/Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:36
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