IT provides leverage to enhance productivity
20 - 12 - 2002

Information technology (IT) is an important tool to improve the productivity and competitiveness for the manufacturing industry, the Director of Information Technology Services (ITSD), Mr Alan Wong Chi-kong, said today (December 20).

Speaking at the "International Technology Conference: Information and Communication Technology for Manufacturing", Mr Wong said the Government was committed to supporting the development of the manufacturing industry through the leverage offered by IT.

The conference was organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council, co-organised by the ITSD and funded by the United Nations Development Programme. It aims to present the forefront development of e-Manufacturing information, communication and technology to manufacturers around the world.

Applications like Computer Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing, Computer Aided Industrial Design, Automation, Digitised Machinery and Workstation are now extensively used in structural design, moulding and 3-D product design.

Successful deployment of these tools will shorten the product development cycle and reduce "time to market".

Mr Wong added that with the advent of IT, the industry can also utilise many other computer solutions such as Enterprise Resources Planning, Manufacturing Resources Planning, Supply Chain Management and Logistics Management to improve their processes and adopt best practices in support of the manufacturing cycle and its management.

These systems provide enterprises with tried and tested functions for performing different tasks, such as bill of materials, job scheduling, cost control, inventory control, capacity planning, communication, collaboration and delivery tracking.

In such a competitive environment, enterprises not only need to advance their manufacturing technology, but also effectively control their cost and strengthen their relationships with clients and business partners, Mr Wong said.

He said that the application of IT could increase the transparency of the production line and keep track of the delivery process, which is key to customer satisfaction.

The use of these computer systems also assists the industry to step up the search for suppliers and other business partners in their supply chains, as well as in improving communication with them.

According to government statistics released in 2002, the percentage of manufacturing companies using personal computers and having Internet connections were 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Mr Wong noted that there was still room for the industry to increase its competitiveness by making use of IT.

In supporting the use of IT in the community, encouraging progress has been made in Hong Kong's e-commerce infrastructure since the Digital 21 Strategy was first promulgated in 1998. This includes the advancements in our telecommunications infrastructure, enactment of the "Electronic Transactions Ordinance" and the building of a common Chinese Language Interface.

Government has partnered with the private sector to transform various trading documents to electronic documents and has established the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council to take forward different logistics projects.

The Government is also actively exploring the feasibility of the Digital Trade and Transportation Network to provide an e-platform for the exchange of data among different players in the supply chain.

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