Many firms have been hit hard by the pandemic but some manufacturers have had to ramp up production to meet higher demand. The Straits Times sees how three businesses overcame challenges like staff shortages and supply chain disruption to boost output amid the crisis.
Syngenta adapts, extends work hours to stay productive
Syngenta Singapore ran into difficulty when the Malaysian movement control order kicked into gear to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
The company, which produces crop protection products for its South-east Asian market, imports most of its packaging materials from Malaysia.
The control order restricted the movement of some of its staff as well.
But the company also faced a looming demand spike with orders in the second quarter, 15 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Syngenta Singapore, which is the regional headquarters of the global Swiss-based business, supplies herbicides and fungicides to Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan.
These vital products help farmers increase productivity so a lack of access could hit global food supplies.
Mr Alessandro Lourenco, site manager of the formulation plant at Tuas, said: "We've been able to keep to this required output through extending our working hours, even with segregated teams.
"Our employees have also been able to adapt quickly and take on multiple roles. We are doing all we can to keep the site running in a safe and productive manner."
The plant can turn out an average of 40 tons of liquid crop protection products a week and produces enough over the course of a year to benefit a million hectares of farmland that is the source of livelihood for three to four million smallholders.
Production fulfilment time is about a month, and the company typically ships products three months before they are needed in stores.
Mr Lourenco added: "To make up for the unfulfilled vacant positions, our employees took on multiple roles, such as the production manager and supervisor being operators, and the maintenance manager being a mechanic.
"We are very fortunate to have a team that is understanding and supportive of the business needs and the needs of their colleagues who may need to work from home because of health conditions or border controls."
The firm offset supply chain disruptions by pre-ordering all raw materials based on its sales forecast and asked logistic partners here to store them on its behalf.
It stepped up procedures for hygiene and social distancing, such as convening daily emergency management team meetings to review actions and update regional and global offices.
A strict personal hygiene standard for all staff and site visitors has been implemented.
Mr Lourenco said: "This crisis has shown us the importance of resilience and a balance of short-and medium-term strategies to anticipate disruptions.
"Additionally, this crisis is driving us to reshape our roles and... to move some key positions to telecommuting, while underscoring the importance of having strong processes with detailed risk assessments for people safety and business continuity."
Consumer goods firm takes steps to meet needs globally
International travel restrictions and lockdowns forced Reckitt Benckiser (RB) to confront unprecedented challenges, but the firm continued with its manufacturing output to meet needs around the globe.
The company, which counts brands such as Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil and Dettol as part of its portfolio, has an infant formula and child nutrition manufacturing facility here.
The plant supplies base powder for baby formula products sold in 12 countries.
RB Singapore said its first major challenge was to ensure employees, contract workers and logistics partners were protected from the virus.
It maintained minimum numbers of essential staff at the plant and its research and development facility, and all meetings were quickly converted into virtual mode.
But it also had frontline employees and engineers commuting from Johor. Most of these employees voluntarily stayed to work, with accommodation arranged by the company for them to live close to the plant.
Ms Franny Koh, human resource lead at the RB nutrition manufacturing site, said: "We know the impact on our consumers, particularly our infant nutrition consumers, will be huge for our babies across the globe if our plant is stopped.
"All safety guidelines are robustly implemented. Symptom and temperature screening stations, mandatory wearing of masks, and increased cleaning frequency have been deployed to maximise the safety of our minimum essential workforce."
The plant worked to maintain maximum output to meet the increase in demand across Asia in March as parents prepared for periods of isolation due to lockdown measures.
Mr Frederick Dutrenit, senior vice-president for manufacturing in the health business, said: "Due to the international travel restrictions, our challenge to find alternative supply partners was resolved through excellent collaboration with Singapore Government agencies including the Economic Development Board."
The company worked with the agency to identify critical suppliers and alternative local service providers in transportation and maintenance.
"Hence, we have been able to minimise our global supply disruption and ensure continuity of supply during the circuit break," noted Mr Dutrenit.
Coca-Cola Company ensures the beverage keeps flowing
The Coca-Cola Company not only had to contend with challenges posed by the pandemic but also to deal with surges in demand as consumers stocked up ahead of the lockdowns.
The company here had to boost production to keep up with demand and to meet the needs from bottling partners that had to produce more finished beverages and ensure that grocery stores remained well-stocked.
Coca-Cola's concentrate manufacturing plant in Tuas was opened in 2010 to make beverage concentrates for Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
The plant now supplies 24 markets across the Asia-Pacific, with the capacity to produce 24 million kg of concentrate every year, equivalent to over 18 billion cans of Coca-Cola.
Ms Maeve Lynch, plant general manager for Pacific Refreshments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola which operates the facility, said: "In March, as the coronavirus pandemic spread globally, we saw heightened volatility in our supply chain as many countries, starting with China, meaningfully increased social distancing and shelter-in-place mandates, which in turn resulted in limited availability of raw materials."
Demand was also volatile, surging before dropping, followed by levelling out again, she noted.
"Against this backdrop, we had to manage the fine balance between keeping the supply pipe full but avoiding write-offs from high ingredient inventories," she said.
"We worked closely with our customers and business unit partners to monitor market needs, reduce complexity in our supply chain and secure alternative supply sources."
Staff who have to work onsite at the plant were split into two-shift teams. These are skeleton crews for production, warehouse, laboratory and maintenance. Only about 30 per cent of the total concentrate plant workforce is onsite at any time.
Sue-Ann Tan
© 2020 Singapore Press Holdings
This article was written by Sue-Ann Tan from The Straits Times and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
