Dr Robert Yap, Executive Chairman of YCH Group, was conferred “Businessman of the Year” at the Singapore Business Awards 2016 on 31 March at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. The award recognises business leaders for the vital contributions they have made to Singapore’s development, their role in encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in Singapore, as well as their excellent work in corporate management.
An industry veteran with four decades of experience, Dr Yap has played an active role in contributing to the logistics and supply chain management industries in Singapore, demonstrating a home-grown brand’s ability to make an impact on the markets in the region. Over the years, Dr Yap diversified and grew YCH from a humble local transport operator to an established multinational supply chain management company. Today, YCH Group is the leading end-to-end supply chain solutions partner to some of the world’s largest companies across the region, enabling them with award-winning solutions and a comprehensive Asia Pacific presence.
Some of Dr Yap’s key achievements include:
- Introducing technology and breakthrough innovations to the logistics and supply chain management industries: Dr Yap established Y3 Technologies in 1981 to leverage on information technology and develop proprietary Supply Chain solutions, granting the company more flexibility in its operations over limiting off-the-shelf solutions. Today, Y3 is a leading IT solutions company in the supply chain industry with more than 150 software engineers, and partner of choice to many leading organisations in the world.
- Advancing the supply chain industry through education and workforce improvement: YCH is committed to leading and driving the logistics industry with the adoption of SkillsFuture and other national manpower initiatives – working closely with agencies to provide opportunities to support its workforce to acquire and deepen skills through lifelong learning. YCH also introduced an industry-led training initiative with the Tianjin College of Commerce and Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic via the EduRISE initiative to develop the next generation logistics talents.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Businessman of the Year Award from the Singapore Business Awards. I would like to thank my colleagues, partners and associates for their hard work and collaboration, for working with me to contribute to the development of the supply chain industry and the vibrancy of the Singapore business community. This award will drive me to continue playing an active role not just in the general Singapore economy but also in the supply chain and logistics industries,” said Dr Robert Yap.
In his speech, Dr Yap said that he will continue demonstrating his “lifelong belief in “the power of technology” through Y3 Technologies, whose growth he wants to scale into “the leading Supply Chain technology partner of choice in the region”. Moving forward, he will focus his attention on building a critical ecosystem for Supply Chain City™, Asia’s iconic Supply Chain nerve centre through the establishment of SCALA™, a premier Supply Chain industry learning centre.
He added, “With our ‘asset right’ strategy anchored by Supply Chain City™, and our established network of DistriParks spread throughout Asia Pacific, the ecosystem represents the beginning of a new transformation that will take the YCH Group and the SCM industry ‘beyond supplychain’, bringing all of us a step closer to achieving the reality of a truly borderless world.”