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The Port of Singapore Authority: Competing in a Declining Asian Economy

By John Gordon, Tang Hung Kei, Lee Pui Mun, Henry C. Lucas, Jr. & Roger Wright



Publisher Ref No: ABCC-2001-003 Pub/Rev Date: 2001
Industry: Marine & Shipping Case Length: 22 pages
Teaching Note Ref: ABCC-2001-003(TN) Teaching Note: 9 pages
Organisation: PSA Corporation Limited Period Covered: 1970 - 1995
Country: Singapore Level: Undergraduate/
Postgraduate
Publisher: The Asian Business Case Centre, Nanyang Technological University


Abstract


The case explores how the city state of Singapore developed its natural resources of a large, deep-water harbour and strategic location to become one of the world's leading ports. To overcome physical limitations faced by the port, and to extend port capacity without adding a proportionate number of employees or land, the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) invested heavily on its Operations Management and Information Technology applications.

In the 1970s, the Port of Singapore Authority anticipated containerisation to take off in a big way and hence, it began preparing for this mode of shipping. By focusing on customer service, PSA encouraged shipping lines to use Singapore as a transshipment hub for Southeast Asia. PSA aimed to minimise turnaround time for ships and to provide the highest quality of service.

Teaching Objectives
  • To understand how infrastructure and government policies impact on a significant part of Singapore's economy.

  • To demonstrate how the operations and information technology of a company created competitive advantages for the Port.

  • To understand how one can add resources to existing resources to help sustain a competitive advantage.
Issues: Information Technology, Operations Management, Port Infrastructure, Transshipment


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