استفاده از عملیات و تکنولوژی نقشه راه برای کمک به شناسایی شرکتهای متوسط ​​سنگاپوری و انتخاب فن آوری های در حال ظهور

In order to aid Singaporean SMEs identify and select emerging technologies for business benefit, a modified process of the Cambridge T-Plan methodology has been introduced and applied to a pilot sample of 30 companies in a variety of manufacturing sectors. This fast and simple process takes the company through five key steps to enable them to create their first Operation and Technology Roadmap (OTR). The paper explains the background to the approach and focuses on the initial benefits identified by a survey of the pilot companies.

The use of technology roadmaps came to the forefront with Motorola in the late 1970s [1]. Since then, the technique has been widely applied in many different industry sectors, such as the international technology roadmap for semiconductors [2], specific companies including both MNCs and SMEs, and national sectors, e.g., Foresight Vehicle Technology Roadmap [3]. In order to understand the different types of roadmap now in existence, the taxonomy described by Kappel [4] has been used splitting roadmaps into four key areas: science/technology roadmaps, industry roadmaps, product/technology roadmaps and product roadmaps. At the company level, it is felt that key factors determining the type of roadmap produced are the company's size and dominance in the industry. Large companies with multinational status tend to roadmap in separate divisions along product and product group lines while their R&D centres may start to dominate in science/technology roadmaps [5]. Additionally, dominant companies, in particular industries, start to produce de facto Industry Roadmaps. At the other end of the spectrum, SMEs roadmapping in the UK with the Cambridge T-Plan [6] approach typically employed several hundred to a few thousand people and normally produced company centric product/technology roadmaps. In terms of this paper, the key focus is on the use of a form of product/technology roadmap within SMEs in Singapore. Product/technology roadmaps are specifically company centric and seek to align decisions with trends, schedule product and/or service introductions and create a plan that integrates market and customer needs, product evolution and the introduction of new technology [7].

The need to encourage companies to move up the value chain through advanced technologies, processes and own product development was highlighted in the Singapore Economic Review Committee Report in 2003. The introduction of roadmapping into the SME manufacturing sector in Singapore aimed to improve the future outlook of these companies from the traditional 4–6 months to an average of 3–5 years. This encourages them to think and plan future developments now rather than act in an ad hoc manner when it is frequently too late. However, in companies of this size, the blur between strategic technology planning processes and traditional business strategy has resulted in an integrated approach known as OTR. This approach takes a wider view of technology themes and formalizes the front end of the Cambridge T-Plan process. A pilot sample of 36 companies has successfully applied the process to achieve a first-cut Operation and Technology Roadmap. A survey of the companies on completion of the roadmap confirms that they are satisfied with the process and that they feel they have extended their planning horizon and are more aware of the need to start developing new products and services today given the likely timescales involved. Although not yet quantified, practical field experience indicates that roadmapping delivers other positive benefit to the SMEs. These benefits range from the SME staff being able to step aside from daily pressures to plan with the assistance of a neutral facilitator, through to the integrated identification of current operational problems and solution development. Anecdotal feedback from senior management of participating SMEs, regular refers to softer benefits of roadmapping, such as the improved interfunctional communication and the team spirit that the process has engendered. Further work is ongoing to continue building the sample of surveyed companies and look at the acceptance of OTR over time. Additionally, a strong link is suspected between roadmapping and improved market orientation, which is a key aspect of small company development [9]. Work is under way to understand and establish this connection.