FOUNDED 2003, outsourced solutions provider TransFingo has always had a vision to serve the aerospace industry, says managing director Kelvin Chung.
The company provides business process outsourcing, business pro-cess risk consulting and recruitment process outsourcing, and wanted to bring its technology solutions, successfully deployed for other high-tech industries, to the aerospace industry.
However, when it met key decision makers of several aerospace companies based in Singapore to understand their needs in 2008, the company quickly learnt that adopting new technologies for non-core back-office processes, or outsourcing them, was not a priority for aerospace companies. Instead, they were more concerned with obtaining enough skilled technical manpower for their day-to-day work.
TransFingo, therefore, has been providing manpower including licensed aircraft engineers, aircraft technicians and planners to the industry. However, the task has become more challenging of late, and the need for the aerospace industry to adopt more technology solutions for business processes is becoming evident.
“Low-cost carriers have changed the face of civil aviation in Asia,” Mr Chung said. “In tandem with the rise, the behind-the-scenes market for aircraft maintenance is also changing as companies in countries like Indonesia and Thailand enter the field to challenge the dominance of established Singapore players.”
The cost of manpower is much higher in Singapore than in neighbouring countries, making it harder for Singapore companies to remain competitive, he added.
To address part of this issue, TransFingo is working with training organisations to train Singaporeans in higher value-add work like engine manufacturing. In 2018, it set up a joint venture company called Dvi-ation-TransFingo with Dviation Group, tapping on Dviation’s expertise in aircraft repair and aircraft-related training to develop Singapore’s talent pool and strengthen its position as a source of highly skilled aviation workers.
Eventually, TransFingo hopes to introduce more technology for back-end processes to the industry, which was its original intention from the start. These technologies, such as robotics process automation, data mining, data analytics and blockchain technology, will help the companies stay competitive as they compete with other industries for quality man-power, and as the Singapore government increases efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on overall labour.
By Leila Lai, The Business Times Singapore
