DINING AND WINING WAS ONCE a key part of Ravi Chandran's job scope. He was the Regional Sales and Marketing Manager for Seacold Technologies, a supplier of container refrigeration units for the transport of perishable goods. He shared, “My customer was Hanjin Shipping, Korea's largest container carrier. You won't believe the amount of drinking and entertaining that I did to get their business.” Ravi was with the company for about 12 years. When he left, it was part of United Technologies Corporation, a 42-billion dollar conglomerate. “My NTI training prepared me well to liaise with technical personnel including vice-presidents of engineering,” he said.

Ravi was in the logistics industry, an area where Singapore has an edge due to its excellent infrastructure and connectivity to the world. That makes Singapore a natural choice as a hub for supply chain solutions. Logistics companies such as United Parcel Services (UPS) made Singapore their regional headquarters. In 1996 Tan Lam Seng joined UPS, the largest express carrier in the world, where he managed projects. A major customer is Microsoft which uses their service to deliver software packages to retail stores in the region.

Lam Seng later moved to 3Com, a leading networking equipment company. 3Com has their regional hub in Singapore. As the Supply Chain Programme Manager, he was involved in distribution planning, fulfilment and inventory management. Currently, Lam Seng is with Seagate where he manages their logistics and supply chain requirements. “Things move so fast at Seagate,” he said. “The pace and cost pressures are severe.”

Logistics is part of an assortment of industries employing the NTI pioneers. Another industry is precision engineering, a staple for industrial activity. In 2008, it contributed 10 per cent or $22 billion of the total manufacturing output and employs one in four workers in the manufacturing sector. Its broad capabilities and sophistication have led international companies to undertake complex manufacturing activities in Singapore. Precision engineering produces semiconductor equipment and advanced machine tools.