Singapore Management University (SMU) and Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group have jointly organised an Industry Leaders Dialogue to discuss ASEAN’s potential in e-commerce, digital and supply chain potential in Jakarta on 26 September 2016.

More than 100 people from the Indonesian business community Singapore Chamber of Commerce Indonesia, and the Indonesia Chapter of SMU Alumni Association were present at the event.

The event served as an interactive platform for SMU faculty, the Indonesian business community and the SMU alumni community based in Jakarta, to come together and exchange insights on the retail, e-commerce, supply chain businesses and hear from industry leaders on opportunities and trends. 

Associate Professor Lim Yun Fong from SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business delivered the Keynote Speech on Integrating Retail and Logistics in the Internet Economy. In his speech, Prof Lim explored the challenges posed by the shift to online retailing where retailers tend to offer more product varieties to generate more sales, which complicates their inventory management and business processes. Furthermore, delivering goods on time can get quite complex and expensive. A better integration of retail and logistics in the Internet economy is thus unavoidable.

Following the Keynote Speech was be a panel discussion with distinguished industry leaders. The discussants were Mr Emirsyah Satar, Chairman of MatahariMall, Mr Stefan Jung, Managing Partner of Venturra Capital, and Ms Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, Managing Director of Sephora Digital S.E.A. The discussion was moderated by Professor Annie Koh, Vice President for Office of Business Development at SMU.   

[Caption: (L-R) SMU’s Professor Annie Koh moderated the panel discussion comprising Mr Emirsyah Satar, Chairman of MatahariMall; Mr Stefan Jung, Managing Partner of Venturra Capital; Ms Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, Managing Director of Sephora Digital S.E.A; and Associate Professor Lim Yun Fong.]

SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said, “On behalf of SMU, I would like to express our appreciation to the Lippo Group for partnering with SMU in organising this Industry Leaders Dialogue. SMU has a strong and collaborative relationship with the Lippo Group and the Riady family. In 2011, in recognition of a generous donation by the Lippo Group and the Riady family, SMU named its auditorium as the Mochtar Riady Auditorium and established the new Mochtar Riady Scholarships.

“I am very glad the Lippo Group shares SMU’s vision and mission, and our collaboration has now been expanded to more areas, including events such as this Dialogue to engage the Indonesian business community. As the largest economy and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is an important partner to Singapore. SMU wants to contribute to the close collaboration in business, government and civic society between both countries by providing more opportunities for exchange and internships, strengthen our collaboration with partner Indonesian universities in research and postgraduate education, and foster more industry tie-ups with the private sector. We believe these will help contribute to knowledge creation and talent development for both Singapore and Indonesia.”

"We appreciate the invitation from SMU to contribute to this Dialogue. We are very excited about the potential of digital to transform the Indonesian economy, connect our vast archipelago, empower hundreds of millions of people, and move ASEAN closer to its goal of integration,” stated Pak Emirsyah Satar, Director of the Lippo Group who is also a commissioner at Bank Danamon and formerly the Chief Executive of Garuda Airlines.

SMU alumni Gulshan Harjani said, “It was an inspiring session that gave us all a chance not only to get valuable insights on the future of e-commerce, but also to interact and learn from the industry experts. In addition, this dialogue also brought together many of the SMU Alumni based in Indonesia, who had a chance to network and connect with each other and SMU. It was a fun evening for everyone!”

[Featured photo: Associate Professor Lim Yun Fong from SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business delivered the Keynote Speech on Integrating Retail and Logistics in the Internet Economy.]