A step into Smart City: Tackling traffic congestion
As cities around the world reopen their economic activities, traffic congestion once again beset the life of city dwellers. One way to relive the "optimised" vehicle flow, as we briefly experienced during MCO phases, is through traffic lights.
TM One, the business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), has developed a system that can programme traffic lights to respond to real-time data collected by connected cameras and sensors. The Smart Traffic Analytics and Recognition System (STARS) employs a combination of cloud and edge-based computing and analytics to automatically adjust traffic lights to optimise the traffic flow through a junction. Alternatively, engineers can remotely monitor real-time information via the STARS IoT dashboard on a laptop or mobile device and alter the sequence of the traffic lights accordingly. The solution leverages TM’s mobile network to relay data from the traffic controller unit to the IoT platform.
The information collected by the system can also be analysed to identify any faults in the traffic signals, enabling field engineers to be deployed quickly to minimise traffic disruption. The municipality can predefine various events that will prompt STARS to trigger an alarm alerting the relevant teams, enabling any issues to be identified and resolved quickly and efficiently.
Real-world Deployment – Municipalities in Malaysia
First launched in 2016 in Malaysia, STARS has been deployed by local municipalities in Cyberjaya, Kelantan, Pengerang and Penang. TM One believes it could ultimately be deployed at approximately 1,800 junctions nationwide across Malaysia.
For drivers, STARS is reducing travelling time. For example, in Cyberjaya, the waiting time for the traffic along Persiaran Multimedia was reduced by 65 per cent. During peak hours, it would take approximately 32 minutes to drive from one end of the Persiaran Multimedia to the other. However, with the new system, it takes only 8 to 11 minutes.
TM One has now transitioned to STARS 2.0, which is able to analyse six months or more of traffic data to enable predictive analysis so that traffic lights can be programmed based on a range of external factors, such as weather, events and holidays, as well as real-time traffic data.
With the rollout of 5G connectivity in Malaysia, TM One had piloted the 5G-enabled smart traffic light solution in Subang Jaya city and Langkawi Island, as part of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) Demonstration Project. The 5G capabilities allow the streaming of real-time video from road-side cameras to artificial intelligence systems that can estimate waiting times for each vehicle, count the number of vehicles, classify them according to type and recognise vehicle registration plates. Capable of detecting ambulances, police cars and fire engines, the system will be able to automatically adjust the operations of traffic lights to let these emergency vehicles drive through a junction safely.
Both traffic light junctions in Subang Jaya city and Langkawi Island were specifically selected due to traffic bottlenecks at peak hours, and with the pilot implementation, there was notable reduction of long vehicle queues for both junctions. With 5G connectivity finally being rolled out and ready for service soon, road users will definitely welcome the full implementation of 5G-enabled smart traffic light management.
Originally published and updated from: APAC Internet of Things Case Studies
The Majlis Bandaraya Seberang Perai (MBSP), which is the largest local authority in Malaysia, has made a great stride forward in its journey to revolutionise its customer service through digital transformation.
Despite limited resources and facing the challenge of covering a large geographic area, the mainland half of Penang, comprising 738 square kilometers with a population of 1,145,200 people, MBSP has set out to successfully slash turnaround times in managing citizens’ voice complaints and complaint collections. Incidentally, COVID-19 related lockdowns further exacerbated pressure on state councils tasked with the problem of effective customer engagement engaging, especially with utilisation of digital channels which had become critical in the 'new normal'.
Strategically, MBSP also needed to maintain the momentum of synchronising with the enhanced customer-centric goal adopted by the council's other departments and functions. The first step of MBSP's journey towards serving the customer faster and better started in 2019 when the “Digital State 2030” was launched.
Consequently, MBSP collaborated with TM One Business Services to benefit from business process outsourcing (BPO) services, which helped to establish a contact centre equipped with world-class solutions to build and improve customer service excellence. As a one-stop centre, MBSP Customer Experience Contact Centre (CX Premier) serves individuals and businesses by providing different services, including business, commercial and individual support, to facilitate the ease of doing business in Seberang Perai. CX Premier also serves as a vital link between citizens and community groups or organisations that work with municipalities at MBSP.
A milestone in MBSP's transformational journey. CX Premier delivered some immediate wins:
“The collaboration with TM One through their CX Premier has helped MBSP Call Centre improve the quality of service delivery and no complaints are dropped or missed. It makes MBSP more efficient in receiving complaints and delivering services to solve all the enquiries of the public”
- YBhg. Dato’ Sr Hj Rozali bin Hj Mohamud
Mayor of Seberang Perai
Given its motto of ‘Seberang Perai Aspiring City of Tomorrow’, MBSP is naturally committed to provisioning a first-class customer experience in line with expectations of today's digital first-world.
Despite the pandemic, MBSP must remain digitally connected to customers to help address their issues. Additionally, MBSP needs to integrate its array of different services under its umbrella into one single channel, which is more customer-centric. This entails a more strategic approach in interconnecting with other departments and functions within the council. Part of the journey entails overcoming security, training and business continuity hurdles in order to unlock operational benefits.
When MBSP made the strategic decision to turn to CX Premier to prevail over its operational challenges and to empower an effective, seamless digital experience for their customers, it was ideally positioned the council to facilitate seamless communications with the public within a new normal of pandemic related restricted social interaction.
On a broader level, the overall digital solution is helping MBSP to achieve its objectives by delivering the following strategic technological drivers:
TM One has played an important role as the data aggregator for MBSP by sharing business-related insights through quarterly business meetings. This information has benefited MBSP to improve the back-end operation towards improving their complaint resolution timeline through focused improvement strategies.
MBSP has been able to reduce processing time for applications and complaints, as well as improve response time to customers. The citizens are now able to obtain the services and assistance that they need in a more efficient manner, which is greatly benefiting them. The call centre also employs trained operators who are able to provide better customer service and this will enable MBSP to resolve the public complaints and enquiries more quickly and efficiently.
CX Premier is delivering exceptional customer service with performance levels exceeding previously committed targets. In addition to taking good care of voice transactions, CX Premier is also at the helm of managing digital transactions, which include e-aduan on a web platform, emails, e-pintas and itegur apps, among others. As well as expertly assessing and implementing the most appropriate technologies and processes, TM One addressed key areas connected to a more effective Service Level Agreement (SLA) to resolve complaint cases.
Today, 93% of the customer’s calls to CX Premier will be answered within 20 seconds. TM One has also actualised MBSP's digital interaction journey by managing a total of seven (7) different channels six (6) of which are digital channels such as email, social media, mobile applications, and web portal inquiries. An exceptional customer journey has been innovated on an integrated interactive platform of telephonic and digital channels.
Apart from this, our recent WFH strategy has helped MBSP sustain its customer service operations without any interruption throughout the pandemic period. The strategy has ensured the customer operation functions without interruption even after adhering to 60/40 workforce conditions by Majlis Keselamatan Negara Malaysia (MKN) & Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM). This approach has also improved the productivity of the agents with a safe and comfortable working environment.
With TM One Business Services taking care of operational aspects of MBSP’s one-stop centre, MBSP is now ideally positioned to focus on serving the people faster and delivering superior levels of performance. This success story is another stride forward in revolutionising MBSP's efforts to achieve its Digital State objectives, which is pivoting on putting its customers' interests at the heart of all of the city council's services.
Most of us know Singapore for its advanced digital economy. The renowned digital hub is also home to one of the most vibrant technology ecosystems in the Asia Pacific region. Leading technology companies, including FAANG — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google have established a significant presence in the island city-state.
And for a good reason. Singapore’s pro-tech government contributed heavily to their current global standings. The Smart Nation initiatives, among others, have been rolled out to leverage technology solutions to maintain global competitiveness as a developed nation and enhance the livelihood of Singapore citizensi.
One area of national interest is robotics and how it has enabled the country’s vision for driverless vehicles in transportation. Singapore has been an early supporter of automated driving due to its constraints in land and workforce, and is already one of the most autonomous vehicles (AV)-ready countries globally, according to the KPMGii. In its pursuit to improve urban mobility, the government set up the Committee on Autonomous Road Transport for Singapore (CARTS). The committee, in charge of spearheading local AV-enabled land transport concepts, went on to sign an MoU with R&D agency A*STAR to set up the Singapore Autonomous Vehicle Initiative.
The government even established the first AV test center in 2017 to support the Center of Excellence for AV testing and research. In 2019, Singapore expanded its AV testing area to almost 1,000 km to cover all public roads in the west region. It also started a program to retrain 100 bus drivers as AV safety operators to serve three new towns with driverless buses.
With the third-highest population density in the world that will grow by 30% within 20 years, Singapore can’t keep up by buying more buses or creating more subway lines. In addition, Singapore has an ageing taxi driver population. Data from Southeast Asia’s Grab shows that Singaporean taxi drivers are unlikely to accept a passenger booking request that originates from or leads them to remote locations. The need for more public buses also highlights the labour gap as not many people fancy driving buses at night.
Therefore, Singapore turns to AVs to potentially fill the transportation need while freeing up road space, narrowing down the number of private vehicles and combating the issue of congestion and air pollution. AVs have also become a part of the nation’s land transport master plan to make Singapore a “45-minute city”. They will prove helpful in connecting the last mile journey. There are even plans to design roads in Singapore specifically for driverless cars. Plus, amendments to the Road Traffic Act and the TR68 draft national AV standards' publishing cements the fact that Singapore is more than serious about this.[iii]
The first trial for self-driving buses occurred back in 2015, and since then, several other attempts have been conducted, including driverless taxis developed by nuTonomy. The MIT spin-off technology startup conducted the world’s first public trial for self-driving taxi services in a partnership with Grab several days ahead of Uber in Pittsburgh. The company gave out several no-cost rides on a by-invitation-only basis within a 2.5 square mile radius in Singapore’s ‘one-north’ business district. The ‘robo-taxi’ services used six modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi i-MiEV equipped with proprietary self-driving software, integrated high-performance sensing, six sets of LIDAR devices – including one that constantly spins on the roof, and two dashboard cameras to measure changes in traffic lights and provide a 360-degree object detection view.
nuTonomy works closely with the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), which focuses on improving quality of life with technology. According to nuTonomy, Singapore is the perfect place for the technology, iterating that the regulatory environment, infrastructure, driving habits, traffic rules obeyance, and the weather could help the country reduce the number of on-road cars from 900,000 to 300,000iv. This would replace almost 780,000 traditional taxis while ensuring waiting times of below 15 minutes.
Other similar trials in Singapore involve driverless buggies in the Jurong Lake District and the autonomous shuttle bus from the NTU campus to Cleantech Park, among others. More recently, ST Engineering, SMRT and SBS Transit operated a three-month trial for their self-driving bus service that takes passengers around Singapore’s Science Park and Jurong Island during off-peak hours for only SGD 0.20 (USD 0.15).
There is no questioning that fast and reliable communication networks build the foundation for driverless vehicles to operate on. AVs regularly collect and capture environmental data from built-in cameras and sensors before making a fully independent decision on navigation, especially in unexpected traffic conditions.
5G is a core facilitator to this autonomous feature, especially its holy trinity of speed, latency, and reliability. High-speed connectivity is essential to build awareness of traffic information and enables AVs to chase the city’s ‘green-wave’. Here, quick data processing and pre-emptive decision-making are paramount, especially when AVs move at higher speeds. Ultra-reliable low latency communication (uRLLC) unlocks the ability for AVs to receive, process and convert data into prompt decisions, all within a fraction of seconds.
Rapid data processing is crucial in both short and long-distance vehicle-to-everything (V2X), as it helps amplify key safety AV features. AVs often use onboard connectivity solutions to link their computers to the manufacturer’s network. It is critical that AVs do not send all the data back to central data centres for processing as this consumes valuable seconds needed in making quick, autonomous decisions.
The deployment of 5G-enabled edge computing significantly minimises the response times in AVs, as edge servers can process time-sensitive data using 5G’s lower latency and high computing capabilities. The rest travels back to remote servers. This allows for new uses cases such as sending hazard alerts in car-to-car communication and enhanced battery efficiency as car analytics occur off-the-vehicle.
The challenge, however, is coverage. By nature, 5G frequencies struggle to reach areas previously in the scope of network generation, which means that more infrastructure is needed, especially on busy roads. Operators will need a mere 10x denser infrastructure to provide adequate coveragev. Hence, the mmWave frequency for 5G will be strongest in large cities over the next 5 to 10 years as telecom service providers install small cells at scale. Expect AVs to provide better experiences in urban areas as governments invest in smart city initiatives.
Automation of vehicles doesn’t happen overnight. Reliable and fully automated driving is the final stage of a rather lengthy process. Innovations such as intelligent assistance and autonomous steering will come and go, while many new features come online. But one thing is certain; 5G will be the piece that completes the puzzle.
That is exactly what Singapore is building on. GovTech has begun around ten trials under the 5G@Sentosa project, including those to operate autonomous vehicles using high-speed 5G links. The government body will look to increase the number of tests on 5G uses cases to 30 by the first half of 2023. As APAC 5G investments pick up (~78% of companies are investing or planning to invest within the next two to three years), the technology will continue to play a significant role for autonomous vehicles to become a reality, not only for Singapore, but globallyvi.
Sources:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/nutonomy-driverless-taxi-singapore/
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/singapore-launches-driverless-taxis-ahead-of-uber-and-the-us/
https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/worlds-first-public-trial-of-robo-taxi-service-in-singapore-869
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/worlds-first-self-driving-taxis-debut-in-singapore-1450096
https://pacetoday.com.au/first-self-driving-taxis-singapore/
https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/25/12637822/self-driving-taxi-first-public-trial-singapore-nutonomy
https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/1/12337516/delphi-self-driving-car-service-singapore
https://soyacincau.com/2021/02/02/singapore-tests-its-first-commercial-self-driving-bus-service-it-costs-less-than-rm1-per-ride/
https://www.mot.gov.sg/Transport-Matters/motoring/detail/driverless-vehicles-a-vision-for-singapore-s-transport
https://disruptive.asia/grab-launches-driverless-car-booking-service-singapore/
https://www.dsf.my/2020/07/singapore-tops-malaysia-in-self-driving-cars-acceptance/
https://www.cio.com/article/3294207/how-singapore-is-driving-the-development-of-autonomous-vehicles.html
https://www.eeworldonline.com/startup-bringing-driverless-taxi-service-to-singapore/
https://car.harman.com/insights/articles/5g-must-have-autonomous-vehicles
https://www.alcansystems.com/satellite-and-5g-an-essential-partnership-for-the-future-of-connected-cars/
https://www.rantcell.com/do-autonomous-vehicles-need-5g.html
https://www.telekom.com/en/company/details/5g-network-as-foundation-for-autonomous-driving-561986
[i] https://www.csc.gov.sg/articles/digital-government-smart-nation-pursuing-singapore%27s-tech-imperative
[ii] https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/01/2018-autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.html
[iii] https://www.globalmasstransit.net/archive.php?id=43417
[iv] https://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/worlds-first-self-driving-taxis-debut-in-singapore-1450096
[v] https://www.alcansystems.com/satellite-and-5g-an-essential-partnership-for-the-future-of-connected-cars/
[vi] https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252508259/Singapore-pulls-ahead-with-public-sector-5G-trials
In recent decades, a multigenerational evolution in mobile technology has taken place. From 1G in 1979 by NTT up to the modern transition towards 5G, there is no question that wireless networks have formed the bedrock on which technology thrives.
Both consumers and businesses must be ready for the global shift towards 5G to comprehend the wide scale opportunities it fully enables. With 5G in a prime position to upgrade the dynamics of digital transformation, we speak to Nor Hisham, General Manager for Enterprise Mobile at TM One to demystify 5G concepts and how it compares to its predecessors.
A fundamental understanding of this technology, will launch Malaysia into the heart of the digital ASEAN.
5G vs 4G
As 5G supersedes 4G LTE, it must not be confused with the 5GHz WiFi on our mobile devices. The latter is a short-range frequency used in modern WiFi systems, while 5G is an all-new cellular standard.
According to GSMA, the worldwide median download speed using 5G was 954% faster, and upload speeds were 311% faster than 4G as tested during Q3 2020.[i] Additionally, 5G supports over 100 times more traffic capacity while supporting up to 1,000 more devices per meter than 4G.[ii] The higher bandwidths also prevent patchy services, especially in hot zones, enabling more connected devices. In short, 5G is much, much faster than 4G.
Imagine downloading a two-hour HD movie in roughly 10 seconds or going shopping with augmented reality … simply unbelievable. Yet, all of it is possible with the promise of 5G, as seen in its speed. However, the catch is that gigabit-plus download speeds depend on location, operator spectrum range, and network traffic.
5G also uses higher radio frequencies (>24 GHz) that are less occupied to supply more information at faster rates. These previously unused bands offer much lower latency (<1 ms) and greater flexibility at the cost of the coverage area. However, information sent over large distances are susceptible to line-of-sight and blockage such as building structure, vegetation, and rainfall as mmWave can only travel a few hundred meters.
As many arguments have highlighted the safety of 5G, science has proven that the technology poses no danger; the World Health Organisation (WHO) even deems the effects of low-level electromagnetic fields on human health as ‘very minimal’.[iii]
What is needed to roll out 5G?
Industry participants, including governments, service providers, vendors, and manufacturers at large, must collaborate to release the full potential of 5G. New infrastructure requirements are mandatory to make up for the mid & high bands spectrum usage in 5G. Hence, we see 5G standalone (SA) and non-standalone alone (NSA) deployment models for 5G networks to operate with or without relying on 4G infrastructure.
Deployment strategies for 5G are fundamentally different from legacy networks in terms of existing infrastructure. First, it needs restructuring to create space for denser deployment of small cells in urban and rural areas, focusing on street levels and the insides of buildings rather than populating rooftops and tall structures.
In 5G, timing technology is as critical as the developments in processors and radio frequency filters. As mobile networks rely heavily on the synchronization between radios, maintaining the stability of radiofrequency timing will dictate the blueprint for 5G network components. The orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) has become the standard format for 5G radios to help modulate digital signals across various channels to reduce interference.[iv]
5G also use an air interface to create new ways of interconnectivity ― device-to-device and multi-hop mesh methods. While it natively supports all spectrum types (licensed, unlicensed, shared) and bands (low, mid, high), network operators must redesign testing and R&D to ensure widespread coverage and adoption in various industry use cases.
5G applications
The potential of 5G certainly excites many opportunists. As a result, businesses and governments are already reimagining existing models and accelerating impactful industrial applications.
Generally, three classes of features can be associated with 5G: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (uRLLC). Each of these features is unique and instrumental to the development within the industry verticals adopting this digital revolution.
eMBB, a straightforward improvement of the 4G mobile network, providing more significant data and bandwidth capabilities alongside latency improvements. This use case category revolves around more data-reliant applications, such as AR/VR media, cloud UltraHD, 8K and 360-degree video streaming, and immersive gaming and event experience. Consumers and enterprises will most likely experience enhanced connectivity across all connected devices in the early phases of 5G rollouts before going beyond more transformational categories.
mMTC is one of them, focusing on enabling IoT applications that leverage the deployment of low data transmitting devices on a massive scale. Supporting a highly dense connection of connected equipment also open doors for plenty of new opportunities — more intelligent homes, cities, traffic lights, grids, meters, and factories.
The last category of use cases is arguably the most anticipated application of 5G. Being dubbed as the underlying feature for massive connectedness, ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC) cater to latency-sensitive devices. Transmitting large amounts of data with minimal delay enables instantaneous wireless networks (1ms or less). This instantaneous level is a game-changer — fuelling futuristic fields of use, including autonomous driving, remote diagnosis & robotic surgery, industrial automation, and drone deliveries.
5G for the future
Malaysia intends to establish 5G as Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) plans on implementing 5G on the tail-end of 2021, working towards a 40% coverage by the end of 2022 and above 80% by 2024.[v] Ernst & Young Consulting (EY) expects 5G to increase Malaysia’s GDP by 5% (RM 122 billion) by 2030 and create over 148,000 jobs.[vi]
Nonetheless, Malaysia will undoubtedly need to overcome several challenges before leveraging the full potential of 5G to build its regional competitiveness. Whether for consumers’ enhanced mobile broadband or industries/enterprises’ uRLLC applications, we at TM One will fully support the operators and users in our pursuit of levelling up digital experiences with 5G in Malaysia.
Sources:
[i] https://www.gsma.com/membership/resources/massive-expansions-and-huge-improvements-in-speed-the-worldwide-growth-of-5g-in-2020/
[ii] https://www.qualcomm.com/5g/what-is-5g
[iii] https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/radiation-electromagnetic-fields
[iv] https://www.5gtechnologyworld.com/the-basics-of-5gs-modulation-ofdm/
[v] https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/cover-story-5g-debate
[vi] https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/digital-nasionals-single-wholesale-5g-network-increase-gdp-5-or-rm122b-2030-—-report
5G services have been introduced in more than one-third of the countries around the world. Operators, vendors, and enterprises have accelerated their investments in 5G technology in the last 24 months. 5G is not just another evolution of network infrastructure and higher speeds. It offers new opportunities to serve enterprises and governments with ultra-low latency and massive machine-type communications capabilities. The launch of 5G in Malaysia marks the beginning of a new era for the telecoms industry.
In particular, smart cities will be a key growth engine for 5G. Global spending on smart city solutions is expected to reach US$2.5 trillion by the year 2026. Smart cities essentially involve using sensors based on IoT, which will generate large amounts of data. 5G will provide higher speeds and more capacity to handle data coming in from multiple devices such as sensors, cameras, cell phones and other sources.
This data will be useful for improving the efficiency of various economic and social activities of the city. For the citizen of smart cities, 5G and IoT will broadly deliver smart digital infrastructure, smart mobility, smart environment, smart healthcare and smart government facilities.
We expect smart city solutions to address some of the big challenges that we face today in Malaysia. Traffic congestion is often rated as the number one challenge by most residents of large cities in the country. 5G can enable intelligent traffic management systems such as Smart Traffic Analitics and Response System (STARS) by TM One at a much larger scale. This further will streamline riders towards less occupied and safer routes while also assisting road and safety authorities in taking proactive and prompt action.
Data from the Ministry of Transport Malaysia show that road accidents have continued to increase in the past decade. While fatality rates have gone down, there is an opportunity to reduce it even further. In emergencies, responders can quickly download real-time, high-quality HD images of the accident scene using a fast 5G network and share it with the healthcare staff or a doctor before they actually reach the hospital. This will enable them to be better prepared and make informed decisions.
In addition, the sensor devices attached to the vehicles can send alerts to first responders in case of its collision or accident. The travelling of data in such situations is time critical, requires low latency, and needs to be fast as promised by 5G. Such alerts can also come from bodysuits worn by emergency personnel.
Another important application of 5G will be in the area of public safety. Although tougher regulation and action by authorities in the country have led to a decline in crime rates, it is still relatively higher when compared to our regional peers. Ensuring a safe and secure environment for citizens would be one of the top priorities for smart cities in Malaysia.
Remotely controlled drones fitted with cameras is possible for surveillance in various areas to protect people from theft and crime. Furthermore, connected drones integrated with AI technologies will be able to identify unusual events, help public safety authorities gain situational awareness of crowded places, and proactively manage security.
Covid-19 has brought to the fore the opportunity to transform healthcare services delivery. Telemedicine has emerged as a very viable option to enable patients around the country to have access to the best possible care, without the need to travel to meet the doctor physically in the big cities. This will drive better efficiency all around for hospitals and patients alike.
We also envisage that IoT devices will assess real-time information about patient’s vitals, triggering alarm signals and also developing a log of the lifestyle habits of the patient. This will enable an era of personalised care. Population health management is emerging as another important theme as preparation for future pandemics will now become a requirement for every nation.
The past 18 months have also exposed the fragility of healthcare systems around the world, both in terms of the availability of medical equipment and hospital beds. The lack of tracking systems for the inventories led to fragmented information, causing ambiguity amongst hospital personnel. The integration of IoT technologies can enable real-time tracking systems for hospital inventories. The sensors will also provide the intelligence to predict any anomalies or defects in medical equipment and aid proactive maintenance. By the end of the decade, we will have transitioned from a hospital centred care system to a patient-centred care system.
As consumers, we are experiencing a rapid transformation of how digital technologies enable a new era of banking, shopping and entertainment. In banking, physical branches give way to virtual branches and personalised experiences. Citizens expect the same level of experience from governments now. It is possible to envisage a future in which every citizen will be able to virtually visit various government agencies for citizen services using a combination of augmented and virtual reality tools. The SUPER-APP for citizen services will integrate capabilities such as video calling, real-time consultation and a one-stop window across all government agencies. The possibilities for innovation are limitless. The technology is now ready and available. Making it work will need us to invest considerably in understanding consumers and taking the human-centred approach towards innovation. It will need extensive collaboration between a multitude of partners to make this future a reality. I look forward to collaborating with many of you in making this vision a reality.
Industry leaders during a recent conference on the latest trends in Malaysia's retail sector as tantamount to a 'digital revolution'. The retail segment is steadily recovering from Covid-19 headwinds by ramping up digitalisation efforts akin to almost all other economic sectors.
Businesses are seeking ways to thrive and search for opportunities to move forward with especial focus on enriching and personalising their delivery of enhanced customer experience and engagement as a key priority.
The essential dots to delivering the prize of excellent customer engagement involve actionable stepping stones such as smart shops, customer analytics, omni-channel shopping experiences, enterprise-wide inventory visibility, and many-to-many fulfilment agility.
This was the consensus among keynote speakers at the Embrace to Survive the Digital Storm, a virtual event held to address current challenges and share digital insights with retailers, suppliers and partners. The leadership event was organised by TM One, the enterprise and public sector business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), with Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. as the technology partner, and supported by Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) and AFAB WORLD Sdn Bhd.
The pandemic effect has certainly accelerated the digitalisation of traditional business and consumer behaviour. For the retail industry, delivering a digital-enabled retail strategy and digital transformation is key to supercharge the retail operations.
According to the latest report from Facebook and Bain & Company, 70 million more people shopped online in six Southeast Asian countries since the pandemic emerged, and foresees the total online numbers in the region will reach 380 million by 2026.
This switch to online was noted by the Hong King Trade Development Council's market research report which said that while offline retail constituted 91% of ASEAN's total retail market, more than three out of five people in the region are now online. The strongest uptake being Indonesia, followed by the Philippines and Malaysia.
As with most sectors, the pandemic has pushed the retail industry into the digital revolution. This can be seen from a study conducted by VISA on Consumer Payment Attitudes 2021, which states that online purchases have increased by 72%, compared to a decrease of 44% who shopped at physical stores.
In the first keynote session, Stan Jit Singh, the secretary general of MRCA said that "the technology revolution has evolved at an unprecedented speed and depth, causing huge disruptions and are heavily impacting retail today."
He emphasised that it is imperative for retail businesses to take advantage of the available technologies to avoid being left behind. "The ‘Digital Age’ is here today and technology and connectivity can be used to keep people, processes, positions and performance tightly connected and drive breakthroughs in the digital transformation."
"Capturing business and customer data points, gathered through multi-channel and omni-channel offerings, will help in understanding customer habits, and give the ability to segment customers based on alignment with their needs.”
“The future of retail will not necessarily rely on developing an extensive variety of products, but will involve winning over consumers with thoughtful curation of products, experiences and innovations through building customer-driven new business formats,” added Stan Jit Singh.
This demands a comprehensive digital platform to help organisations make a quantum leap to harness the relevant technologies needed to pivot into the future, he said.
As the retail industry comprises multiple segments, often including 'sub-industries' that are independently managed, there is a need to comprehensively connect all the data points to enable end-to-end visibility of the entire business ecosystem.
Stan spoke about the revolution in retail as encompassing revolutions of technology, culture, information, social media and knowledge management. "This new era is about the retail landscape moving to the next level to conduct business, commerce, services, and provide options to utilise multi-channel and omni-channel capabilities: these will help to deepen customer engagement with their desired brands."
"The ‘Digital Age’ is for everyone and today is the right time to start thinking and making those digital changes to transform your organisation to take advantage of all the technologies that are available in the marketplace for retail," he declared.
"However, understanding where you are and where you want to be is key," Stan cautioned. "This needs to be carefully weighed and sieved to ensure the business starts on the right footing. We need to use technology to keep people, processes, positions and performance tightly connected in order to break positively into the digital landscape."
Maintaining a visionary element was a key point in the leadership session presented by Datin Patricia Pee, the founder and chief strategist of AFAB WORLD.
"Retail digitalisation should go beyond eCommerce today," said Datin Patricia. "Digital Revolution is a phrase which has been used for more than two decades, now the force that really accelerated digitalisation and digital adoption so suddenly during the past two years is Covid-19." – Datin Patricia Pee
She said the pandemic has boosted digitalisation globally with consumers adopting digital technologies more rapidly than most companies. "Changing consumer behaviour has become more sophisticated as seen in online engagements. Many companies, on the other hand, are digitalising faster because of FOMO (fear of missing out) pressure."
Datin Patricia opined that retailers need to go beyond the notion of eCommerce in order to formulate strategies to deepen the engagement with their customers while building strong ecosystem partnerships to remain relevant in the digital economy.
“Fostering strategic alliances is vital as technology is developing fast and retail digitalisation is going through an extreme re-invention, as consumers become more sophisticated in their online behaviours. Artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse are the technologies that will reshape the future especially the retail business.”
“Due to the complexity of technologies, the most important thing is seeking the right talent in technology deployment. It is best for retail businesses to have strategic technology partners to prevent from being lost in digitalisation - resulting in waste of money and time,” Datin Patricia added.
Underpinning the importance of key technology partnerships, Eng Chiew Hian, Business Development director of Huawei Cloud said that the company, as a global technology leader with local cloud presence in Malaysia, is proud to collaborate with TM One on α Edge (pronounced as Alpha Edge), the TM One hyperscale cloud service. As a collaborative initiative, this has resulted in the provisioning of additional expert technical assistance and guidance in helping SMEs to transform and stay relevant both during and in the post pandemic era.
“Huawei remains committed to work with customers and partners in providing intelligent solutions to help brick and mortar businesses survive during this challenging time," he said. "Our cloud technology helps to accelerate industrial digital transformation, where retail business owners can move part of their operations onto the cloud to maintain lower overhead cost." – Eng Chiew Hian
“Furthermore, working closely with partners like TM One and AFAB has provided an integrated platform for local businesses to go online with the aspiration to go global and uplift their sales, all these is made possible with cloud technology,” he added.
In the final keynote, the head of Innovative Solutions of TM One, Maznan Deraman presented insights to help retail business leaders pivot to a new mindset aligned to embracing the digital retail landscape evidenced by rapidly shifting consumer buying patterns.
He also highlighted the rationale in utilising cloud-based solutions to stay relevant and resilient in today’s rapidly changing environment. Consumer buying patterns have dramatically shifted from physical transactions towards eCommerce-centric behaviours, which deliver a huge impact to existing brick and mortar retailers.
“Cloud technology is able to manage the end-to-end retail ecosystem by syncing inventory with customer’s demands and interest while improving customer experience, driven by the data obtained via online and offline. A cloud-based platform provides greater insights on daily retail operations, for better visibility and decision making.”
“Cloud technology is able to manage the end-to-end retail ecosystem by syncing inventory with customer’s demands and interest while improving customer experience, driven by the data obtained via online and offline. A cloud-based platform provides greater insights on daily retail operations, for better visibility and decision making.” – Maznan Deraman
His presentation included case studies demonstrating TM One’s understanding of the scenarios and challenges retailers are facing today. Addressing these challenges with digital enabling strategies and solutions with smart retail applications provides a practical move forward, he said.
“As Malaysia’s only leading cloud service provider, the immediate value of TM One’s solutions to unlock consumer and in-store behavioural analytics, smart inventory management and single integrated platform is evident. All of these are hosted on TM One Cloud α (pronounced as Cloud Alpha) and can be connected seamlessly with third-party retail applications, to help build more meaningful customer loyalty,” concluded Maznan.
"Providing a digital option to customers and stakeholders is absolutely essential as today's B2B and B2C business models are increasingly calling for end-to-end solutions, which connects manufacturers, logistics, supply chains and other key components in order to fulfil and excel customer demands," he said in his concluding remarks.
Compelled by lockdowns and social distancing measures, retail businesses in Malaysia have uncovered a digital passion to seek out the most effective ways to survive and even to thrive beyond the current fragile conditions. Formerly factored by the industry as a 'good-to-have' option, the pandemic has now pushed the adoption of a digital ecosystem strategy to the top of the agenda moving forward.
This article was first published by Disruptive Asia.
(https://disruptive.asia/taking-stock-of-malaysias-digital-retail-revolution/)
