What is it like to be in the fast-paced logistics industry? Three SLA scholars share their experiences in the respective organisations in which they work.

By Tan Yan Shuo

For diploma-holders Edric Chen, Paul Wong, and Yee Cheng Foong, becoming a logistics professional has been amongst the best decisions of their lives, as it provides them with a challenging career in one of the fastest-growing and most exciting sectors in Singapore. Little did they expect, however, to one day become the first batch of Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) scholars.

SLA is an industry association that provides many services for logistics companies, one of which is grooming industry talents by facilitating their professional development. Starting this year, it will award up to six scholarships annually, funded by SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore’s Local Enterprise and Association Development (LEAD) initiative, and with recognised companies as co-sponsors.

Edric, Paul, and Cheng Foong were all high-fliers in their respective companies, but none were satisfied with what they had – all dreamt of greater things to come. Upon receiving news about the SLA scholarship’s inception, they jumped at the opportunity, and were nominated by their companies to undergo a battery of interviews and tests. Eventually, the three young men did themselves and their companies proud by becoming the inaugural recipients of the scholarship.

Course trainer and entrepreneur Marcus Lau shares how SLA can help fresh graduates forge a great career path in the logistics industry through professionalism and excellence.

By Nabilah Husna A. Rahman

Marcus Lau is sagacious when it comes to dispensing advice. The 42 years old course trainer at the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) has a prudent outlook of the logistics industry after having served in it for many years.

“I graduated in 1991 and during that time, there wasn’t really a logistics industry,” says the former Biochemistry student in the National University of Singapore. He fell into the industry “by chance”, when he was introduced by a friend to a freight-forwarding company.

Upon joining the company, Marcus developed a thirst for logistics that couldn’t be quenched by a mere part-time position. “Four months after the part-time arrangement, I decided to take it on a full-time basis,” he says. “There’s something attractive about the industry that made me stay on and give up the Biochemistry major I had.”

The rapid pace of communications technology has made the world a tiny place. That makes it easy for companies to extend their supply chains throughout the world, in the effort to reduce costs. It’s a complex task which they would much rather outsource to third-party logistics operators.

By John Yip

Logistics are a vital part of any manufacturing operation, and an integral part of Singapore’s economy. Despite its importance however, the companies in this industry, and the things they do, are not widely known.

By John Yip