Singapore public agency VITAL offered corporate shared services including human resources (HR), payroll, and finance to agencies across the Singapore Public Service. Due to the nature of their jobs, VITAL officers handled a large volume of mundane administrative work. As automation was being increasingly adopted in the workplace, VITAL Chief Executive Dennis Lui decided that his staff should undergo training in areas such as data analytics, design thinking, and low-code/no-code tools to remain relevant. This would also enable them to move up the value chain and command better salaries. However, as in any change management exercise, VITAL's management faced several challenges as they put in place various new initiatives. Meanwhile, VITAL had also been tasked to be the robotics and automation lead for fellow public agencies in the area of corporate and administrative services, while still having to compete with private sector rivals for business as it did not enjoy a monopoly. As the world struggled to find its bearings amid wave upon wave of new developments in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Lui wondered how he could lead the agency to reach greater heights.

It has been a bumpy few years since 2020 for JUMBO Group CEO and Executive Director Ang Kiam Meng. JUMBO Group, like many other firms in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022. Prior to the pandemic, it had established itself as an iconic seafood restaurant chain in Singapore, attracting a large customer base of regular patrons including tourists from around the world, particularly from China. However, due to strict border controls and other regulations implemented during the pandemic, the Group experienced substantial losses. The case captures the challenges faced by JUMBO during the pandemic, while offering readers an opportunity to reflect on its reasoning to reposition its brand in the local Singapore market while also exploring expansion opportunities in overseas markets. Additionally, the case provides a detailed account of JUMBO's digital transformation journey prior to and during the pandemic. The case concludes by examining the strategic priorities and potential roadmaps for JUMBO's future growth. It sets the stage for a discussion on the broader impact of digital transformation within the F&B industry, both in Singapore and beyond.

Singapore-based Metta Welfare Association (Metta) had been keenly aware of the need to digitalise, and had taken steps to do so under the leadership of Felicia Wee, the Deputy Executive Director. With the coaching of its partners - NFT Ventures and Mega X World - Metta decided to embark on the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a new avenue for fundraising. The charity's management committee was originally concerned that it could end up getting embroiled in money laundering. However, after a successful pilot in which transactions were conducted via credit cards in Singapore dollars instead of cryptocurrencies as was usually the case for NFT trading, its unease was allayed. Nevertheless, the question remained: should Metta continue to rely on NFT sales for its fundraising?

The case describes the relaunch of the popular bubble tea franchise Gong Cha in Singapore in December 2017. This was seven months after its 80 outlets were converted, within a week, into a new chain named LiHO TEA by the former Gong Cha franchisee. Kang Puay Seng, the new franchisee, had the advantage of a large loyal customer base waiting for Gong Cha's return, but also faced the challenge of balancing the expectations of the existing base of Gong Cha loyalists with the changes occurring in the fast-changing bubble tea market. In addition, he had to find new locations in an increasingly competitive market in which mall owners were now allowing multiple bubble tea brands to operate in the same mall. The COVID-19 crisis in 2020-21 was another shock that the franchise had to adapt to, especially during a two-month lockdown period. In 2022, five years after the relaunch, the bubble tea market seemed to continue attracting new entrants, with over 60 brands operating in Singapore. The case describes innovations in menu additions, retail format, and service model that have kept the Gong Cha brand popular in a competitive market. The challenge ahead is to continue to innovate as the bubble tea market would likely consolidate in the years to come.

Ravi Arora, Vice President (Group Innovation), Tata Sons Private Limited, and his Group Innovation team initially faced difficulty when introducing the concept of open innovation to the Tata Group. They tried to ease the staff into embracing it by getting them to share problem statements, learn from other companies which had already adopted it, and form InnoClusters among Tata companies which collaborated in diverse areas. The team subsequently organised monthly thematic eHackathons in which staff could propose ideas to solve business challenges on specific themes posted by senior management. In the course of organising the eHackathons, Ravi's team encountered several issues such as administrative difficulties and mismatched expectations. The central question in this case study is whether eHackathons and internal crowdsourcing in general are employee engagement devices or serious initiatives by organisations to obtain solutions to innovation problems. The question centres around the number of ideas that become full-fledged solutions, since only very few, less that 10 percent, are actually implemented. This begs the question of whether employee sourcing of ideas can ever be an effective source of innovative solutions. Hence the case is titled 'ideas and not solutions' to reflect this vast chasm between idea generation and solution implementation, while still celebrating the winners from each eHackathon.

New Twitter CEO Elon Musk had been aggressively cutting costs since he acquired the company in October 2022, claiming that the company could collapse if he had not done so. Much of this had been accomplished by retrenching huge numbers of staff. Meanwhile, Musk's controversial moves to restore banned accounts had eliminated a host of key advertisers, causing its main source of revenue - advertising earnings - to plummet as they suspended their advertising activities on the platform. To pivot away from the firm's over-reliance on advertising revenue, Twitter had begun backing all things related to cryptocurrencies. First, it allowed cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to run advertisements. It subsequently facilitated discussions about cryptocurrencies on its platform and allowed users to tip content creators with Ether. The company further allowed users of its Twitter Blue service to connect their Twitter accounts to their cryptocurrency wallets where their non-fungible token (NFT) holdings were held. Twitter then went on to facilitate the buying and selling of NFTs through tweets. Musk knew that the only way out for Twitter was to open up new steady revenue streams. Were cryptocurrencies and NFTs the answer? Only time would tell.

Singapore-based tech social enterprise Savour! seeks to make procurement smoother and more productive by linking up suppliers like merchants with less commercially-oriented procurers such as non-profit organisations and school clubs via its B2B e-commerce platform and app. It originally focused on food products that were blemished or had a limited shelf life, but has since expanded its range of products and services to include corporate gifts, office supplies, and event rental services. Both merchants and procurers deal with each other via the digital platform or app, which offers discounts of varying percentage depending on how soon the products would expire. Savour! was set up by Katrina Lee and a group of like-minded youths when they were all still undergraduates. They had met when participating in a green business pitch competition aimed at achieving environmental sustainability. Lee had been spurred to found the company as a result of her temporary job stints during which she had witnessed large amounts of food being wasted. Lee has plans to take the company beyond Singapore but has not yet decided to which country in the region it wishes to next expand. In the meantime, Savour! is seeking more funding to raise its merchant and customer acquisition rate, and intensify its product development.

When Jack Sim turned 40, it was the height of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which had decimated half his wealth. The Singaporean entrepreneur found himself wanting to live a more meaningful life, and decided to devote his remaining years to promoting the need for clean sanitation. He first set up the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS), and buoyed by its success, he went on to found the World Toilet Organization (WTO). Given that the topic of sanitation is awkward and not one to generate interest among the public at large, Sim opted to use humour, specifically toilet humour, to attract attention and gather support for his cause. In the process, he often drew upon his expertise as a consummate salesman to persuade people to agree with him that clean toilets could be a status symbol - not unlike branded handbags. Sim also found that in trying to enlist governments to aid his movement, he had to understand how bureaucrats work and tailor his strategies accordingly, such that the probability of getting their support would be raised. But while he had perfected the art of using humour to make the unsanitary topic as commonplace and ordinary as the weather, with the world still buffeted by COVID-19, the Ukraine war, and sky-rocketing inflation, how could he continue to sustain people's interest in this cause?

Since early 2021, Mediacorp had started discussions and planning for its Mediacorp 2030 vision. Several new initiatives were proposed to deepen its digital evolution as it entered the digital era. While it had faced serious challenges from digital players about a decade earlier, Mediacorp has seen a steady increase in its digital revenue for the past several years. What have been the success factors for Mediacorp that enabled it to pull off this digital evolution? And what will be the new challenges it faces as it writes its next chapter? The case captures the decisions behind Mediacorp's journey from a traditional media company to a transmedia company that integrates both traditional and digital business models. It first briefly reviews the history of Mediacorp as Singapore's dominant broadcaster, as well as the challenges brought about by digital platforms like YouTube and Facebook about a decade ago. Next, the case charts Mediacorp's evolution when it tried to adjust to the new digital environment. The final part of the case delves into how Mediacorp would scale up its 3P (Platform, IPs, and Personalities) and transmedia models to reinforce its competitive advantage and carry on the evolution momentum. The case provides material for readers to reflect on Mediacorp's core, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. It then stimulates a discussion of the new challenges lying ahead, and how Mediacorp can get itself prepared to go from strength to strength.

Amara Hotels & Resorts is a family-managed public-listed company running three business hotels, one each in Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok, in addition to a resort on the island of Sentosa off the southern coast of Singapore. The company is led by Albert Teo, the son of the hotel chain founder. The case describes the sustainability initiatives implemented by the Singapore hotels, and the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Singapore and Bangkok. As the COVID pandemic has deeply affected the fortunes of the hotel, Teo is considering various ways in which the hotel can respond in a substantive way to the growing requirements by investors, analysts and governments for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria to be fulfilled by corporations. Since it is a family-owned business, he is particularly conscious of the long-term legacy of the hotel brand name. In considering future initiatives for the hotel to advance its sustainability and CSR agenda, he would like to achieve a win-win situation in which there are tangible benefits for the world, as well as a long-term positive impact on the bottom line. The case illustrates this central challenge in running a modern corporation, especially a service business with an international clientele.

The case describes the Financial Statement Analysis interactive learning object. It is aimed at students taking the COR1307 Accounting for Entrepreneurs course in particular, as well as other basic financial accounting courses (ACCT101 and ACCT111 - Financial Accounting) and basic finance courses. The course is designed to provide a broad base coverage of issues related to accounting, such as basic accounting concepts and their applications to businesses, capital-raising, short-term and long-term financial planning, managerial accounting principles and concepts, management planning and control, as well as taxation that are relevant to future business owners and entrepreneurs. Business owners and entrepreneurs need the general foundation to help plan and control business operations and finance as well as discussing and negotiating with other stakeholders of the business.

Fintech company TranSwap Pte Ltd was set up in Singapore by CEO Benjamin Wong and COO Lim Kien Leong to address customers' bugbears when carrying out overseas money transfers. It began operating in 2017 and has since evolved to include products such as global payment and collections and multi-currency global virtual accounts in its expanded set of offerings. TranSwap has six offices across Asia and Europe. Its clientele is evenly split between two key segments - the B2B (Business-to-Business) segment, and the B2C (Business-to-Consumer) segment. It has over 80 FX (foreign exchange) liquidity and settlement partners globally. The firm's profit formula is largely based on charging transaction fees for sums transferred, and additional fees for voluminous transactions. Transactions involving exotic currencies also attract higher charges. TranSwap used a mixture of venture capital investments and grants to fund its business in the initial stages. It hopes to file for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) eventually. The case also explores other topics including the co-founders' entrepreneurial journey, the designing and validation of business models, and how TranSwap built its ecosystem.

In November 2020, infrastructure investment and development company InfraCo Asia Pte Ltd, investment management firm Gemcorp Capital, and Finnish development financier Finnfund's OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I jointly financed the Indonesia Rural Wireless Broadband (IRWB) project through a senior debt facility of US$75 million. The IRWB project is expected to expand the fixed wireless broadband network of borrower Net1 Indonesia by installing 1,500 base transceiver stations (BTS) across the country, up almost five times from the existing figure of 357 BTS before the expansion commenced. The project would cover several provinces, including nine that are considered the least developed in Indonesia. It is estimated that 300,000 households, particularly those that fell between the fourth and last (i.e., poorest) quintile of the population, would benefit from the project. In deciding whether to proceed with financing the project, InfraCo Asia, which is funded by the foreign ministries of the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Australia, had to take into consideration several factors: risk management, commercial viability, technology, due diligence, business model, and development impact (DI). The case examines how InfraCo Asia ensured that the decision to finance the IRWB project is a well-considered one, such that the project has a fair chance of being commercially viable while also achieving considerable DI.

After US materials science company Dow decided to renew its focus on inclusion and diversity (I&D), it opted to use its Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to enable its staff to embrace this cause and effect a cultural change across its locations worldwide. As this case focuses on Dow's efforts in Asia Pacific, it delves specifically into how Dow's ERGs in Greater China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand have helped raised staff awareness about I&D issues in these locations. In particular, Dow staff were educated on areas such as disability, gender equality, mental health, inter-generational workforce, and the marginalised in society through the various activities organised by the ERGs.

Courier company XDel Singapore is not only involved in express courier and delivery services, but also e-commerce and last-mile fulfilment, international and cross-border deliveries, as well as mailroom and logistics activities. It has grown from a two-man operation in 1993 to a firm of close to 100 staff as at 2021, with its revenue rising from US$26,150 in its first year of operations to US$5.4 million in 2020. To enable the company to gain a competitive edge in the local logistics industry, XDel Singapore has invested heavily in information technology (IT) infrastructure. It has developed key technological innovations to improve its efficiency and productivity, which include the HOMES Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, its proprietary mobile app LUKE, and a website with enhanced capabilities. In addition, it has also switched to using the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system and adopted the use of the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Springboard engine as part of its Vehicle Route Planning (VRP) system, while tapping on WhatsApp and Telegram messaging apps to communicate with staff and customers. Additionally, XDel Singapore has started to use data analytics to make better decisions on deploying staff and conduct route planning.

The case describes the SMU Challenge game, a digital simulation game that students can play anytime and anywhere, to revise their knowledge of concepts they had learnt earlier. Under the Financial Accounting topic of the app, the concepts that are covered include transaction analysis, double entry accounting system, accounting for cash, and financial statement analysis. Among the concepts tested in the Management Accounting topic are basic cost concepts, product costing classifications, cost accumulation, and cost-volume-profit relationships. As for the Audit and Assurance topic, concepts that students are tested on include audit planning, risk assessment, audit testing, reporting, and quality control. These concepts are covered in the following courses offered by Singapore Management University (SMU): ACCT 111/101 Financial Accounting, ACCT 112/102 Management Accounting, and ACCT 331 Audit and Assurance.

PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency, is one of the heaviest users of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the public sector. As of 2020, it had awarded seven PPP contracts for a total of five desalination and three NEWater plants. Among the key features of PUB's PPP projects were the adoption of the Design, Build, Own and Operate (DBOO) project structure; a 25-year concession period; and small-sized project teams. The main benefits which arose from these PPP projects were value for money, the introduction of new technologies and knowledge transfers, the expansion of Singapore's private water industry, and the blossoming of Singapore into a hydro hub. However, despite letting the private sector have a hand in running the water plants, PUB was of the view that its own officers had to obtain these companies' expertise, so that it could evaluate whether they were technically competent, and, in the event of a default, step in to manage the plants. To further mitigate against risks to Singapore's water supply, PUB also carried out regular operations audits, and engaged the plants' senior management regularly.

In October 2015, Ho Ren Hua took over as CEO of Thailand-based Thai Wah Public Company (TWPC), a family-owned business supplying starch and starch-related food products. Since then, he had introduced several changes to professionalise the company, which included introducing more independent directors who were highly-qualified with experience in multinational corporations (MNCs), bringing in an end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, formalising a career and personnel development system, and transforming the firm into a data-driven one. In addition, Ren Hua made innovation a hallmark of the company, and developed measures to enable TWPC to become a more sustainable business. He also initiated a formal mechanism to renew the leadership of the company, making sure that his family's role in TWPC did not prevent the company from being professionally run. The case looks into how TWPC transformed to become a professional family business with innovation and a data-driven culture at its core, even as Ren Hua worked to ensure that his family's role in managing the company did not in any way overshadow the work and contributions of the other staff and board directors.

Second-generation hawker Melvin Chew decided to set up the Hawkers United - Dabao 2020 Facebook group after the Singapore government announced that dining in at hawker centres, and all other food and beverage (F&B) establishments would be banned, following the imposition of the circuit breaker (partial lockdown) on April 7, 2020, in view of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore. The group would allow hawkers to post their offerings, promotions, and takeaway or delivery options. Customers could also join it to pre-order food from these hawkers. The key reasons for Chew's decision to start the Facebook group included his desire to help his fellow hawkers, the need to devise alternatives to food delivery platforms that charged prohibitive commissions, and the necessity to save the hawker trade. There were however several barriers preventing hawkers from going digital, such as practical difficulties encountered when trying to adopt digital tools, as well as digital and verbal illiteracy among the more elderly hawkers. Nonetheless, various players in the ecosystem like the government, delivery platforms and software developers have stepped in to help coax hawkers to embrace digitalisation through various initiatives.

Public-listed Matex International Ltd, a Singapore-based specialty chemicals and dye manufacturer, was committed to spending up to 10% of its revenue on research and development (R&D), particularly in the area of developing cutting-edge dyes and dyeing processes that were more environmentally-friendly. This was in spite of the increasingly competitive macroeconomic environment and the long-term need to improve shareholder value. Matex Executive Director Dro Tan elaborated on how open innovation was a key part of the firm's corporate DNA. Moreover, innovation was not only a central component of Matex's unique selling proposition, but also its competitive strategy. Dro further shared that the company's R&D agenda was influenced by its clients' needs. It was also highlighted that the timing to launch a new product was very much determined by market conditions, and governments and the legislation they passed were a key driver. For instance, Matex's latest product Megapro ECO®, a revolutionary dye that did not require the use of any salt, would not have gained impetus for its launch, had it not been for the stricter environmental laws that were enacted by China, the world's largest textile export market, in 2015. The case examines how innovation is actually a process, and explores the way Matex weaved sustainability into its overall strategy using innovation as a vehicle.