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SINGAPORE: Companies in the food and beverage (F&B) sector are getting tips from their peers and tripartite partners on how to manage manpower and business costs to tide over the economic crisis.
The Manpower Ministry, Workforce Development Agency, SPRING Singapore and unions are organising a series of forums to help companies in the tourism industry sustain their competitiveness.
The first forum, held on Monday, was for the F&B sector.
The food and beverage sector has seen business drop by between 10 and 40 per cent over the last six months.
The F&B industry is banking on economies of scale to keep costs down. Taking the lead is the 400-member Restaurant Association of Singapore.
Ang Kiam Meng, president, Restaurant Association of Singapore, said: "We'll work out with some supplier to have a bulk purchase and have some very good deals in supplies that we can flow down the benefits of cost cutting to consumers so as to stimulate spending."
This idea was brought up by industry stakeholders at the forum.
But there are some who are concerned with quality if ingredients are tweaked.
Eric Teo, president, Singapore Chefs Association, said: "You have to cut cost but not on quality. Quality should still remain because consumers are still paying the price they are paying."
Restaurant owners are hoping more can be done to help them. For example, by making bank loans more accessible.
Bernie Utchenik, managing director, Botak Jones, said: "F&B is like at the bottom of the food chain. Even with operations like ours, we can only get so far before they turn us away or we reach negativity even before we sit down with a business plan."
There are some 2000 job vacancies in the F&B sector and this number is set to go up as more restaurants open their doors in the Orchard Road shopping belt.
Industry experts believe more Singaporeans will be taking over from foreigners when it comes to jobs in the F&B services sector. There's also anecdotal evidence that more Singaporeans are taking up training courses in F&B.
Douglas Foo, chairman, F&B Industry Skills & Training Council, said: "The downturn gives the companies the opportunity to take a step back and re-look the whole scope of development."
Two more forums for the attractions and tour sectors, and the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (MICE) sector will be held later this month and in mid-February. - CNA/vm
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