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The following is the speech by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr K C Kwong, at the grand opening of the Supply Chain Management Resource Centre of the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association today (Tuesday):
Mr Harvey, Mr Mclvor, Ms Lin, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to be invited to officiate at the opening ceremony of the Supply Chain Management Resource Centre of the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association.
The Chief Executive pledged in his Policy Address this year that we should use IT to help retain our competitive edge and in driving our overall economic expansion. To implement the IT vision of the Chief Executive, the Government has formulated the "Digital 21" IT Strategy. The primary objective of the strategy is to enhance and promote Hong Kong's information infrastructure and services so as to make Hong Kong a digital city in the globally connected world of the 21st century. One key initiative which we have identified in implementing this "Digital 21" Strategy is the promotion of electronic commerce in Hong Kong.
Electronic commerce is growing rapidly on a global basis. Industry estimates suggest that the value of such transactions could top US$220 billion by 2001. We must do what we can to promote its adoption in Hong Kong so as to help our entrepreneurs to improve their efficiency and productivity, to develop new markets and to create new ways of doing business.
We have thus decided to launch the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme - a scheme whereby we will be able to provide Government services on line over the Internet on a seamless basis, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We expect the first phase of the Scheme to be up and running in the latter half of 2000. To ensure the security, authenticity and integrity of electronic messages in such transactions, we will set up a public key infrastructure and certification authorities locally. We will also introduce legislation to give electronic transactions and digital signatures the same legal status as their paper-based counterparts. Also, in the design of the platform for the ESD Scheme, we will adopt a common and open bilingual interface which could be expanded to accommodate electronic transactions by the private sector. We hope that, by all these measures, we will have created an environment conducive to the development of electronic commerce in Hong Kong.
However, Government efforts alone are not sufficient for electronic commerce to flourish. Concerted efforts from the business community are equally important. I therefore welcome the work of the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association in promoting electronic commerce within the business sector. Its initiative to promote the supply chain management concept in Hong Kong is particularly worthwhile and commendable.
Supply chain management provides the best way to enable businesses to reap the full benefits of electronic commerce. In its simplest form, it is about managing activities through the entire product and services flow from the source of supply to final consumption. Through the use of standardised identification numbers, bar-coding, automatic data capture, electronic data interchange and transmission of data over the Internet, we would be able to streamline the whole supply chain from beginning to end and provide efficient feed back of progress through each and every step. Not only would we be able to ensure the smooth and efficient flow of products and service delivery to our customers wherever they are in the supply chain, we would also be able to customise production and minimise stock in an optimal manner on the basis of the feed back about progress at every step. Supply chain management is therefore a powerful tool to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of businesses at all levels in a globally connected world.
The opening of the Supply Chain Management Resource Centre by the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association today is thus most timely. The Centre will provide a useful and clear demonstration to the business community of how supply chain management would help to improve their business processes. Through its training and educational programmes, it will help to ensure that our businesses can properly apply the concept to enhance their productivity and cost-effectiveness. It will also provide a useful forum for the exchange of views and experiences of businesses throughout the supply chain.
I am therefore delighted to see this valuable addition to our overall information infrastructure for the promotion of electronic commerce, and I wish it every success.
Thank you.
End/Tuesday, November 24, 1998
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