In a first for the construction sector in Singapore, DBS and fintech company Doxa have introduced the country’s pioneer automated supplier procure-to-pay solution.
Named Doxa Connex, the solution aims to help contractors improve cashflow management with their suppliers by eliminating often manual administrative processes that plague the construction industry.
Now, contractors no longer have to manually track the entire process from its invitation to quote, all the way to procurement orders to delivery orders, and last-mile payments, as it will be automatically conducted by Doxa Connex.
Main contractor Tiong Seng Group has signed up as the pioneer adopter.
Chew Chong Lim, managing director and global head of real estate, institutional banking at DBS said that the solution was conceptualised ground-up through several industry workshops organised with Tiong Seng Group and their supplier network at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in February this year.
“The purpose of the workshops was to understand and solve the construction industry’s pain points with a view to increase cashflow efficiency which is the lifeblood of the industry. Doxa Connex was also developed with a view to improve productivity and remove inefficiencies in the sector’s procurement and payment processes,” says Chew.
“These processes may look simple on paper but in reality are often cumbersome and fraught with missing documentation and patchy administration due to paper-based invoices and delivery orders having to change hands multiple times along the way,” Chew adds.
Once the solution was conceptualised, DBS and Tiong Seng Group then worked with Doxa through numerous ideation and solutioning workshops, which were run using DBS’ in-house 4D (Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver) methodology to build Singapore’s first automated supplier procure-to-pay solution.
“At Tiong Seng, innovation has always been at the heart of our organisation and DNA. As a result, integrating digitalisation within our business processes has been a natural progression for us over the years, and we are strong believers that these digital solutions are the best way forward for the industry as well,” says John Keung, chairman of Tiong Seng Contractors.
As at 10.19am, shares in DBS are trading 26 cents higher, or 1.2% up, at $21.27, while shares in Tiong Seng are trading 0.1 cents higher, or 0.6% up, at 16.1 cents.
