Mr.Kobchai Sungsitthisawad, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of industry, said today all countries worldwide are facing various challenges such as global economic fluctuations, trade competition, population aging, skilled labor shortage, and rapid changes of technology. Therefore, each country has to get prepared for ever-changing landscapes. Moreover, some countries have long been caught in the middle-income trap due to some limitations that obstruct economic development such as insufficient productivity and innovation. It is thus very important to enhance the country's capabilities and potentials.
To boost its competitiveness, Thailand has to increase productivity by using existing resources more effectively with continuous improvement. According to APO Productivity Database, during the last 50 years (1970-2015), Thailand's economy was mainly driven by consumption of resources and capitals without emphasis on productivity improvement. As a result, Thailand's total factor productivity (TFP) is very low, when compared with its GDP growth. To solve these problems and challenges, the country has to transform its productivity, especially in manufacturing industry, which is a major driver for Thailand's economy. Measures to be used include upgrading labor skills and capabilities, leveraging technology and innovations, improving management, and preparing
appropriate environments for Thailand's core industries as well as emerging industries such as those driven by innovation, S-Curve/New S-Curve industries and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).
The Ministry of Industry (MOI) will continuously support productivity transformation efforts in order to strengthen Thailand's industry for sustainable growth and economic value creation. The ministry targets to increase productivity in industry sector by at least 2.2% annually by 2022. By using advanced technology and innovations, businesses will be able to improve its productivity and move towards Industry 4.0 with smart manufacturing. Thailand Productivity Institute is playing an important role in driving Thailand's industrial productivity in accordance with the MOI's policy.
"As a major engine for the Ministry of Industry in its efforts to boost Thailand's productivity, competitiveness and sustainable growth, Thailand Productivity Institute is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. I hope that the institute will successfully enhance our industrial productivity, enabling the industry sector to grow sustainably and add more value to our economy. This will help boost Thailand's competitive edge in the long run so that it will finally upgrade from a middle-income country to a high-income country," Suriya said.
Dr.Phanit Laosirirat, Executive Director, Thailand Productivity Institute, said Thailand Productivity Institute has expanded its operation to cover other sectors apart from the industry sector. As such, the agency is now boosting productivity in other sectors as well, including service, government and processed agricultural industry sectors, with an aim to increase productivity in all sectors. Thailand Productivity Institute is responsible for guiding businesses and upgrading their productivity so that the country will achieve higher competitiveness and strong growth. According to the 20-Year National Strategy, Thailand is set to become a developed country by 2037. In economic dimension, a "developed country" has high income. However, Thailand still faces many limitations in terms of insufficient resources and challenges from emerging countries. Therefore, it is necessary to increase Thailand's productivity in addition to improvement in other areas so that the nation can attain that goal.
Today businesses are facing ground-breaking changes caused by digital disruption; therefore, they have to deploy technology in order to significantly increase productivity, while using other tools such as Lean, Kaizen, OEE analysis and Six Sigma. For 25 years, Thailand Productivity Institute has been playing an active role in guiding and helping organizations to enhance their productivity and
competitiveness and business growth, and thus contribute to the nation's development. For this special occasion, Thailand Productivity Institute hosted "International Forum on Transforming Productivity for Tomorrow Success" to discuss on four dimensions of productivity transformation. This approach will enable organizations in public and private sectors to catch up with changing environments and achieve a strong growth, These four dimensions include Industry Upgrading, Creativity & Innovation, Data Analytics and Digital Technology, and High Skilled Workforce. Furthermore, industry experts and business leaders from leading organizations shared knowledge and perspectives on how to transform productivity and upgrade to next-generation industry.
