By Thomas Chang, International Affairs Department of TEEMA
“Soon after I took office as the chairman, I led the board member delegation to visit Southeast Asia. To my surprise, it was the only delegation I led during my term, because of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, many of the scheduled activities have been cancelled and suspended, and I had to think over the alternative work plans for the association,” stated TEEMA chairman Richard Lee.
How to cope with the current situation and continue to bring the functions of TEEMA into full play under the pandemic? How can TEEMA help its members deal with the predicament in midst of the pandemic. Since there was no precedent experience in such situation, chairman Lee led the employees to explore and find the solutions to the answers.
“If the worst comes to the worst, let us be prepared.” This is the core value of the chairman when coping with changes.
Following this value, TEEMA has unfolded many different tasks to expand its scale of services to many new fields.
The top priority is to assist members to cope with sudden impact from the pandemic. The TEEMA formed a “pandemic prevention team” by collecting pandemic prevention related information, such as, government regulations, new updates of pandemic, bailout policies, and contact person for assisting the industries. TEEMA also created an exclusive area on the official website to provide the information to member suppliers and timely report the impact on the industries, caused by the pandemic, to the related government sectors. At the same time, it conducts a continuous and rolling survey on the revitalization of bailout demand, and grasps the condition of industrial suspension and resumption of work, and collects suggestions from member manufacturers to provide the government with policy reference.
Promoting digital transformation and solving member problems
In March 2020, the association called for an online board members' meeting. After experiencing the pandemic for three years, the online meeting has become par for the course.
However, back then when the pandemic was still stable, the act of calling online meeting by TEEMA in Taiwan at the time was pioneering call. Chairman Lee expressed: “Considering the situation of people living overseas forced to work from home, we must be prepared and once we gained the experience, we could help enterprises utilize digital tools to cope with the future changes.”
In fact, before the outbreak of the pandemic, digital transformation has long become one of the key corporate competitiveness, due to the recent popularity in smart manufacturing, IoT, AI, and big data. Nonetheless, the shortage in labor and fund among small and medium enterprises prevents them from accelerating the pace of digital transformation.
In view of the difficulty in small and medium enterprises, TEEMA signed the digital transformation collaboration with Institute for Information Industry in October, 2019 soon after the chairman took office. Using questionnaire survey and other methods to understand the status and the demand of members, helping enterprises to do the inner review, while the digital transformation councilor incubated by III provides proper digital transformation services accordingly.
Under the impact of the pandemic, the urgency of “digital transformation” is even more highlighted. TEEMA further established the “Digital Transformation Committee” in July, 2020, to provide solutions for enterprises through various activities. “We introduce the external force to help small and medium enterprises and to further drive the overall industry transformation through experience sharing and exchange from big companies.” Chairman Lee concluded the working basis of TEEMA by helping members in digital transformation.
Proposing strategies for government; interdisciplinary alliance of associations
Due to the pandemic, traveling overseas is temporarily cancelled, I have participated in many activities and meetings, held by the government officials, during this period of time.
We have provided the government authorities with many opinions and experiences for further reference in policy formulation. Prior to taking office of TEEMA chairman, chairman Lee has always been the industrial representative whom the government agencies frequently consulted with.
During that period of time, the chairman has participated in countless number of government activities. In particular, Lee conducted videoconference with John Deng, the Minister of Executive Yuan, and Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce, USA, to exchange the Taiwan-U.S. ICT industry collaboration project, in June 2021. Moreover, on June 17, Lee discussed the issues on Taiwan-U.S. sustainable and environmental protection with Chang Tzi-Chin, the Minister of Environmental Protection Administration, and Michael Regan, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency –. Later, TEEMA also maintains close collaboration with Sandra Oudkirk, the Director of American Institute in Taiwan, and the AIT government officers to coordinate on the Taiwan-U. S. electric vehicle and sustainability issues as well as helping members to plan marketing schemes in the U.S.
TEEMA officially formed the alliance with Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI). The chairman explains the important appeals by two powerful associations, “This is the collaboration between two associations in Taiwan with the longest history, and the main purpose is to build a national team of smart manufacturing.” Through the integration of IT and communication industry, precision machinery industry and field for smart manufacturing technology tests, “Taiwan can become the best provider in smart manufacturing and to expand the world market.”
Both two associations have integrated the “machine cloud” and “EE Cloud” since its alliance in July 2020. The alliance implements the smart manufacturing cloud operation system from terminal to cloud and from cloud to terminal. The chairman also mentioned specifically that “Taiwan has solid foundation in IT communication industries. However, most demand focuses on the upstream equipment, particularly the manufacturing equipment in semiconductor, planar display
and printed circuit board, mostly supplied by the U.S., JAPAN and Netherland, which will eventually damage the autonomy of future development of Taiwanese industries in the long run. Hence, Taiwan must be capable of developing its own production equipment.” The alliance between TEEMA and TAMI will favor the promotion of “Domestic Electric Equipment.”
Additionally, TEEMA also allies with other associations actively to help Taiwanese industries upgrade accordingly. For example, TEEMA allies with Taiwan IOT Technology and Industry Association, (TwIoTA), by combining the strengths of two associations, collectively promoting the Servitization of Manufacturing, actively helping Taiwanese industries, IoT, AI, big data analysis, and thereby establishing smart transportation, smart healthcare, smart city and other platforms, and application channels that will help the implementation of “New Southbound Digital Policy.”
“There is one advantage of not being able to travel overseas, and that is we start to focus more on the industrial development in southern Taiwan,” stated chairman Lee. Starting from May 2020, chairman Lee and several TEEMA board members have frequently visited Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung for site survey. “I have visited southern Taiwan for more than 10 times during that period of time, which number exceeds the precious number of visits done in the past few years.” Chairman Lee also visited President Tsai Ing-wen in March 2021 and suggested directly to the government to strengthen and foster the industrial development in energy storage, energy, and electric vehicle industries in southern Taiwan.
Establishing international links by staying home
The majority of work by TEEMA accounts for a large ratio, including assisting members to establish the international links and expand the overseas markets. “How can we continue the work if we could not travel overseas. How can we maintain relation with our allied association overseas? We were really worried about this problem but fortunately we have found the breakthrough one by one and expand possibility of new collaboration,” expressed chairman Lee.
TEEMA started projecting to the international agencies in Taiwan, when they could not travel overseas, they could still establish the international links. Starting from 2020, chairman Lee has been visiting the representative offices of different countries in Taiwan. “Frankly, we used to fly overseas to seek for any collaboration opportunities. However, due to the pandemic, we find out that the international offices in Taiwan could become the excellent connecting bridges to provide many valuable channels of collaboration,” stated the chairman.
Today, Chairman Lee has visited the international offices in Taiwan, including the office of Europe, the U.S., Southeast Asian, Israel, India, and Japan. Both parties have established formal relation of collaboration and exchanged information to help member suppliers with the investment in marketing planning and expansion of new business opportunities.
The Association holds online forum and seminars alternatively since the physical contact becomes impossible. The remote videoconference combining with physical exhibition and forum ,helps solidify the trade relation with overseas buyers. Statistics show that the association has held 25 video conferences during this period. Countries of negotiation include Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, the U.S., Turkey, and Japan.
It is worth mentioning that TEEMA has held the “TEEMA Global networking Forum” in 2020 and 2021 seperately, aiming at Mexico, Czech Republic, Slovakia, EU, and Japan to invite industry-government-academic researchers and experts for sharing industrial information and local experience. There were approximately 200 member representatives participating in either online session, or physical meetings.
Additionally, TEEMA contacts with foreign governments, international orgnaizations and allied associations to maintain the international communication channel through multilateral and bilateral interactions, as well as ICT exchange, semiconductor, electric vehicle, 5G, sustainable development, green energy and environmental protection, net zero emission and other industrial intelligence, in order to help TEEMA member suppliers with control in the trade niche and investment opportunities in the international supply chain, in midst of the pandemic.
Implementing sustainability and fulfilling social responsibility
Following the rise in the emerging industries and the expansion and convergence of IT communication industries, “EE” could no longer comprehensively cover the industry background of more than 3,000 member enterprises. Chairman Lee believes that:” Hence, I have been thinking over the new positioning of the association again and again in these three years.” The positioning must be correct, and the decision and action will then become effective.
Under the discussion led by the board members, the position of the association is clarified and defined as the “Providing services to the upstream/downstream of Taiwan IT communication and electronics and the application industry.” Consequently, TEEMA will include energy, smart healthcare, smart transportation and other industries. Since ustainability is the common pursuit by all industries, the concept of the association is then “Sustainability, Professionalism, Services, and Innovation.”
With regards to the important agenda in sustainability, TEEMA actively conducts interdisciplinary collaboration and strategic alliance. Chairman Lee was invited to the COP26 Climate Summit in November 2021 for related promotional activities. TEEMA and KPMG collaborated on the agenda of sustainability.
To help members implement sustainability, particularly environmental sustainability, chairman Lee leads the association employees by investing enormous efforts and time in the preparation of “Taiwan's Pathway to ICT Industry Net-Zero Emissions in 2050,” which content includes: practice in response to net zero emission by domestic and international big companies, Taiwan’s challenges in ICT industry and opportunities in net zero emission. And finally, the proposal of net zero strategies and pathway suggestions to help members clarify the multitudes of net zero emission.
Looking into the future, Chairman Lee looks forward to the continuous promotion of energy sustainability, innovative technology, IT electronics, manufacturing services, platform integration, and interdisciplinary application through TEEMA. He stated with modesty that he hopes to “set an example for others to follow” so that more people will be encouraged to invest in industrial association work and make contribution to the country and the society.
Chairman Lee addresses himself as the “full-time” chairman who upgrades the service and value of Association through “professional governance.” Chairman Lee expresses special thanks to President Joseph Lin, and staff of the association for their efforts and dedication. Meanwhile, chairman Lee shows appreciation to Inventec Corp for helping him form an "Association team" as well as several colleagues retiring from Inventec Corp., who served as the councilor for TEEMA and assisted with project promotion.
Apart from working for the TEEMA, Chairman Lee also intends to enhance the professionalism and talent cultivation for the operations of associations and foundations, based on his experience. Chairman Lee also provides recommendations for the triple-collaboration mechanism among the government, enterprise and associations, thereby attracting attention from more people to fulfill the social responsibilities.
