Image: Mr Andrew at his Hawker Stall in Bendemeer
Mr Andrew Giam and his family owns Chai Chee Pork Porridge, a hawker stall situated in the heartlands of Chai Chee. The family-run business has been in operations since the 1960s, building a loyal base of customers from across Singapore.
Today, the Giams run three outlets – in Chai Chee, Tampines and Bendemeer.
Gone with the traditional
For many years, the Giam family ran their business manually; from payment collection to physically serving food to their customers. As a result, a lot of time was spent on manual data entry for both their finances and inventory. The constant need to leave the stall to deliver food to customers’ tables also affected their productivity and caused them to rely on manpower.
“As a hawker stall owner, you’re always greeted by customers, so you have to think and act on your feet. It’s a constant struggle between keeping up with customers’ orders and ensuring that your sales and expenses tally,” shared Mr Giam.
In an effort to improve productivity, Mr Giam collaborated with a solutions vendor in 2018 to explore available technological solutions he can adopt for his business. The vendor recommended Mr Giam to purchase a Wireless Paging and POS system. These systems would speed up his food ordering process, manage inventory and track daily sales effectively.
Tapping onto Productivity Solutions Grant
Subsequently, the vendor recommended Mr Giam to consider applying for the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and connected him to our Business Advisor, Yiting.
“Both solutions adopted by Mr Giam will help his family business reduce food wastage and save costs in the long run. Furthermore, it will allow him to analyse his sales and identify measures to increase it. I’m glad that Mr Giam showed interest in applying for PSG as it supports companies who are keen to adopt IT solutions/equipment to enhance business processes,” explained Yiting.
Over the next few months, Yiting assisted Mr Giam with the PSG application and sometime in January this year received news that the application had been approved. “I don’t have much knowledge about the available grants out there so Yiting was very helpful in explaining to me which schemes would best help my business grow. I’m looking forward to digitalizing our operations and am excited to see the benefits it will reap,” shared Mr Giam.