SINGAPORE - US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble said Tuesday (April 18) it will invest US$100 million (S$139.8 million) over the next five years in setting up its first digital innovation centre in Singapore in partnership with the Economic Development Board.

The move reaffirms P&G's commitment to Singapore and aims to strengthen the country's standing as a leading digital and e-commerce hub in the world.

The P&G Singapore E-Center - the multinational company's first outside the United States - will be pivotal to its undertaking of end-to-end digital innovation across three core areas: supply chain management, e-analytics and e-business.

In the area of supply chain management, termed "i-Supply", the E-Center will focus on transforming P&G's supply chain end-to-end, enabling greater accuracy, visibility and more efficient processes.

The e-business unit aims to translate digital strategies into scalable plans for the region, and to leverage new digital channels to innovate and improve business models.

Through its focus on e-analytics, the E-Center will also leverage predictive analytics and big data to optimize product distribution and marketing strategy.

With the launch of the centre on Tuesday (April 18), P&G will be training 40 employees in the first year to take on digital-related roles in the three capability areas.

Through the E-Center, P&G will also expand its partnerships with local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to strengthen digital capabilities and co-develop new digital solutions.

To bolster the inauguration of the E-Center, P&G also hosted the second edition of its leadership development program - P&G Leadership College - for SMEs in collaboration with Spring Singapore.

Speaking at the launch of the E-Center, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran noted that Singapore serves as P&G's Asia-Pacific headquarters with 2,000 staff across a range of functions, including brand management, marketing, supply chain management, consumer insights, design and manufacturing.

Singapore is also one of P&G's global hubs for innovation and talent development and the company employs 400 researchers at its Singapore Innovation Center (SGIC) and trains over 500 managers annually at its Asia Leadership Development Center here, said the minister.

"We will continue to partner leading companies to anchor new digital capabilities, strengthen our local ecosystem, and equip our people with the requisite skillsets for the digital economy," said Mr Iswaran. "Our partnership with P&G is a good example of how we are doing this."