Mr Thanarak, centre, signing the memorandum of understanding with Mr Chai, left, and Mr Wootinun.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is joining hands with leading local startups to boost small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) productivity through the use of technology and online marketplaces.

The first three local startups joining the FTI are Cloud Commerce, Energy Response, and System Stone.

"Local industries need to embrace digital and automation systems to deal with the challenges of disruption and the shortage of highly skilled workers," said Thanarak Pongphatar, vice-chairman of FTI.

To survive fierce competition in a tough economy, industries need to use Internet of Things, machine learning and shared-economy platforms, including automation, said Mr Thanarak.

The FTI has over 12,000 members in 45 vertical sectors, half of whom have embraced technology, while the rest continue to have manual operation bases.

The FTI is starting to work with startups to connect innovative local firms with its membership through Business Revolution and Innovation Network courses that allow chief executives to lecture on industry demand to startups, and have startups reach domestic industry users (business-to-business).

In 2017, FTI worked with System Stone, which provided preventive maintenance systems that help users reduce risk of operation.

The FTI yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Cloud Commerce and Energy Response to encourage and develop startups working for industries. The agreement with Cloud Commerce is meant to boost SME exports to global markets, while the collaboration with Energy Response aims to optimise energy-saving.

Wootinun Sung-Ong, chief executive of Cloud Commerce, said through the collaboration with FTI, it can attract local manufacturers who are interested in entering overseas markets via online platforms, particularly automotive parts, herbs and spa products, among others, by using CloudMall.asia for online marketing.

Cloudmall will automatically integrate with Alibaba, Taobao, Amazon, and Ebay, which together account for 80% of global e-commerce markets, according to the World Economic Forum. Local online merchants can also explore overseas markets.

Mr Wootinun said the company provides fulfilment systems such as Fastship's automatic logistics aggregators for overseas shipment, which has 10,000 customers.

Chai Choovichian, co-founder of Energy Response Co, said it provides energy management for building, hospital, and hospitality businesses by using data analytics and machine learning.

Through the collaboration with the FTI, the company can access more factories who spend over 1 million baht per month for energy.

"We use Internet of Things and data gathering, working together with energy experts to enable companies to save energy costs by at least 12-30%," said Mr Chai.

Mr Thanarak said the FTI will work with another six startups in 2019, bringing the total to 10 startups over two years. Upcoming collaborators include Washbox, Event Banana, MyCloudFulfillment, Traveligo, and Fastwork.

He said the FTI also encourages members to embrace the sharing economy concept through the use of a platform that allows rotation and sharing of technicians and factory equipment among industrial estates.