Halcyon Agri - Creating a digital marketplace

DBS and Halcyon co-create a digital marketplace that enables the trading of natural rubber

halcyon-case-study

“We’re pleased to collaborate with DBS as our key banking partner for HeveaConnect. DBS’ successful digital strategy and approach to financing fits our digitisation strategy to make a difference in the natural rubber industry.”

Andrew Trevatt, ​Director of HeveaConnect, Halcyon Agri

 

About Halcyon Agri

Halcyon Agri is a world-leading rubber franchise headquartered in Singapore that owns more than 30 processing factories in most major rubber producing origins. Leveraging its extensive network of warehouses, terminals, laboratories and sales offices across the world, the Group distributes a range of natural rubber grades, latex and specialty rubber for the tyre and non-tyre industries under its proprietary HeveaPRO brand.

How DBS supports Halcyon Agri

digital

A unified digital marketplace for the rubber industry

quick-exchange

Increased payments efficiency for all stakeholders

quality

Creating positive impact with higher quality and sustainable products

 

Urgent Need to Go Digital

Halcyon wanted to find a banking partner that could help it transition the global natural rubber industry from its heavy reliance on paper-based financial processes, into a unified digital marketplace. It also wanted to establish HeveaConnect as the exclusive platform for the sale of HeveaPRO sustainably-certified technically-specified rubber (TSR) to the global tyre industry, which consumes about 75 percent of the world’s natural rubber.

Creating a Transparent Digital Marketplace

Using customer journey thinking and a 4D (Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver) framework, DBS and Halcyon co-created a client-centric solution that addressed the company’s objectives. HeveaConnect was launched as a transparent digital marketplace which enables the trading of sustainably processed natural rubber. As part of the DBS’ commitment towards supporting sustainable business practices, the bank also took a minority stake in HeveaConnect.

The HeveaConnect marketplace aims to connect natural rubber stakeholders, including farmers and rubber producers, in an integrated ecosystem. As a convenient one-stop shop for participants in the natural rubber supply chain, the marketplace enables participants to track pricing and supply information, and obtain access to value-added services such as financing, insurance and logistics. As a result of what is a highly fragmented supplier base comprising millions of farmers, traceability has been one of the key challenges that the natural rubber industry faced. With HeveaConnect, all marketplace participants within the supply chain can trace the source of each batch of natural rubber and whether it is grown responsibly.

By integrating DBS RAPID (Real-time APIs with DBS) into HeveaConnect, DBS is able to provide participants on the HeveaConnect trade and commodity network with financial advice, financing for buyers, and financing to smallholder rubber producers who may not have ready access to credit facilities previously. 

Increased Confidence and Efficiency

With HeveaConnect, Halcyon aims to provide a one-stop bespoke platform that makes price discovery seamless and transparent, reduces administrative costs and errors, and increases payments efficiency for all natural rubber stakeholders. By providing high-quality, sustainably produced and certified products on the platform, Halcyon hopes to instil greater confidence in its customers as well.

The APIs available through DBS RAPID suite allow for real-time connectivity between Halcyon and DBS, which helps Halcyon improve productivity and achieve greater efficiency in its business and across its transactions.

By leveraging APIs to integrate its banking services directly into Halcyon’s workflows, processes and digital initiatives, DBS was also able to deepen its understanding of Halcyon's needs and provide innovative advice to help position the business better for a sustainable future.