Industrial Specialist · Global Singapore-based · Worldwide reach

30 years. Three continents. One practitioner who has run the operations himself.

Francis Lee does not advise from a distance. He has managed factories, specified protective packaging for production lines, sourced industrial components, and delivered projects across 15+ countries — and he still does.

Groundwork Solution is an independent practice serving manufacturers and operations teams worldwide. Three areas where deep field knowledge drives measurable results: protective packaging materials and solutions, lubrication system components and custom parts, and AI workflow integration. Any country that needs, he can supply.

Speak with Francis AI Readiness Checklist

SELECTAuto Kanga — automated bagging in an industrial operation

SelectPack bagging automation — one of three practice areas with 30 years of field depth

Global Reach

Singapore · Malaysia · Vietnam · Thailand · Philippines · India · Middle East · Europe · Any country that needs, he can supply

Three Areas of Practice

Specialist knowledge, not generalist advice

Each practice area represents a decade or more of field experience — not theory, not case studies from someone else's floor.

Protective Packaging · Materials & Solutions SELECTAuto Kanga — automatic bagging machine

SelectPack: Protective Packaging Materials & Solutions

Francis holds full commercial rights to distribute SelectPack across APAC and globally. The most in-demand solution today is automatic bagging: the SELECTAuto range — Kanga, Wallaroo, and Wallaby — automates the bagging of products into pre-opened roll bags, cutting labour and throughput time on e-commerce, electronics, and industrial packing lines. The protective materials range covers the full void-fill and cushioning spectrum: paper cushioning (Hippo, Pangolin, Lamb), foam-in-place (Foamigo, Tiger, Jaguar), air column and air cushion films, and anti-static protection. The work begins with understanding where damage occurs on the line — then specifying the right material and, where appropriate, the right automation to remove it.

SELECTAuto Wallaroo — automatic bagging

SELECTAuto Wallaby — bagging machines on the floor

SELECTAuto Wallaby — production floor installation

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Lubrication Components · Global Distribution Progressive lubrication system — pump and distributor network diagram

SOATOER: Lubrication System Components & Custom Parts

Francis is a global distribution partner for SOATOER lubrication system components. His customers are plants whose existing lubrication systems need replacement parts — when a component fails, or when they want to upgrade to SOATOER-compatible parts without replacing the whole system. He can also customise stainless steel lubrication components to precise specifications for non-standard applications. Supply is global: any country that needs, he can source and ship. The SOATOER range covers progressive dividers (DMF, DMB, DMP), mono-block dividers (SKS/SKSL/SKSD), electric pumps (DXF, DXF-FP, DX1/DX2), pneumatic pumps (PP, PPG, PPO), and handy pumps.

Metallurgy Mining Port Machinery Engineering Machinery Automobile Lines Food & Beverage Machine Tools Paper Making Wind Power

DXF Electric Pump

DMF modular progressive distributors — component view

DMF Progressive Distributors

Container crane — port machinery lubrication application

Port machinery application

Wind power application

SOATOER dual line system components — full product range

Dual line system components — full product range available

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AI Integration · Workshops

AI Workflow Consultancy for Operations Teams

Francis brings an operator's lens to AI adoption — not the technology-first framing of software consultancies, but a practical question: where in your current workflow does AI reduce time, error, or headcount pressure? Workshops run one to three days, structured for teams of five to twenty, and grounded in the specific process context of each client. Available across APAC and globally.

— AI Readiness Assessment
— 1–3 day structured workshops
— AI agent design & deployment
— Process mapping & automation roadmap

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Free Resource

The AI Readiness Checklist for Operations Teams

Before any workshop or engagement, Francis uses a structured readiness assessment to determine where AI can realistically be applied in an operations context — and where it cannot. This checklist is the public version of that tool: 18 questions that give operations managers a clear picture of where they stand before committing to a technology initiative.

Developed from field use across global manufacturing clients.

What the checklist covers:

Current data and documentation maturity
Process standardisation readiness
Team capability and change readiness
High-value workflow candidates for AI augmentation
Common failure modes in AI rollouts

Profile

Francis Lee has not managed operations from a conference room.

He has managed them from the factory floor, the equipment bay, and the supplier's site — across three decades and fifteen countries.

Francis Lee entered the packaging industry in 1994 and spent the following three decades inside operations: managing production lines, specifying protective packaging materials for high-value and complex applications, leading large-scale projects, and working alongside customers across 15+ countries in Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.

His credentials — PMP, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, AI Agent Practitioner (SUTD & GSDC), Certified Prompt Engineering (Agile Asia), MBA from the University of Southern Queensland, and a Mechanical Engineering degree from NUS — reflect a discipline applied in practice long before it was formalised in certificates.

Today, his practice covers three areas: protective packaging materials and solutions through SelectPack, lubrication system components and custom stainless steel parts through SOATOER (global distribution partner), and AI workflow consultancy for operations teams. The common thread is that Francis has been there before — in some form, in some configuration — and he brings that experience to every engagement.

Full profile and credentials →

Francis Lee · Managing Principal, Groundwork Solution

Credentials & Qualifications

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Project Management Professional (PMP) PMI · May 2026

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Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Process improvement & quality management

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AI Agent Practitioner SUTD & GSDC

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Certified Prompt Engineering Agile Asia

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MBA University of Southern Queensland

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BEng (Mechanical) National University of Singapore

Get in Touch

If you have a specific operational problem, start there.

Francis does not offer retainer packages or discovery calls with a sales function. If you have a specific challenge — a packaging line costing you in damage rates, lubrication components that need replacing or upgrading to SOATOER-compatible parts, or an AI initiative that has stalled — describe it, and he will tell you honestly whether he can help.

Enquiries welcome from any country. Based in Singapore, supplying and consulting globally.

Base Singapore

Coverage Global — any country that needs, he can supply

Practice Packaging Materials · Lubrication Components · AI Consultancy

WhatsApp +65 9112 4843

Response Within one business day

Describe your operational challenge

or reach Francis directly