Showing 21 - 30 of 40
Need for Asean Supply Chain Integration
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 04/06/2014
» Southeast Asian economic integration next year will create a competitive market of 600 million people with a combined GDP of $2.1 trillion, solid growth, low manufacturing costs and a rising middle class hungry for the consumer experience across 10 countries.
Supply chain segmentation
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 16/07/2014
» If I were asked what are the most common logistics questions being asked by manufacturers, distributors and retailers, this would be my list:
Reducing Road Deaths through a Chain of Responsibility
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 10/09/2014
» The road crash epidemic has plagued Thailand for decades and is a major cause of deaths, supply chain interruption and economic damage. Every year, about 13,000 people lose their lives on the roads, with an uncountable number ending up in hospital instead of at their destination. The Thailand Accident Research Centre estimated the economic losses from road accidents at 232 billion baht per year or 2.8% of GDP.
Following the grain chain into Southeast Asia
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 05/11/2014
» Last week I presented a paper at the annual Asia Pacific Food & Fibre Summit in Melbourne, Australia. The conference focused primarily on the challenges of exporting Australian food products to Asia. It was well attended by a wide range of government policymakers and senior executives from some of the world's largest bulk grain handlers.
Developing sustainable logistics infrastructure
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 19/11/2014
» Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, but low efficiency in its logistics systems contributes to relatively high logistics costs in relation to GDP. This is in part a result of the industrial structure, geographical dispersal of industrial centres, widely spread population centres and logistics infrastructure overfocused on road transport. Successive Thai governments have all taken proactive measures to improve logistics costs in relation to GDP, but ongoing improvement in logistics efficiency is critical for the sustainable development of the economy.
A supply-chain Christmas carol
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 17/12/2014
» It’s that time of year again, the season of goodwill and everything that it can order, pay for and deliver. In the spirit of the times, we’re pleased to present a Yuletide mash-up featuring excerpts from ‘A Christmas Carol’ by the legendary American satirist Tom Lehrer, and our seasonal observations from the local scene:
New expectations for supply-chain skills development
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 28/01/2015
» In our last article, we presented our State of the Nation for the Supply Chain as it applied to this region. We felt it challenged the readiness of many organisations to embrace supply-chain management (SCM) development opportunities, and in reality our message was clear. Many large organisations are not even mastering the basics and are struggling in how to establish appropriate supply-chain strategies and improvement initiatives that can support efficient cross-business processes while developing internal functional skills to support them.
Honey, I shrank the warehouse
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 25/02/2015
» The main concern of nearly every logistics consultant is if companies were any smarter at managing their inventories, they would not need us. Put another way, there is no greater source of consulting opportunities than surplus inventory, and (much to my delight) this issue extends across nearly all industries and their multiple supply chains.
Will there be sufficient logistics skills to meet region's future demand?
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 11/03/2015
» It is coming up to 20 years since I arrived in Asia, and for most of that time I have worked in the niche professional field of logistics and supply chain consulting. Today there are many logistics professionals employed by large companies in functional roles ranging from procurement and transport to warehousing and demand management, but very few consultants.
Overcoming supply chain obstacles and remaining competitive
Business, Chris Catto-Smith, Published on 06/05/2015
» Businesses today must contend with many challenges including global competition, product life-cycle compression and, most importantly, rising customer power. Overlay onto that the significant changes that are occurring across Southeast Asia in preparation for integration under the Asean Economic Community.