According to the 2021 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, 56 percent of respondents expected the industry in the Asia region, would begin to recover in 2021 despite economic downturn and uncertainties.
The pandemic has brought logistics challenges for businesses to stay in operations. Nevertheless, six of the 11 top countries in the Index belongs to the Asian markets making it the world’s largest concentration of export manufacturing countries. China, India and Indonesia retained their position as the world most potential logistics hub. Malaysia, on the other hand, has bulk up its efforts, placing them in fifth – compared to nineth in 2020. Vietnam, too has increased its viability by leaping three spots to eight place in the index.
UAE, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are ranked highest with the best business fundamentals making them a highly attractive business prospects for new investors. The outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted the supply chain in China in early 2020 causing a great turmoil. Logistics Executives who pulled operations from China suggested that the best place to relocate production would be Vietnam as an alternative production base for companies seeking to exit or diversify from China.
From the Index, the countries that they recommended are India (17 percent), Indonesia (12 percent), Thailand and Malaysia (10 percent respectively).
Based on the survey, when being asked which process in your supply chain were most impacted by the pandemic, majority of the respondents replied they had the most difficulty in supply planning, demand planning, and future forecasting.
Hilding Anderson suggested ways for companies to sustain their businesses by creating contingency plans by scenario planning; the optimistic scenario or a conservative scenario. An example of an optimistic scenario would be Movement Control Order will be ending in March or April, the normalcy of company’s procedure will be enforce back by Q2. An example for a conservative scenario would be Movement Control Order remains prevalent, continued impacts will last till Q4. He then added the importance of making work safe for workers such as investing in protective gear and communicate via apps to manage time, availability and their safety.
“New versions of established tools will play a critical role in helping supply chain managers have an ongoing view of potential risks and provide a framework to help take corrective actions to better serve their customers.”
Hilding Anderson, Head of Retail Strategy of Publicis Sapient
Andy Vargoczky, Agility Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Asia Pacific also mentions countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam will continue to improve their supply chain infrastructure and capabilities, showing why they are leaders in domestic and international logistics. This improvements will definitely speed up the Asia Pacific’s economic recovery within the year 2021.
