ReleaseWire Connect

The supply chain crisis affecting Asia Pacific continues to roll on with new warnings that Hong Kong exporters now face the prospect of missing the peak season of Christmas, as goods are still not moving. With a severe shortage of containers still affecting many businesses at the small and medium sized end of the market, fears of cancelled orders are becoming a very real threat. Many of the delays in shipping have resulted in customers also refusing to hand over payments until progress has been made and this is having a significant impact on the cash flow of many small and medium sized enterprises.

The pandemic has had an impact on many areas of the global supply chain - but not all have been negative. As a result of the pressure to solve the issues that have arisen over the past year or so technological transformation has been forced to significantly speed up. This has pushed supply chains to go into overdrive, moving from paper to digital and accelerating investments in technology to help improve prospects and remove any obstacles that have been thrown up in recent times.

Disruption to the global supply chain and a worldwide shortage of containers have caused significant issues for the logistics industry in Hong Kong over the past year. Nevertheless, the local industry has remained focused on survival, and in the first nine months of 2021, the cumulative container throughput at the Hong Kong port edged up to 13.3 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit). In the same time period, throughput at Hong Kong airport grew by more than 13%. Both of these statistics show that despite the challenges triggered by the pandemic and surrounding events, those in logistics and supply chain jobs - and the broader industry - have a lot to get excited about as we look ahead to 2022.

The logistics sector in Hong Kong is one of the most advanced in the world, something that has been illustrated this year as smart warehouse tech started to gain more ground. U-Freight Logistics, for example, which owns five facilities in Hong Kong, upgraded one of these to a fully smart warehouse. The motivation for this tech-driven step was in order to help minimise costs associated with picking and to increase the speed at which operations could move to keep up with the demand created by the pandemic. The upgrade to the facility includes the use of AGVs (automatic guided vehicles) as well as an Intelligent Racking System and associated operating software.

Hong Kong is to be a 'smart port,' as the government seeks to find new ways to improve Hong Kong's status as an international transportation centre. Recently unveiled plans show that integrating digital technology into business operations and processes in the maritime and port industry will be used to create a 'smart port' that is designed to help increase the volume of trade and attract new organisations and investors into the region. It is part of a broader initiative that includes adding a range of new maritime business services, including ship registration and ship finance and management, as well as tax breaks for members of the maritime.

Hong Kong has long had a challenging housing situation and now new plans have been announced to tackle this. Currently, still a blueprint, the new "Northern Metropolis" will provide around 900,000 homes for 2.5 million people. The process of construction alone will generate significant activity in procurement and logistics roles, as well as supply chain planning jobs. While the finished Metropolis is viewed as a major strategic shift for Hong Kong's development. The logistical needs of the area do not stop here as businesses of all types will need to rely on the expertise of procurement and logistics professionals to continually service this area of the country.

The impact of the global pandemic has been varied in the supply chain world. COVID-19 caused a significant re-evaluation by businesses of their supply chain needs across all sectors and this has been a catalyst for change for many. In particular, the pandemic revealed just how vulnerable many supply chains really are and that there are significant disadvantages where there is a reliance on the manufacturing and distribution systems of one region.

eCommerce went through a significant period of proliferation during the pandemic, especially sectors such as grocery that saw a big uplift in activity. This created some big challenges in areas such as Asia Pacific where there is often a heavy reliance on imports. Logistics and supply chain jobs in Asia Pacific have changed considerably in response to the new set of needs the pandemic created.

The pandemic has caused many supply chain issues, across Asia Pacific and beyond. However, it's auto chip shortages that are emerging as one of the most significant crises that is taking the longest to resolve. Not only that but many manufacturers have now highlighted that the swift shift that we are seeing to electric vehicles may be making the problem worse.

Digitisation has a lot to offer when it comes to innovation in supply chain markets. From improvements to speed and transparency to minimising costs and increasing efficiency there are many benefits for business in investing in a digital upgrade. While initially met with some resistance, digitisation is now a driving force, in particular because of the huge savings that are possible - one recent survey found, for example, that switching to an automated system, rather than relying on manual invoice entering, could generate savings of $600,000 a year.