E-COMMERCE: Thai execs told to organise supply chain for e-business; Many firms have a long way to go

02/28/2001
Bangkok Post
Copyright (C) 2001; Source: World Reporter (TM) - Asia Intelligence Wire

Areport by Accenture - the global management and technology consulting organisation formerly known as Andersen Consulting - claims that senior executives are going to have to organise their supply chains to take maximum advantage of developments in e-commerce. Using the Internet creates efficiencies and reduces costs and is viewed as a strategic directive necessary to achieve corporate goals, it states. The report, eCollaboration: How supply chains will drive the new economy, shows that the supply chain is a blind spot for many senior executives, yet it accounts for about 60 percent to 70 percent of transactions in any company, and a similar share of the company's ability to add value. Whereas adoption of the Net in business presents tremendous opportunities, many businesses still have a long way to go in "web-ifying" their value chain.

"Thai senior management must begin to show leadership in developing marketplaces which are appropriate for this area of the world rather than sitting back and waiting for international marketplaces to reach Thailand," said Ravi Sirianukul, Accenture associate partner and the country lead of Supply Chain Practice for Thailand. "We simply cannot afford to lose benefits by delaying implementation and operation of new supply chain collaboration and marketplaces for two to three years," he added.

Governments across Asia have committed to promote e-business, according to the report, but little has been done to ensure that pan-Asian bandwidth can grow accordingly when e-business becomes mainstream within the next few years. It points out that Asian companies are very much in the first wave of development, seeking operational excellence through improvement in individual elements of the supply chain. The challenge for the more advanced companies is to ratchet up to a new level of performance - the second wave - on the back of e-commerce and new organisational combinations, such as e-procurement, e-fulfillment and shared services that ultimately will lead to the much sought after Internet-enabled supply chain.

In addition, the report shows that in the future, those companies that successfully synchronise their supply chain operations will have the competitive advantage. Yet, many will still have a difficult time harnessing the new ways of working. This, according to the report, requires building infrastructure, trusting supply chain partners with proprietary information and getting used to the Internet as a tool to strengthen the extended enterprise. The days of many dot.coms are now numbered due in part to poor supply chain integration, says the report.