ITWire

With Samsung leading the APAC top 15, Gartner reports that the region is dominated by high tech, consumer electronics, automotive, retail and industrial products supply chain companies, with four companies entering the Asia Pacific listing for the first time this year and, while now regaining their stability, most Japanese companies were still recovering from the natural and economic crises of 2011.

Gartner managing vice president, Debra Hofman, says there were a number of notable trends in Asia Pacific affecting supply chain leaders, including:

•    A focus on growth and low-cost innovation

•    Growing but unpredictable demand with associated demand management challenges

•    Shifting supply bases that require supply chain redesign

•    Growth in intra region trade that helps to buffer global volatility, and

•    Rapid inflation, rising and volatile costs and tightening labour market that combine to pose increased risks

According to Gartner research director, Debashis Tarafdar, Asia Pacific supply chain leaders have maintained momentum in the difficult economic environment by re-configuring their supply chains while staying focused on a demand-driven strategy.

“Companies leading the top supply chains in Asia Pacific have demonstrated capabilities in demand management, operational excellence and innovation. They are using best practices including demand sensing and shaping, segmentation and collaboration, to help manage demand volatility and deliver predictable results. To measure supply chain performance, they select the right metrics that are aligned to the company’s overall business objectives. They also build resiliency into supply network design, and implement risk management strategies across trading partner networks.”

Gartner research director, Vikas Sarangdhar, says that while demand in Asia Pacific is growing, “inflation, rising costs and a tightening labour market pose challenges for companies in the region.”

Sarangdhar says that economic challenges in the rest of the world also amplify the risks, as a further “sharp fall in exports to advanced economies and capital outflows would impact Asia both directly and through knock-on effects on domestic demand.”

The Gartner report shows that of the top 15 supply chain companies from the Asia Pacific region, five are headquartered in Japan (Canon, Honda, Komatsu, Seven & I Holdings, Toyota), four in Korea (Hyundai, Hyundai Heavy Industries, LG, Samsung), two in China (Huawei  and Lenovo), one in India (Tata Motors), one in Singapore (Flextronics), one in Taiwan (ASUSTeK) and just one – Woolworths - in Australia.

Table 1.  Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2012:  Asia/Pacific
2012 APAC Rank	2012 Overall Rank	Company	Return on Assets (1)	Inventory Turns (2)	Revenue Growth (3)	Composite Score (4)
1	13	Samsung Electronics	9.4%	17.1	15.9%	3.67
2	31	Hyundai Motor	8.7%	18.0	12.6%	1.95
3	42	Tata Motors	3.3%	5.9	44.0%	1.75
4	43	Lenovo Group	1.0%	20.8	16.7%	1.75
5	45	Huawei Technologies	9.8%	4.9	16.4%	1.73
6	57	Woolworths	10.5%	10.4	4.7%	1.56
7	69	Toyota Motor	0.6%	11.7	-6.6%	1.41
8	76	ASUSTeK Computer	7.5%	5.6	14.6%	1.35
9	81	Hyundai Heavy Industries	7.9%	7.5	8.8%	1.33
10	94	Seven & I Holdings	2.8%	20.0	-5.1%	1.11
11	104	Honda Motor	3.2%	7.2	-5.5%	1.03
12	111	Canon	5.7%	3.8	-1.7%	0.88
13	116	LG Electronics	-0.4%	20.8	-1.1%	0.83
14	118	Komatsu	4.8%	3.1	3.6%	0.78
15	121	Flextronics International	-8.2%	7.7	5.3%	0.72