“Supply Chain Resilience Forum -For manufacturing and service industries in the time of uncertainty-” Held Online

Mar 19, 2021

On March 11 and 12, 2021, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), held a forum online on the subject of approaches to enhancing the resilience of supply chains with the attendance of representatives of the industrial, government and academic sectors in Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN economies.

In the opening remarks, Mr. Nobuhiko Sasaki, Chairman and CEO of JETRO said: The recent corona crisis has brought to light the risk of supply chain disruptions around the world, and has been forcing numerous companies active overseas to reorganize their supply chains. The Indo-Pacific region where we live accounts for 60% of the world's GDP and the majority of the global population. There is no doubt that timely and appropriate measures taken in this region are destined to stabilize the world economy. Last September, economic ministers of Australia, India and Japan shared their understanding of the necessity of making supply chains more resilient in the Indo-Pacific. ASEAN and Japan also have discussed this matter as they produced an Economic Resilience Action Plan last July. Inspired by this dialogue between governments, and recognizing the need to bring together wisdom from private companies as an entity involved in the business field, JETRO decided to hold the forum today. JETRO will continue assisting Japanese companies in entering the overseas market and I have great hopes for cooperation from you all.

In addition to that, Mr. Tanaka Shigehiro, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, Japan, gave a keynote speech about diversifying risks and direction of supply chain resilience. In his speech, he said: the risks faced by companies include traditional risks such as changes in the business environment due to institutional and policy alterations, protectionist trade policy measures including export restrictions and tariff increase, and currency exchange fluctuation. Other risks are ones related to pandemics and natural disasters that have recently been discussed in relation to supply chain resilience, geopolitics, cyber, climate change as well as human rights and labor. Risk factors that companies have to deal with in terms of their supply chains are increasing and diversifying. In light of these diversifying risks, not only companies make efforts to develop resilient supply chains but also government needs to consider how to support companies in order to realize "resilient supply chain" in a broader sense. It is necessary for all stakeholders to collaborate with flexible ideas without being bound by the conventional concept of resilience and risk. I believe through this forum, which brings together a wide variety of stakeholders from industry, government, and academia from Australia, ASEAN, India, and Japan which play key roles in the region, we can expect great effect with collective wisdom in analyzing the current state of supply chain resilience, identifying issues, and presenting possible solutions. I have taken a closer look at the preparation process for today's forum, and it is unlikely that the discussions on supply chain resilience will be exhausted in just two days. There may be issues which we need deeper understanding and continue discussing. Therefore, I believe this SCR forum should be held not only one time but on a continual basis.

The forum consisted of the four sessions: (1) Challenges and Solutions for More Resilient Supply Chain – Diagnosis Reflecting the Voices from Companies in the Region, (2) Case Studies - Diversification of Procurement Sources and/or Production bases, (3) . Policy Supports and Other Services Available to Companies for More Resilient Supply Chain, (4) Future Landscape of Supply Chain Resilience in the Region. In the session of (1) and (2), the attendance of representatives of the industrial sectors in Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN economies presented their observation on challenges that faced companies to make their supply chains more resilient, and also presented their suggestions on solutions for private sectors to overcome these challenges. In the session of (3), the representatives of the government sectors shared some useful services and tools that help companies to strengthen their supply chains in the region. Finally, in the session of (4), the academic sectors in Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN economies discussed the outlook for ideal industrial restructuring of the future and the vision for the transformation of the regional industrial structure in the light of new trends emerging in terms of trade structure, trade policy, technological innovation including digital, climate change, human resources and employment.