The nature and extent of disruption to supply chains arising from major events in the past ten years reflects the growing complexity and interdependencies within supply chains in Asia Pacific. From the Thai floods and Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, to the Tianjin port explosion in 2015 and more recently, disruption arising from the pandemic and a major cyber attack. 

According to Tze Way Yeong, manager of Risk Engineering Services (RES), Asia, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, these events have underscored the growing importance of Asia Pacific as a centre of the production of diversity of products including high tech products and components.

Organisations within the automotive, computing and electronics industries really woke up to the exposures following the natural disasters in Thailand and Japan in 2011, he says. “Thailand is a major production base for hard discs and automotive and the Thai floods hit these supply chains hard. A few automotive companies had to stop production because they just could not procure or acquire parts produced from the central plains of Thailand.”

cargo vessel

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