In this week’s fireside chat, we heard from Henry Ko, Managing Director for Asia at Flexport about what companies can expect in navigating their supply chains in this new era. Flexport is a full-service global freight forwarder and logistics platform. Its mission is to fix the user experience in global trade and bring the world free trade through technology.
Supply chains have only become more unpredictable. Disruption in early 2020 due to manufacturing shut-downs in China and high turbulence in the freight market has brought logistics to the top priority for many C-suite executives.
On the other hand, digital innovation and transformation has accelerated under the “new normal”. Manufacturers like to have end-to-end visibility of their supply chains, leverage data insights for more preventive planning, and better forecast / balance demand and supply.
During the pandemic, data has enabled non-disruptive work and collaboration. This has led to better planning, forecasting, and enhanced trust among ecosystem players.
Flexport's customers achieved more efficiency by using their data platform with full visibility and control over their supply chain.
Flexport has built an innovative “supply chain network” through the digital platform where manufacturers can easily connect their suppliers, buyers and collaborate seamlessly through the network.
In the long run, Flexport’s technology vision is to iterate and refine the platform to connect all of the entities in global trade and standardise how they collaborate across the network. Flexport's goal is to help clients to create their own valuable businesses and benefit from greater selection and the ability to scale to anywhere in the world.
With estimates of recovery of the global economy, there is much to look forward to in 2021.
Aside from the acceleration of digital adoption in the post-COVID-era, new business transaction models will also be instrumental in market growth. Mediums such as virtual conferences, live streaming promotions, and E-commerce have surged and accelerated during the pandemic.
China Customs data shows that the global trade volume through cross-border E-commerce in China has increased by 52.8% compared to the same time last year for the first three quarters.
In addition, positive trade deals and agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement (CAI) will drive global trade and economic growth in the coming years.
We hope you enjoyed this fireside chat with Henry Ko. Be sure to follow Flexport on LinkedIn to stay updated on all the supply chain and logistics trends.
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