Disrupted Supply Chains

How is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting supply chains across Australia and Southeast Asia? How do we ensure the stable flow of goods in an age of rising geoeconomic uncertainty?  

In recent decades Southeast Asia has emerged as a key player in global supply chains, with Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand becoming major hubs of manufacturing. Yet the region has also been challenged by a confluence of disruptions which have destabilised supply chains. 

In a bid to stem the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant, strict lockdown measures in the region have led to the shutdown of factories crucial to global value chains. And although supply chains and price pressures may begin to stabilise as vaccine rollouts accelerate, disruptions in key sectors such as semi-conductors, automobiles, and agriculture are likely to continue.  

Rising costs to both air and sea freight have also meant island nations like Australia are not immune from these dynamics. In an age of increasing uncertainty, targeted government measures and innovative logistics solutions may prove essential to help businesses adapt to a new international trading environment.  

Join Asia Society Australia Supply Chain Fellows Hermione Parsons and Vinh Thai, along with Roberto Perez Franco (Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics, Deakin University) and Suresh Nanoo (CEO, Century Batteries Malaysia) for a discussion about how we can navigate supply chain disruptions in Australia and Southeast Asia.  

Date: Thursday 9 December 2021
Time: 2 - 3pm AEDT
Venue: Zoom webinar
Register: https://invtdu.to/_mnk3d

Registration is essential. For any enquiries, please contact programaustralia@asiasociety.org. 

This program is presented in partnership with the Global Victoria Trade Alliance program

About our Speakers

Dr Hermione Parsons, Asia Society Australia Supply Chain Fellow and Chairperson of the Supply Chain Advisory Network  

Since 2010, Dr Hermione Parsons has been the Director of Centres for Supply Chain and Logistics at Deakin and Victoria Universities in Melbourne Australia. Previously she was strategic planner at the Port of Melbourne Corporation, the Victorian Government (economic development and infrastructure) and the Melbourne Markets Authority. Hermione has executive management experience in public and private sector organisations with responsibility for multimodal freight logistics, freight transport infrastructure planning, competition, regulation, supply chain reengineering, and industry-government relations. Areas of expertise include end-to-end supply chain strategy, managing supply chain complexity, and problem-solving freight logistics in metropolitan, regional and international markets (Australia and South East Asia). 

Vinh Thai, Asia Society Australia Supply Chain Fellow and Associate Professor at the School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain, RMIT University

Dr Vinh Thai is an associate professor at the School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain of RMIT University. He is currently an Associate Editor of the Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics and is known internationally for his research in logistics and supply chain management in general and maritime logistics in particular. He has so far published more than 140 international peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers, and several book chapters, in leading academic journals e.g. Transportation Research Part E, Transportation Research Part A, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Shipping & Transport Logistics, Maritime Policy & Management, Maritime Economics & Logistics, etc. 

Roberto Perez Franco, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics (CSCL), Deakin University

Dr. Roberto Perez-Franco has extensive expertise in the assessment and reformulation of supply chain strategies of organisations. His supply chain strategy ideas have been taught at MIT and deployed by organisations like BASF, Intel, 7-Eleven, Cardinal Health, Saflex, and the United Nations. He has designed and managed scenario planning projects in Australia for Woolworths, Coca-Cola Amatil and Qube, and for the Commonwealth Government, to inform the development of freight, logistics and supply chain strategies. At MIT, he was part of projects for the United States government and AB InBev 

Suresh Nanoo, CEO, Century Batteries Malaysia  

Graduating with a Joint Honors degree in Civil Engineering and Economics from Dundee University in the UK, Suresh has spent the larger part of his working career in banking and payment systems across Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines and Qatar. He was Regional Brand Head at Visa International, Asia Pacific in Singapore and Headed Retail Banking in HSBC Philippines and at Qatar National Bank. 

Asia Society Australia acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government.