Asia SMEs still experimenting with SCM

Asia - The power of effective supply chain management is still largely lost on Asian SMEs, reveals a study by UPS.

The UPS Asia Business Monitor, which polls a total of 1,201 SMEs across 12 markets in Asia, found that while 80% of SMEs across the region believe supply chain efficiency is important to their competitiveness, the majority are still unsure about how to achieve this.

The study reveals that only 32% of SMEs polled are experimenting ways to manage their supply chain, while 30% consider themselves to be effectively managing their supply chains. 22% of SME leaders are under-utilising the power of the supply chain and a further 6% are neglecting the management of their supply chain completely.

The uptake of supply chain solutions among Asian SMEs, while still fairly narrow, is expanding, says Andrew Connelly, senior vice president, south district, UPS Asia Pacific.

"SMEs are becoming more mature in their view of what supply chains are and what they can do," he told ProcurementAsia. "If I look back at the survey as we did it a few years ago, the appetite of SMEs to go international was less than it is today. As they become more exposed to other markets and their needs expand, then will be able to see more of what [supply chain solutions providers'] capabilities are."

Since its launch in 2005, the annual UPS ABM has been conducted to deliver the latest insights on the changing business needs of SMEs, which make up the bulk of businesses in the region. In Singapore, SMEs account for 90% of enterprises, 42% of GDP and employ more than half the workforce.