Seminar seeks to address supply chain bottlenecks

The seminar on March 31 was hosted by Zim and SBG

The event was supported by major industry players, including ZIM Shipping, APL Logistics, Gemadept, Saigon New Port, Giang Nam Logictics, Vietnam International Container Terminals, Vinalogistics, SP-ITC, Canadian National Railway, among others.

During the seminar, Nguyen Chi Toan, a representative from VSIP shared the industrial park's development and logistics needs. A few issues were raised in the following discussion, including power shortages, labour costs, and more.

Bui Van Quy, executive vice president of Saigon New Port, highlighted the need for the seaport infrastructure to grow bigger and deeper to meet the demand of the ships and vessels.

Seminar participants raised the need for warehouse charge adjustments amid soaring investment costs on the local seaport system to meet ever-increasing demands from large ships.

Saigon New Port representatives received souvenirs from the organising committee

The demand for deep-water container terminals in Cai Mep (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) and Lach Huyen (Haiphong) continues to grow as shipping liners seek to call on directly larger vessels that are becoming more prevalent along international shipping routes.

Moving to Cai Mep terminal, on March 29 Gemalink marked its first one million TEUs just after one year into operation. The port is equipped with modern ship-to-shore cranes capable of handling very large vessels.

The seminar also touched on just-in-case logistics, as opposed to traditional just-in-time logistics, and how this is relevant to creating contingencies in the supply chain since the traditional lean method is confronted with disruptions in the global supply chain. The topic was covered by Chun Hao Loh, managing director of APL Logistics.

According to industry experts, beyond ports, connectivity is a key factor in the overall supply chain. It proves important for stakeholders to continue to invest in and expand infrastructures such as roads, waterways, and railways, not just within the major hubs but also in coastal provinces and the hinterlands.

At the seminar, Eli Z. Caspi, co-founder of ZKCyberstar, underlined the need for cyber security solutions as logistics and shipping become more entrenched in the digital space.

Keen awareness of the problem, as well as contingency and recovery solutions, are as critically important as preventive measures, Caspi emphasised.