Logistics Bureau Asia has been operating in South East Asia for nearly 10 years, mostly in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and has experience of the wide range of logistics and supply chain issues that such emerging markets generate.

Recently, in the relatively new market of Vietnam, we have successfully completed two major consultancy projects in or near Ho Chi Minh City; a strategic study and business plan for a client considering moving into the third-party logistics industry, and a supply chain review with a major Vietnamese beverages manufacturer.

The successful completion of these key projects has resulted in a number of follow-on and referral projects, covering warehouse optimisation, procurement, transportation optimisation and a cost-to-serve analysis of the distribution network.

Logistics in Vietnam is very much in an early stage of development when compared with several other markets in the region. The transportation infrastructure and rental warehousing sectors, as well as the level of professional knowledge and training are at best mediocre and at worst extremely poor.

This means that companies wishing to develop a world-class supply chain to support their investment in Vietnam as a cost-effective manufacturing market need to explore several avenues of development and be willing to move from their global approach to optimising the effectiveness of what resources are locally available.

Logistics Bureau Asia's major competitive advantage is that we have experienced Asia-based consultants who are able to develop facilities and resources in line with what is available and at the same time, move the development envelope forward by utilising the up-to-date professional knowledge of our Australian-based Head Office colleagues, most of whom also have experience in projects conducted in SE Asia.

In addition, we have TrainingLBA (www.traininglba.com) which provides training courses in supply chain and logistics aimed at filling the gap that exists in most Asian countries between theory-based, university-gained degrees and the operational realities of getting the job done on the ground.

In Logistics Bureau Asia, we can provide the high-level supply chain strategy and the operational processes, with their associated training needs, in a one-stop-shop based at the centre of your South East Asia market.