Companies

Firm Executives Participate in Discussion on Effective Supply Chains At Next-Generation Global Supply Chain Forum

The Yomiuri Shimbun
From left: Yasu Higuchi, president of Panasonic Connect Co., Tadatsugu Konoike, director and senior managing executive officer in charge of overseas business of Konoike Transport Co. and Ayako Kawai, professor of the Faculty of Economics of Gakushuin University, are seen in an image captured from video taken at the Next-Generation Global Supply Chain Forum on Friday.

The Japan News

12:35 JST, December 16, 2025

As tensions deepen between economic superpowers China and the United States, and growing concerns over supply chain instability, companies are intensifying efforts to secure stable supply networks. At an online forum held on Friday, corporate representatives and a researcher exchanged views on the challenges they face and discussed possible countermeasures.

While it is often said that securing supply chains is emphasized as preparation for geopolitical risks and emergencies such as large-scale disasters, at the Next-Generation Global Supply Chain Forum, Panasonic Connect Co. President Yasu Higuchi said, “Fundamentally, supply chains being managed effectively even during normal times is far more crucial.”

He pointed out that inadequate supply chain management “leads to operational inefficiencies, significantly impacting business operations,” stressing the need for corporate executives to proactively engage in improvements rather than leaving it solely to the relevant departments.

Tadatsugu Konoike, director and senior managing executive officer in charge of overseas business at Konoike Transport Co., introduced German practices. Currently stationed in Germany to understand how overseas supply chains work, he noted that advanced companies in Germany standardize product-related information such as inventory levels in warehouses and factories and efficiently manage this data using AI and other technologies. He stated, “Supply chain management must be implemented top-down.”

Regarding moves by Japanese companies to shift factories from China to Southeast Asian countries in consideration of geopolitical risks, Ayako Kawai, professor of the Faculty of Economics of Gakushuin University, expressed the view that these actions are a response to short-term challenges without a medium-to-long-term perspective. She said, “It is time to consider the overall architecture [of supply chains].”

Kawai also expressed the view that data held by logistics companies can be useful for improving supply chains, stressing the importance of these firms taking action. Konoike responded that such data also presents business opportunities for logistics companies.