Discussion and Implications for the Future

Abstract

This study examines the patterns for building automotive supply chains in high-growth member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in recent years and ways to effectively manage them. In particular, the study focuses on transactional supply chain relationships in the automotive industry. It also (1) identifies supply chain partnerships from the perspective of sales and service and not just production; (2) explains the supply chain localization process; (3) explicates trade practices within supply chains; and (4) examines, from three perspectives, the differences among country factors that impact the behavior of manufacturing industry employees. Currently, the expansion of automotive markets in ASEAN countries is causing major changes in how supply chains are created in the automotive industry, including for Japanese firms. At the end of the study, we offer thoughts on management on the basis of supply chain survey results from the automotive industry in Thailand, a major auto-making country.

Work by Munehiko Itoh, Atsumi Kato, Yoshitaka Shimono, Yasuhiko Haraguchi, and Park Taehoon.