Thailand unveils supply chain metaverse

Supply chain visibility remains an area of importance for organizations as they look to deal with issues the industry has faced over the last few years. Most companies today rely on supply chain visibility tools to not only have control over their supply chain but also be able to plan for the future based on the data they have.

Supply chains in the Asia Pacific region, particularly, have adjusted, become resilient, and continue to thrive. According to a report by KPMG, the events of the past couple of years have opened up significant opportunities for emerging economies within the region, attracting foreign investment to develop high-quality infrastructure that supports more effective cross-regional supply chain flows.

In Thailand, for example, its supply chain strengths include a favorable geographic position with good infrastructure support, such as air, rail, seaport, and road connectivity. The Thai government’s seaport expansion plans also support the export of automotive parts and vehicles, which makes up a huge portion of the supply chain.

Thailand also won global praise for keeping its supply chains mostly up and running during the pandemic according to news reports. The country has also secured a grant from the U.S. for technical assistance to make its supply chains even more resilient. Aside from strengthening Thailand’s supply chain network, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) also awarded the grant to advance the decarbonization of Thailand’s freight transportation system.

In this pursuit for greater supply chain optimization, TMX Global, an end-to-end supply chain transformation consultancy, has launched TMX Metaverse in Thailand. TMX Metaverse is an innovative industry-first solution that is expected to revolutionize supply chain design through leading virtual technology.

The first in Asia, the TMX Metaverse is a powerful tool for supply chain transformation, allowing businesses to step into a virtual reality simulation and experience floor plans at a real, human-scale during the entire design process.

By leveraging the metaverse’s ability to bring something digital to life, businesses can collaborate and configure in real-time with TMX, thereby realizing tangible cost efficiencies across their projects. With the ability to visualize designs in the metaverse, businesses can improve decision-making and efficiency during the conceptualization process by up to 50% in some cases.

A key feature of the TMX Metaverse platform is the Campus, which showcases the latest technologies in robotics and supply chain automation. The Campus provides users with an immersive experience to explore and understand how these technologies can enhance and streamline their supply chain operations.

According to Travis Erridge, TMX Global Co-Founder and CEO, the industry-first solution first launched in Australia with great success. For Erridge, launching in Asia was a natural next step given the business’s growing focus in the region, and in response to the region’s supply chains facing increasing pressure from consumers, boards, and other stakeholders to optimize.

“What we’ve found is that ongoing supply chain disruptions have set ASEAN’s economies back by a staggering US$17.01 billion annually. As the region’s role in the global supply chain landscape strengthens in the wake of volatility in the rest of the world, businesses in Asia are increasingly considering ways to mitigate these disruptions and ensure greater supply chain resilience,” commented Erridge.

Erridge also pointed out that when it comes comes to effectively designing a resilient supply chain, visualization is key. This insight sparked TMX Global to pioneer this new technology. Erridge added that the TMX Metaverse not only brings future floorplans and concepts to life, but it also breaks borders by allowing businesses to work collaboratively in real-time throughout the design process, ensuring that the final outcome meets their supply chain needs.

“ASEAN presents unique growth opportunities on all fronts, and TMX aims to play a key role in supporting this growth by strengthening the agility and resilience of the region’s supply chains,” said Erridge.

On why Thailand and its supply chain were selected to be the hub to launch the TMX Metaverse, Dean Jones, Managing Director, Asia for TMX Global explained that Thailand represents a key part of their Asia strategy, as TMX Global recognizes the market’s strong potential in the supply chain sector. Over the last few years, Thailand has experienced robust growth in e-commerce, which has called for significant investments in warehouse and logistics facilities. The authorities have also rolled out a series of national schemes to transform Thailand into the region’s logistics hub to cover land, air, and maritime transport in ASEAN.

“Holding our Asia launch of TMX Metaverse here in Thailand demonstrates our commitment to this market. The country’s strong potential to drive further growth aligns with our Asia strategy to tie key industrial learnings with digital solutions, so we have decided to make our mark in the Thai market to set up the businesses here for success on the international stage,” concluded Jones.

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