Tag Archives: Bloomberg

Samsung eyes blockchain technology to cut supply chain costs by 20%

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Samsung is targeting the introduction of blockchain technology that could reduce its global shipping costs by up to 20%.

Song Kwang-woo, vice president of Samsung SDS, the Korean multinational’s specialist technology arm, has revealed the company is investigating the possibility of using a blockchain ledger system to ‘fuel its digital transformation’.

By automating channels of communication both internally and with port authorities, it predicts that it will be able to improve efficiency by up to a fifth – potentially saving billions of dollars every year.

“It (blockchain) will have an enormous impact on the supply chains of manufacturing industries,” said Song, speaking to Bloomberg. “Blockchain is a core platform to fuel our digital transformation.”

Samsung works with approximately 2500 suppliers around the world, building relationships around five key criteria: cost competitiveness, human resources capacity, on-time delivery, response to risk and supplier competitiveness. SDS says it will handle around 488,000 tonnes of air cargo and 1mn TEUs in 2018 alone.

Last May, SDS launched a blockchain pilot to track imports and exports of shipments in Korea’s shipping sector, a trial that concluded at the end of the year.

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Supply chain risk is a growing concern for the Pentagon

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As the reliance of The Defense Department and its major contractors on vast global supply chains to provide the systems and weapons the DOD needs to perform its mission increases, so too does the risk. These potential risks come in many forms: the financial failure of a critical supplier; a supplier in violation of labor or environmental standards; or foreign infiltration into critical systems. The government is pushing contractors to provide more information about their supply chains, and this analysis will walk you through the supply chain of DOD’s (and the federal government’s) largest contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., and uses it as an example of how Bloomberg can help you identify and report on potential risk areas.

Critical Nodes

It is possible to identify 350 of Lockheed’s suppliers by using the supply chain function SPLC on the Bloomberg Professional Service. Bloomberg’s entire supply chain database contains more than 1 million customer/supplier relationships. The same data also shows that some of these companies are highly reliant on Lockheed as a customer. Quickstep Holdings Ltd., a manufacturer of composite materials based in Australia, receives an estimated 70 percent of its revenue from Lockheed. Any change in Lockheed’s fortunes could have downstream effects on highly dependent suppliers like Quickstep.

For the Pentagon, Honeywell International Inc. is a much more critical supplier than Quickstep. Honeywell is a top 10 supplier to Lockheed as well as the other big five defense contractors: Boeing Co., General Dynamics Corp., Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon Co. Many defense programs could be disrupted, and alternative products and suppliers might be difficult to find if Honeywell’s goods and services were suddenly compromised.

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Indonesia to Ease Curbs on Foreign Investment as Growth Slows

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Indonesia to Ease Curbs on Foreign Investment as Growth Slows

Indonesia said it will allow foreign investment in airports and ports as the government seeks to revitalize an economy growing at the weakest pace since the global recession.

The country may also ease limits on overseas holdings in its telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries, the Investment Coordinating Board said today, hours after a report showed economic expansion slowed for a fifth quarter. Gross domestic product increased 5.62 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, as a declining rupiah restrained investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Indonesian policy makers are grappling with a depreciated exchange rate, elevated inflation and diminished foreign capital inflows undermining President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s legacy of economic stability before he steps down next year. His failure to fix infrastructure gaps in his two terms has added to price pressures, threatening his party’s chances at elections in 2014.

“The dust has yet to settle on the slowdown definitely,” said Wellian Wiranto, a Singapore-based investment strategist at the wealth-management unit of Barclays Plc. “Hopefully it will be replaced by construction dust coming from new infrastructure investment if they stick to these opening up measures.”

The rupiah fell 0.5 percent to 11,415 per dollar as of 3:45 p.m. in Jakarta today, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. It has dropped more than 15 percent this year, the worst performer among Asia’s 11 most-active currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Indonesia still remains as a major investment destination. If you want to learn more about investment, feel free to send us a messageor write a comment.

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