Schaeffler and Bridgestone discuss strategies for optimising operations in a fragmented ASEAN market
During Automotive Logistics' recent ASEAN livestream, Schaeffler's Tuan Vi and Bridgestone's Eric van Steen shared their strategies for overcoming fragmentation in the ASEAN market, emphasising the value of network optimisation, supplier diversification and end-to-end visibility.
In this clip from Automotive Logistics' recent ASEAN livestream, Schaeffler's vice president of supply chain management and logistics for Asia Pacific, Tuan Vi, described ASEAN as a "fragmented and diverse region". He explained what steps Schaeffler has taken to address this and optimise its distribution network.
Schaeffler recently relocated its regional distribution operations from Singapore to Thailand. The planning process for this relocation took more than six months and required Schaeffler to consider the impact of the move on cost efficiency and the ability to meet its customers' requirements, as well as gaining an understanding of all of its inbound and outbound flows.
It also involved engagement with with Schaeffler's logistics partners in the region, including close engagement with the solutions team from Maersk and putting out and RFQ to find the right third-party logistics providers to support the move to Thailand, ensuring alignment on warehousing standards and connectivity.
Customs fragmentation
Even short customs delays can have a significant impact on operations, so managing cross-border compliance across multiple markets in the fragmented ASEAN region is certainly a challenge.
Vi noted that while Singapore and Malaysia are "well-developed" when it comes to last-mile logistics, customs prodecures and the digitalisation of these processes. However, he noted that in some parts of the region – India, Vietnam and the Philippines, for example – there is a "gap in potential, especially in terms of last-mile connectivity and the process around that".
Rather than simply adopting a centralised or decentralised approach to customs, Vi explained that a hybrid approach is needed, supported by strong collaboration with partners in each country that are familiar with local requirements and procedures.
"Maturity levels vary a lot from country to country," Vi said. "The World Bank Logistics Performance Index shows logistics performance by country, and there you can definitely see that Singapore is towards the top and other countries like Vietnam and Thailand have their challenges."
Vi explained that Schaeffler catered for these differences by building in a buffer to its lead times to account for any delays in customs handling, for example, in countries that have not yet caught up with the likes of Singapore and Malaysia.
Risk management strategies
To limit the impact that a disruption arising from fragmentation across the ASEAN region, there are a number of measures that companies can deploy. Firstly – from the supply side – Eric van Steen vice president of supply chain at Bridgestone Asia Pacific, emphasised the importance to "reduce dependency on single suppliers or even single countries or regions" for raw materials supply.
He also highlighted visibility as a key factor in overcoming fragmentation and improving resilience in the supply chain. This visibility should extend beyond the logistics network into understanding of where materials are coming from right through to tier-two and tier-three suppliers to allow firms to spot issues before they impact operations, reducing the supply chain's exposure to disruption.
Strategic placement of inventory, while perhaps not the most preferable solution due to the impact on cash flow, is another "tool in the toolkit" that van Steen outlined. He also pointed towards trusted partnerships, accurate forecasts and flexible operations as valuable assets when it comes to managing risk.
From a manufacturing view, van Steen said that Bridgestone has been multi-sourcing in the region to improve resilience, but noted that the challenge with this approach is that the development process takes longer. Due to differences in machinery, materials and manufacturing processes, what works in one country is unlikely to be a perfect fit for another – it needs to be adapted, and that takes time.
"To transfer a tyre design from one factory to another takes time, energy and funding, but it's definitely one of the things that we're doing," van Steen said.
According to Vi, Schaeffler is taking a similar approach to resilience, combining traditional measures such as safety stock, dual-sourcing and scenario planning with efforts to improve visibility across its inbound supply chain. He shared that the company has worked more closely with its European plants and suppliers to synchronise collection schedules, reducing waiting times before shipments are consolidated and loaded for Asia while giving planners greater visibility into inbound flows.
Smart deployment of AI tools
Vi said Schaeffler has also focused on improving the flow of information rather than just the movement of freight. The company recently piloted an AI-powered document management system at its Vietnam plant that automatically reads inbound emails, classifies and links shipping documents to individual shipments, and presents planners with a live overview of shipments, milestones and documentation.
Because this system works directly from email rather than requiring EDI connections with suppliers and logistics providers, Vi said it has helped reduce the administrative burden of managing thousands of inbound documents while providing a more organised and transparent view of the supply chain.
While Bridgestone has been using AI for several years to automate tasks such as processing invoices, checking prices and extracting information from logistics documents, van Steen said the company is taking a cautious approach to broader deployment. Rather than pursuing isolated productivity gains, he said the priority is to build the underlying digital infrastructure needed to support AI at scale, including standardising data and moving away from spreadsheet-based processes.
"We're really focused on making sure that the data infrastructure is the right one, that you're working from platforms and not just on Excel," van Steen said. "We're taking a very considered approach in terms of where do we deploy AI in a way that it's not just a gimmick and a quick win for some personal productivity, but actually generates structural improvements over the longer term and is scalable as well."
He added that Bridgestone is already using AI-powered bots in customer call centres in Thailand and exploring agentic AI to automate repetitive order management tasks, while also investing in warehouse automation through automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).
Furthermore, following visits to automation suppliers in China, the company is also evaluating new logistics technologies to automate the handling of stillages as part of a wider push to increase warehouse automation across the region.
Watch the full livestream on demand here and don't forget to register for Automotive Logistics' next livestream, all about packaging, on October 8, 2026.
