BY TOBY GOOLEY, MANAGING EDITOR
CHINA/PAC RIM
strategicinsight
logistics technology
flowers in China
Five years ago, a facility with a warehouse management
system was considered cutting edge. Today, China’s top-
tier operations are abloom with mobile computers, RFID
systems, and wireless networking devices.
CHINA’S THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY
chain technology is evident from the growing number of trade shows displaying the latest innovations. In 2009, logisticians in China could choose
from nearly a dozen events where they could get “full firsthand experience
in the charm of modern logistics,” as one exhibition company phrased it.
According to TechnomicAsia, the Shanghai-based consulting unit of
Tompkins Associates, adoption of logistics technology in that country is
still in the “embryonic” stage, with only about 5 percent of warehouses
reporting that they have sufficient IT systems. Some are taking matters into
their own hands, reports Managing Director Steven Ganster in his blog on
the company’s Web site. “Many Chinese companies are writing their own
WMS programs that are not built to international standards,” he writes.
Still, proven logistics technologies are making inroads. A look at a directory of logistics and supply chain service offerings in China reveals such
familiar names as RedPrairie, Descartes Systems, HighJump, IBM, Infor,
JDA, Manhattan Associates, and SAP, to name just a few. Developers of
other types of warehouse and DC solutions—bar-code readers, RFID systems, wireless communications, hand-held computers, and more—also are
finding success in China.
Some of China’s largest manufacturers and third-party logistics service
providers (3PLs) have purchased logistics technology from U.S. and
European vendors. Others have gained access to the technology they want
through partnerships. For example, in 2007, China’s largest logistics services company, Sinotrans, struck a deal with National Retail Systems, a U.S.-based logistics company with a strong technology focus, to form a joint
venture called SinoNRS.
There are many more examples of logistics technology adoption in this
rapidly growing market than we can include here. A brief look at just a few
of them will provide an idea of the technical capabilities that are taking
root and beginning to blossom in China.
WMS gain early acceptance
Warehouse management systems (WMS) attracted attention early on, in
large part because China’s extraordinary export growth quickly over-
