Post Event Update | COVID-19 and the Impact on Global Supply Chain Logistics

AustCham in Partnership with the Australian China Business Council (ACBC) and Alibaba group held a webinar on COVID-19 and the Impact on Global Supply Chain Logistics on Wednesday April 8, 2020. Maggie Zhou, Managing Director of Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand) and Brett Charlton, National Board Member ACBC, Manager, Agility Logistics, assessed the fallout in the China-Australia supply chain as a consequence of COVID-19.

Maggie touched upon the increasing shift towards reliance on internet trading platforms in the future and discussed Alibaba’s role beyond the manufacturing and trading industry. Maggie further outlined Alibaba’s assistance in the education sector with the establishment of sufficient online learning infrastructure in recent weeks, and how the manufacturing world post COVID-19 could indeed see an increase in the provision of services and transactions completed solely off-site from the home office.

Brett cautioned that there will be significant disruptions in the future and that a number of casualties in the supply chain market will lead to a serious dearth of suppliers in some areas. He examined how solutions designed to mitigate future disruptions may take some time to present themselves. Brett – like Maggie – indicated that the pandemic will likely bring even closer cooperation in China-Australia trade relations.

Click below to listen to the full audio of the webinar.

On Wednesday April 8, AustCham China in partnership with the Australia China Business Council (ACBC) and Alibaba Group, will be holding a webinar on COVID-19 and the Impact on Global Supply Chain Logistics.

Hear from Maggie Zhou, Managing Director of Alibaba Group (Australia and New Zealand) and Brett Charlton, National Board Member ACBC, Manager, Agility Logistics, as they provide a comprehensive overview of the impact COVID-19 is having on global supply chains. Discussing in depth the hurdles COVID-19 has created, offer advice on how businesses can better prepare for periods of supply chain disruption, and what this uncertainty means in the context of the broader global economy. They will also touch upon supply chain resiliency, risk mitigation and the push towards diversification.

Date: Wednesday 8 April 
Time: 12:00PM – 1:00PM CST
RSVP: Register by scanning the QR code below, or by clicking here. 

Attendee Login: https://austrade.webex.com/austrade/onstage/g.php?MTID=ebd2215d92a5e8ef92480e4d017f5eab7 

Speakers:

Maggie Zhou was appointed Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand for Alibaba Group in March 2016. As one of the key veterans of the company, Maggie has witnessed major developments as the company has expanded its businesses internationally as well as the development and growth of China’s e-commerce market. In her current role, she is responsible for establishing a local presence for Alibaba in Australia and New Zealand to help local merchants enter the vast China consumer market. Prior to this role, Maggie worked closely with the Australia and New Zealand business development team on Tmall Global, a cross-border business-to-consumer platform for Tmall, and was in charge of government and public affairs for the platform. She has worked closely with Austrade, showcasing the value of the China e-commerce market to Australian brands and businesses. In Maggie’s earlier days with Alibaba, she helped establish Taobao Marketplace in 2003 and served as Executive Assistant to Jack Ma, the founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba, for almost five years. In April 2019, Maggie was appointed as a Trustee of the Adelaide Centre Festival Trust.

Brett Charlton has been involved in international logistics for over thirty years at management level in Australia and overseas, predominately in the corporate sector. For the last ten years Brett has worked with Agility Logistics (a multinational logistics company) after they acquired his own successful freight forwarding business in 2013. During this time in Tasmania, Australia, Agility has gained a reputation as a solution based business with strong ties in the aquaculture, agricultural, manufacturing and retail sectors. Further to Brett’s involvement with Agility he is also the Chairman of the Tasmanian Logistics Committee, National Board member and Tasmanian Vice President of the Australia China Business Council and sits on the board of the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group and has recently been appointed to the Australian Freight Industry Reference Panel. Brett has visited China on a number of occasions on behalf of Agility and also as part of Tasmanian Government Trade missions. Brett is a regular commentator of matters relating to Freight and Logistics in such publications as the Daily Commercial News (Australia). Based in Tasmania, Australia his children attend the school that President Xi Jinping visited on his historic visit to Tasmania in 2014. Brett considers himself a friend to China and is of the firm belief that our future trading success hinges on continued good relations between our two countries.