ILMA Compoundings - February 2021 - 23

through the first quarter, and hopefully things will normalize sometime
in the second quarter, " added Bower.
" That said, I expect inbound supply
chain managers to have long memories
after a shock of this magnitude. They
will look for creative ways to reduce
lead times and better manage disruptions. We're already hearing from
shippers who recognize the need for
profound change in some cases. "
Apart from collaborating with logistics companies to reduce lead time
and shifting to intra-regional trading
routes, some blenders are looking into
third-party blending.
Blenders in Indonesia and Singapore Compoundings spoke with said
third-party blending is growing. " This
can help exporters enter the local
market, overcome compliance issues
and various local legislations and procedures, " said a blender based in Asia.
Third-party blending has become an
option for Thai Petroleum & Trading
Co., too. " Because of the recent pandemic, we have added a contingency
plan to partner up with a blender as
an alternative OEM [or third-party
blending] for us if needed, " said
Tingthanathikul.
Meanwhile, during the pandemic last year, some companies
strengthened their supply chain

with acquisitions. For example,
German-based chemicals company
Brenntag acquired Thailand-based
lubricants distributor Oils 'R Us Co.
Ltd. to expand into Southeast Asia.
" Our acquisition in Thailand, which
is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, perfectly drives Brenntag's
lubricants expansion plan in the region
forward. Not only regional, but also
in terms of service offering, since Oils
'R Us offers us extensive possibilities
to establish lubricant decanting and
repackaging capabilities in the future, "
said Henri Nejade, member of the
management board of Brenntag Group
and CEO of Brenntag Asia Pacific.
Brenntag markets and distributes
lubricants in Singapore, Hong Kong,
Vietnam and Indonesia. Oils 'R Us
distributes lubricants for automotive,
commercial vehicle, industrial and
marine applications.
Similarly, in February last year,
South Korea-based SK Lubricants
acquired a 49% stake in Mekong
Petrochemical JSC, Vietnam's largest
private lubricant company. With
the acquisition, SK Lubricants will
be supplying lubricants to Mekong
Petrochemical, and Mekong Petrochemical will be using SK base oil to
manufacture lubricants. In the future,
the company plans to increase storage

" The lockdown situation disrupted supply
chains across the
region, and some of
the blenders have
been thinking to
reduce their reliance
on imports from
other regions. "
Anuj Kumar,
energy industry project manager,
Kline & Co.
capacity and to strengthen the sales
network in Southeast Asia.
When reviewing supply chain
options, Bower advised blenders to
look at the big picture. " In my experience, the most successful shippers
take a holistic view of the supply
chain, beyond simply point A to point
B, " he said. " They look for structural
changes to their existing supply chain,
and they are willing to take it apart
and put it back together again. Their
outcomes are invariably better than
shippers who obsess over price without
an understanding of what they get for
that price. "
Lam is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

23
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