Hong Kong base gives speed edge for EMC
EMC Corp, whose computer storage devices are used as part of telecommunications systems from mainland firms Huawei Technologies and ZTE, yesterday opened its Asia-Pacific logistics centre in Hong Kong.
The new operation, backed by DHL Exel Supply Chain, will help to speed up shipments for EMC’s mainland original equipment manufacturing partners and its other customers in the region.
“With this facility, we can reduce the lead time to configure each of our low-end and mid-range storage systems to four days from three weeks before,” said Denis Yip Shing-fai, EMC’s president for Greater China operations.
The EMC Asia-Pacific and Japan Supply Chain and Logistics Centre in Tsuen Wan is under the management of DHL Exel Supply Chain, a unit of global express and logistics firm DHL. Financial terms were not given.
Mr Yip said improving delivery cycles for EMC products was geared to meet the time needs of the company’s mainland OEM partners – including Huawei, ZTE and Inspur, formerly the Langchao Group.
“These companies, especially Huawei and ZTE, are doing plenty of business outside of China,” he said, noting that the two firms’ had been packaging EMC’s low-end and mid-range storage systems with many of their telecommunications equipment projects.
No shipment figures were provided.
Top PC maker Dell Computer develops co-branded EMC storage systems in Xiamen exclusively for the mainland.
EMC, which started commercial operations on the mainland in 1996, will expand its regional supply chain and logistics facility in the second half of this year to better serve its OEM partners.
“We chose Hong Kong over other potential sites in the region because it offers an efficient import structure, a robust transportation and logistics infrastructure, and a deep talent pool of supply-chain professionals,” said Steve Leonard, president of EMC Asia-Pacific and Japan. “Easy access to south China where some of our key customers and OEM partners are located was also a major advantage.”
DHL Exel Supply Chain and EMC also collaborated to develop a software program called Global Visibility Tool to provide EMC’s partners and sales teams with instant tracking of orders.
“Technology manufacturers like EMC have some of the most sophisticated supply chain requirements of any industry because of the nature of the products: complex, high value, and a high frequency of new product,” said Humberto Florez, chief executive for Asia-Pacific operations at DHL Exel Supply Chain.
According to research firm International Data Corp, the mainland continues to be the major contributor to the Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, in terms of storage hardware demand. External disk storage revenue on the mainland in the third quarter of last year reached USD168.6 million, which accounted for 33.2 per cent of the total market – worth USD507.7 million – in the region, excluding Japan
