6 April 2017, Hong Kong – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ) Assistant CEO Anders Karlborg said multinational businesses need to fast-track their plans for digitalization to accelerate innovations and deliver improved services to customers.

Speaking at The Center for Global Enterprise’s Digital Supply Chain Executive Leadership Forum in Hong Kong, Mr. Karlborg said new technologies including blockchain, smart contracts and artificial intelligence offer new tools for companies to optimize their operations for greater productivity and cost-efficiency, ensuring consistency and alignment across different markets. Other speakers at the forum included Sam Palmisano, Chairman of CGE, Victor Fung, Honorary Chairman of Li & Fung, George Bailey, Managing Director of the CGE’s Digital Supply Chain Institute (DSCI), Spencer Fung, Group CEO of Li & Fung, and Hans Thalbauer, Senior Vice President of IoT and Digital Supply Chain at SAP.

“Supply chain transformation will help multinational businesses become more customer-centric, drive innovation and increase speed to market,” Mr. Karlborg said. “ZTE is adopting digitalization technologies to integrate our operational platforms across the world to give us improved capabilities to meet customers’ needs.”

According to research conducted by the CGE, supply chain transformation can help companies achieve a 20% reduction of procurement costs, 50% reduction in supply chain costs, and a 10% increase in revenue.

Attended by 75 participants from industry sectors ranging from electronic component manufacturing to textiles, the Digital Supply Chain Executive Leadership Forum was the first event hosted by DSCI. Based in New York, the CGE is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution devoted to the study of the contemporary corporation, globalization, economic trends, and their impact on society.

As one of the world’s leading providers of advanced telecommunications networks and enterprise ICT solutions, ZTE’s products and services are sold in more than 160 countries, enabling customers to accelerate service innovations through the deployment of next-generation technologies.

“Embracing digitalization to enhance business operations and customer experience is vital for business growth. It is essential to innovate our practices and adopt latest technologies to improve operational efficiency. It is imperative for companies to develop a customer-centric platform that enables real-time data management, demand stimulation, and aligning operations with the customers’ needs,” Mr. Karlborg said.

Excerpt of Mr. Karlborg’s views on digital supply chain can be found here.

For more information about the Digital Supply Chain Executive Leadership Forum, please visit: http://thecge.net/event/digital-supply-chain-executive-leadership-forum/.