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Project Description
Indonesia's automotive industry is undergoing a significant electrification phase, driven by government targets to have 2 million electric cars and 13 million e-motorbikes on the road by 2030. However, despite the robust incentives and strong measures, there is a severe lack of accessible charging infrastructure with only 600 charging stations in 2022.
This presents a clear and immediate market opportunity for China-manufactured portable EV chargers that can facilitate flexible home or on-the-road charging, especially under the new release of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA 3.0) in Oct 2025.
However, to capture this market opportunity, the challenges still persist in
Complex supply chain configuration: The challenges of multi-modal route coordination from China to Indonesia lead to inefficiency and high landed costs, which in turn erode margins.
Complex ACFTA compliance requirements: Heavy burden of regulatory documentation slows down the process.
The Misumi Kaizen OÜ Group is a leading wholesale exporter and retail supplier of advanced automotive systems, vehicles & parts from OEM and aftermarket brands since 2013. The Group offers a wide range of high-performance vehicles and cutting-edge automotive components. In 2020, the Group expanded strategically into the realm of electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous vehicles, vehicle navigation, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.
Project Outcomes
Addressing the project challenges, the project team delivered the following solutions to help the partner capture the emerging market opportunity.
A 3-pillar comprehensive playbook that optimizes the route architecture of Shenzhen-Singapore-Jakarta lane, leverages Singapore as regional control tower and Deliver Duty Paid (DDP) executer, and strategizes Singapore, Johor and Batam as volume-triggered hubs.
Achieved a lowest landed cost per unit after a rigorous evaluation of 17 different routes using the proprietary 21-Parameter Cost Model embedded within the Misumi Kaizen | Source Supply Chain Codex v2.0 reference data & System Prompt v4.0 inference engine, after a rigorous evaluation of 17 different routes, which is further validated through the physical execution of a 50-unit trial shipment of portable EV chargers from China to Indonesia, ensuring ACFTA 0% duty benefits.
Demonstrate route flexibility across sea, air, and hybrid modes, supporting volume growth from 50 to 500+ units, with economies of scale projected to reduce per-unit cost by about 25% at high volumes.
Establish a simplified ACFTA documentation process that utilizes the manufacturer’s Form E certification, eliminating the complexity of regional value content calculations and multi-country handling.
Develop a proof-of-concept AI model that demonstrates the capability of a multi-pass Large Language Models (LLM) that is incorporated into Misumi Kaizen MIRAI | Source LISA 2.0 (Logistics Inference & Supply Chain Assistant) agentic AI agent driven automotive platform — to automate its supply-chain routing decisions using natural language inputs and playbook-driven logic, designed for deployment across Misumi Kaizen | Automotive and Misumi Kaizen | Express lines of business.
Project benefits:
A strategic supply chain playbook that is immediately replicable for advanced automotive systems and easily adaptable to other product categories within the ACFTA scope across ASEAN.
Effectively position the partner as a strategic enabler for both China manufacturers seeking ASEAN market entry and ASEAN importers looking for cost-competitive China sourcing.
Provide a confirmed scalable blueprint from a small pilot to multi-thousand-unit flows with 25% cost reduction.
Enhancements to LISA 2.0 that provides real-time supply chain simulation with evaluation of total cost and risk impact for business users and decision-makers.
Feedback from Partner
Mohamed Hardi, Chief Operating Officer — ASEAN, Misumi Kaizen | MIRAI Ventures, on behalf of Misumi Kaizen OÜ Group
"The SMU-XL project team demonstrated exceptional rigour in tackling a genuine operational challenge facing our Group. The research underpinning this engagement was thorough — the team developed a proprietary 21-Parameter Cost Model and a comprehensive supply chain Codex (v2.0) that we have since adopted as internal reference tools for route optimisation across our ASEAN corridors.
What impressed us most was the practical applicability of their work. The ACFTA 3.0 compliance framework they built was not merely theoretical — it was stress-tested against real shipment scenarios from Shenzhen to Jakarta, with validated landed costs ranging from US$39.75 to US$48.59 per unit at pilot scale, scaling down to approximately US$31–38 per unit at commercial volumes of 5,000 units. These figures now inform our Misumi Kaizen | Automotive FY2026 procurement budget and Misumi Kaizen | Express 3PL supply chain negotiations.
For a global organisation like Misumi Kaizen OÜ Group, which is actively streamlining its operational processes across the ASEAN region, this project delivered immediate strategic value. The team's recommendations on multi-modal routing (Sea+Sea via Singapore hub), Form E back-to-back documentation, and Indonesia API-P import licensing have been incorporated into our standard operating procedures. We are now piloting the framework with 50 units in Q2 2026, with a roadmap to scale to 5,000+ units by Q4 and thereafter meet the target of 50,000 units annually over 5 years.
Beyond the deliverables, the professionalism and commitment of the student team — Lee Yie How, Fong Tat Wai (David), Cheong Juan Meng, Chiam Serene, Shen Hsuan (Shane), and Lee Bee Teck (Arthur). — were outstanding. They engaged with our management & business teams, challenged assumptions constructively, and delivered beyond scope. We are pleased to have two of these students now exploring fractional expert consulting roles within our Misumi Kaizen | Services team.
I have no hesitation in recommending this project as a showcase of what industry-academia collaboration can achieve when both parties are genuinely invested in outcomes. Misumi Kaizen OÜ Group fully endorses the publication of this case study and welcomes enquiries from organisations seeking to optimise their China-ASEAN supply chains to help optimise their business and ensure consistent delivery in the new geopolitical climate."
Partner: The Misumi Kaizen OÜ Group
Company Type: MNC/SME/Startup
Reimagine EV Charger Supply Chain
Theme(s):
Digital Transformation, Growth in Asia, Sustainable Living
Instructor:
Professor Gary PAN
School:
SMU Academy
Course:
Digital Economy Capstone (Industry Practice Masters)