Creating Supply Chain Management for Indonesia's Economy and East Nusa Tenggara Post-Asean Summit 2023 in Labuan Bajo – Flores – NTT – Indonesia

From the end of 2019 to 2021, the global economy, Indonesia’s economy in general, and particularly the economy of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), were struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all economic resources experienced significant downturns in management.

From the end of 2019 to 2021, the global economy, Indonesia’s economy in general, and particularly the economy of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), were struck by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all economic resources experienced significant downturns in management. In 2020, the average economic growth even declined to negative figures, marking one of the lowest points in the history of the global, Indonesian, and regional economies. Today, we are in the fiscal year 2025, having passed through the normalization period of 2022. Now, we are in a phase of economic recovery, and soon we will embark on a period of expansion to achieve a peak that is collectively envisioned. Therefore, at the beginning of 2025, while holding the trust as the Chair of ASEAN and several other global economic forums, Indonesia—especially the provincial government of NTT, along with its community and stakeholders—should seize this moment to facilitate economic recovery and even expansion. This effort aims to climb toward and occupy the much-anticipated economic peak. It is crucial not to waste this opportunity, as mismanagement could lead us to stagnation or, worse, a return to economic dormancy. The question is, how can we ride the wave of this economic cycle and consistently maintain a position of economic excellence? To address this, I propose an idea: Creating Supply Chain Management for Indonesia's Economy and NTT.

ASEAN Summit 2023: Creating Supply Chain Management for Indonesia’s and NTT’s Economy

Following the ASEAN Summit 2023 held in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara Province, and even after the transition of Indonesia’s leadership from President Jokowi to President Prabowo Subianto, there has been little indication of significant economic expansion either in Indonesia or in East Nusa Tenggara.

The fundamental question in this discussion, post-ASEAN Summit 2023, is: How prepared are Indonesia in general and NTT in particular to seize the momentum for economic recovery and revival?

I propose an idea: Creating Supply Chain Management for Indonesia's and NTT’s Economy.

If we have valid, reliable, and trustworthy data—consistent across various data sources—we can plan correctly. If the data is incorrect, no matter how sophisticated our planning is, it will lead to erroneous BUDGETING; erroneous budgeting will result in flawed development implementation; flawed implementation will yield incorrect outputs and outcomes. Here, we need honest statistical officers, honest village officials, honest local government officials, and honest enumerators to collect and provide accurate data. Thus, for a single issue, such as the number of poor people, we must have consistent data from sources like BPS (Statistics Indonesia), Bank Indonesia, BAPPELITBANGDA (Regional Development Planning Agency), the Social Affairs Office, BKKBN (National Population and Family Planning Agency), and even the World Bank. We must have real, identical data on the number of poor individuals, including their names and addresses, across different institutional sources. We do not need predictive data; rounding errors—whether up or down—lead to incorrect data, and this incorrect data is steering us toward planning for failure.

Branding is necessary to ensure that our programs and products sell well in the market. We need investment in all sectors, including tourism. To achieve this, we must establish branding to differentiate ourselves from programs and products of other regions or countries. Have all regions in NTT (East Nusa Tenggara) and even the NTT Province itself established branding? Specifically for the super-priority tourist destination of Labuan Bajo, let us hope branding is already in place. If it is, great; but if not, we should not hesitate to discuss it starting now. It is never too late to have discussions, reach agreements, and implement them. Product branding leads us to create EXCELLENT PRODUCTS—products that are the top choice for consumers. With excellent products, we can create excellent companies—companies that consistently earn profits, gain market share, and expand their business scale. With several excellent companies, we can form superior industry clusters. If all these superior industry clusters operate effectively, the region will become an EXCELLENT REGION supported by outstanding industries, companies, and commodities (Figure 1) [1].

Supply chain management binds all economic actors and stakeholders to work within an integrated system, fostering mutual trust, high commitment, and readiness to bear the risks of any negligence that may occur beyond control, such as force majeure. So far, no industry in NTT has grown, developed, or endured for long because we have never created a supply chain management system between raw material suppliers, semi-finished material suppliers, manufacturing processes, and end-product users. We have never properly established it by preparing the necessary economic resources, infrastructure, manufacturing facilities, warehousing, transportation, security, and even institutional support. Supply chain management requires raw material or semi-finished product suppliers to adhere to standardized excellence: specific quality, specific quantity, and sustainability. All standardized materials are processed in manufacturing to produce standardized end products.

First, products must attract consumers through packaging, shape, and flavour variations that differentiate them from similar products in other industries.

Second, products must meet certain durability standards, be tangible, long-lasting, and maintain consistent taste and quality.

Third, products must be competitive with similar products from other industries in terms of quantity, quality, continuity, aesthetics, price, and service (Figure 2) [2].

In this global era, no individual or institution can claim to be great on their own, like a superman or superwoman, in building a profit-oriented business or service. Collaboration is essential to manage all resources—human resources (HR), natural resources (NR), capital resources (CR), and entrepreneurial resources (ER)—to achieve goals, including the provision of products, goods, and services to fulfill human needs. One synergy model proposed is the ABG synergy [3,4]. This synergy emphasizes collaboration between academia, government, and business. Each party, with its respective duties and functions, works together to achieve better results. Individually, their efforts might produce limited quantity, quality, and continuity of products. However, through optimized collaboration, it is expected to create synergy that results in products with agreed-upon standards of quantity, quality, and continuity. For instance, the role of academia is to eradicate the "three illiteracies," namely illiteracy in English, computers, and the internet. On the other hand, the role of businesses is twofold: first, to develop their own business, such as enhancing business capacity, conducting workshops, designing products, and participating in financing mechanism outreach programs; second, to implement a locomotive-carriage system where larger businesses support smaller ones. Meanwhile, the government facilitates by creating a conducive business climate, establishing fair regulations for all, assisting in domestic and international promotions, revitalizing raw and semi-finished materials, providing business capital assistance, and similar efforts. The ABG synergy can also result in joint training programs on product design, production technology, and entrepreneurship, marketing, and import-export activities. Furthermore, it promotes collaborative research on various topics, such as the development of superior products, leading companies, excellent industrial clusters, and establishing outstanding regions (Figure 3).

To create an advanced nation or region, a system is essential. One such system is Supply Chain Management. When implemented effectively, this system lays the foundation for progress: building superior commodities leads to creating excellent companies; excellent companies form outstanding industries; and outstanding industries culminate in a superior nation or region. If any link in this chain breaks, the hope of building an advanced nation or region is lost. Achieving this goal requires collaboration and synergy among various stakeholders, including the government, business sector, and academic institutions. This proven model has succeeded in many developed countries. Let us follow their example!

1. Langoday TO. Core competency studies in belu regency, East Nusa Tenggara province. J Indo Appl Eco. 2011; 5.
2. Langoday TO. Development economics: building an advanced and civilized nation. Arta Media Nusantara Pub. 2024.
3. Langoday TO. Production and operations management: turning challenges into opportunities for success. SONPEDIA. 2023.
4. Langoday TO, Belo, Man S, Coelho A. Transforming subsistence economies into a people-centered economic model in Timor leste: concepts, policy alternatives, and synergy. Literasi Nusantara Pub (Litnus). 2023.