Geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions, and growing economic uncertainty are reshaping the operating environment for manufacturers across Southeast Asia. These developments were the focus of a presentation delivered by CPG Program Manager Lucas Meier on June 15, 2026, at the ASEAN Members’ Regional Event in Bangkok of the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA), the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association—one of the most important industrial associations in Germany and Europe, connecting over 3,000 member companies across the engineering value chain

Additional speakers included Tiffany Ang, Regional Manager of VDMA ASEAN; Frank Malerius, Director of the Thailand office of German Trade and Invest (GTAI), the German government’s economic development agency for international trade and investment promotion; and Santi Abakaz, Co-Founder of TasteBud Lab, a Thailand-based future food innovation and food-tech organization focused on building and supporting next generation of sustainable food systems.

In his presentation, “Operating in a World in Flux: Geopolitical Shocks, Supply-Chain Exposure and Manufacturing Resilience in Thailand,” Lucas Meier examined what it means for companies to operate in an increasingly geopolitical age. He first outlined three defining features of this age: geopolitical shocks are becoming more frequent; their effects are less reliably absorbed, compensated, or contained; and they increasingly resonate with one another, creating second- and third-order consequences for businesses.

Building on this, Lucas illustrated the practical relevance of these dynamics through three business-relevant points for manufacturing companies in Thailand and across ASEAN, showing how geopolitical risk is becoming a concrete factor in supply-chain exposure, diversification strategies, and location assessment — with direct implications for operational resilience.

Against this background, he identified two priorities for companies operating on moving ground: developing geopolitical literacy and institutional capability at both C-level and operational risk management, and strengthening governance and compliance as tariffs, rules of origin, sanctions, export controls, investment screening, data rules, traceability, and documentation requirements become increasingly consequential.