March 26th, 2009, at the Sun Yat-Sen University Lingnan Hall on Sun Yat-Sen University Campus in Guandong Province China, an opening ceremony was held for the “Lingnan (University) College, Sun Yat-Sen University and Josai University Distribution and Supply Chain Research Center.” This research center was established with the goal of serving as a base to advance joint research on distribution and supply chains by Sun Yat-Sen University Lingnan College’s Distribution Research Division and Josai University’s Distribution Research Group. This center was established at Sun Yat-Sen University, Lingnan College working together with the Josai University -Lingnan College Distribution Research Center that had already been established within the Josai University Contemporary Policy Research Center.

Right now in Guangdong province, where the distribution industry has been selected as one of the ten promoted industries for future industrial policy, the strengthening of industrial location competitiveness in Guangdong has become promoted as a policy task through improvements in distribution efficiency and the creation of a distribution foundation in Guangdong province. The wisdom and know-how of both Josai’s distribution and logistics research and Sun Yat-Sen University Lingnan College’s logistics research will be rallied together at this research center in response to this task. In particular, the center will focus its research on the methods of seamless and efficient distribution between China and Japan as Guangdong Province’s distribution policy has undergone development through the advance of many Japanese Corporations into the province. In addition, it will serve to actively foster personal exchanges between a variety of corporations and the graduate level.

Following the opening ceremony, the “Sun Yat-Sen University, Lingnan College Distribution and Supply Chain Research Forum,” was held with nine topic areas of discussion and reports. In addition to the reports from the vice committee chair of the China Distribution Federation Dai Ding-Yi, Professor Huang You Fang, chief of the steering committee on high school distribution education, and Professor Zhang Hui-Min of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the reports given from Japan were, “Changes and Future Developments of Distribution Policy in Japan,” by Professor Nozawa Kenji, vice president of Josai University, “The Training and Certification Systems for the Development of Distribution Human Resources in Japan,” by Professor Fukushima Kazunobu, chair of the Josai University Academic Affairs Department, and, “The Current State and Evolution of the 3PL Strategy in Japan,” by Azuma Norio, president of the Mitsui Product Logistics Management Corporation.

During the question and answer period, many questions were raised by graduate students from Sun Yat-Sen University, Lingnan College and those in the distribution companies, and a vigorous discussion on the distribution problems between China and Japan developed.

From now on, both centers will hold an annual forum on distribution in Japan, China, and Korea to contribute to the East Asian distribution revolution. In addition, they will actively expand the shared training among researchers and explore courses of action to connect the supply chains between Japan and Guangdong Province.