ISCEA in APAC: Jorge Morales' Regional Tour Roundup

3 days ago

5 min read

Ho Chi Minh City · Kuala Lumpur · Singapore — Starting October 19, 2026, ISCEA Global COO Jorge A. Morales made a three-country tour of Asia-Pacific. It opened with a university welcome ceremony in Vietnam, moved to Malaysia for the 11th edition of SCTECH and MUST's 2026 Convocation Ceremony, and closed with partner meetings in Singapore. In Kuala Lumpur, Morales also met Dr. Sung Kook Ryou to prepare ISCEA's healthcare supply chain launch in South Korea.

One idea ran through every stop: technology is moving fast, and the region's real constraint is people with the skills to use it. Each meeting focused on building that talent through universities, training partners, professional societies, and certification.

The tour, stop by stop

Ho Chi Minh City: NTTU takes certification from faculty to students

On October 19, Morales addressed students and faculty at the Welcome Ceremony of Nguyen Tat Thanh University, at the invitation of Dean Dr. Khanh Thai. NTTU was the first university in Vietnam to certify its instructors through ISCEA. It is now extending ISCEA certification to its students.

Morales credited Dr. Premkumar Rajagopal for making the partnership happen. He framed it around a "Resilient, Value-Driven, and Sustainable" supply chain mindset, and told the new students that the world needs the supply chain leaders they are about to become.

Instructors and Guests at the Welcome Ceremony of Nguyen Tat Thanh University

Kuala Lumpur: SCTECH 2026 brings the ISCEA network together

The 11th edition of SCTECH, ISCEA's regular supply chain technology conference, held its in-person sessions. Supply chain practitioners, technology experts, academics and students met face to face, while more sessions ran online. Recordings are available on demand.

The first in-person session was hosted with Prof. Premkumar Rajagopal at Malaysia University of Science and Technology on October 21.

First day of SCTECH 2026 In-Person Sessions at MUST

The final session, on October 22 at Cititel Mid Valley, offered nine sessions and 20+ speakers that were summarized in a widely shared 8-minute recap, Mattie Pujol of brioHR. His conclusion: the technology works; the hard part is people.

Second day of SCTECH 2026 In-Person Sessions at Cititel Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur

The conference also served as a regional leadership meeting. ISCEA leaders from several countries, including Morales; Ejazur Rahman (ISCEA Asia); Sandeep Chatterjee (ISCEA India); Prof. Nyoman Pujawan and Dr. Lala Ayu Kantari (ISCEA Indonesia); Prof. Premkumar Rajagopal (ISCEA Malaysia); and ISCEA APAC Advisory Board members Brett Marshall, Editor-in-Chief of LogiSYM, and Terrence Tan of FUJIFILM.

ISCEA Leaders at SCTECH 2026 in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia University of Science and Technology recognizes ISCEA

Two days after the conference, on October 24, Morales received an award on behalf of ISCEA at the 2026 Convocation Ceremony of Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST). The award recognizes the ISCEA–MUST partnership in preparing MUST graduates for professional success.

Jorge A. Morales (right) receiving the award from YBhg Tan Sri Dr Effendi Norwawi, Chairman of MUST

Kuala Lumpur to Seoul: healthcare supply chain programs come to South Korea

On October 22, on the sidelines of SCTECH, Morales met Dr. Sung Kook Ryou in Kuala Lumpur. That same week, ISCEA announced its expansion into South Korea with its two healthcare designations: the Certified Healthcare Supply Chain Analyst (CHSCA) and Certified Healthcare Supply Chain Manager (CHSCM). Dr. Ryou will lead the inaugural workshop in Seoul, scheduled for November 7, 2026.

Singapore: Talent development at Supply Chain and Logistics Academy.

At the Supply Chain and Logistics Academy (SCALA), hosted by Daren Kang, Kenneth Thariyan and Bindhu Thomas, Morales spoke on October 28 about the supply chain and AI skills professionals will need next. Graduates received ISCEA Certified Professional in Logistics Management (CPLM) certificates, and top learners received SCALA-ISCEA Learning & Achievement Awards.

Singapore: three meetings, one agenda on talent

The final leg was a series of partner meetings in Singapore.

The Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society (LSCMS). On October 27, over breakfast at the Raffles Hotel, Morales, LSCMS President Raymon Krishnan and Feroz Yahya, Business Manager at LogiSYM, discussed the skills logistics professionals need across Asia-Pacific. Yahya called skills "the quiet constraint" in ASEAN supply chains, and said LogiSYM is planning its 2027 series across six markets plus Australia and New Zealand. Both sides said they look forward to the next stage of the partnership. Brett Marshall, Editor in Chief at LogiSYM, helped champion the collaboration.
SEEBURGER. Morales met Gurudutt PB, Managing Director of SEEBURGER Singapore and an APAC Advisory Board member, to discuss the future of supply chains in Southeast Asia. Gurudutt pointed to integration as the "digital thread" that binds supply chain ecosystems.
B2G Academy. Morales met Jay Kostos, Head of B2G Academy, a long-standing ISCEA partner in the region. B2G is committed to continuing the partnership.

What connects the stories

Talent is the bottleneck for more efficient, sustainable, and value-driven supply chains; not technology. SCTECH's final day reached this conclusion on its own, and the same agenda shaped the Singapore meetings. At SCALA, LSCMS, and B2G, the topic was the skills professionals need to harness the power of technology and remain relevant in a supply chain labor market where job roles are changing, and the skills gap is widening.

Certification is moving earlier in the career. NTTU went from certifying instructors to certifying students. SCALA presented CPLM certificates to working professionals who studied alongside jobs and family commitments. ISCEA credentials now reach people at both ends of the pipeline.

Partnerships do the scaling. Every stop ran through a local partner: a university (MUST, NTTU), a training provider (SCALA, B2G Academy), a professional society (LSCMS), or a country lead (ISCEA Indonesia, ISCEA India, and now ISCEA South Korea). The APAC Advisory Board, including Gurudutt PB, Brett Marshall and Terrence Tan, connected many of them.

Resilience and sustainability are the shared language. From Prof. Pujawan's "viable" supply chain strategy to the resilient, value-driven and sustainable mindset Morales urged at NTTU, the region's conversation has moved past pure efficiency.

What's next

The inaugural CHSCA and CHSCM workshop in Seoul on Nov 7, 2026 is the first milestone after the tour. LSCMS and B2G Academy have both signaled a next stage of collaboration, and NTTU's first student cohorts will move toward ISCEA certification.

Readers who missed SCTECH 2026 can watch the sessions on demand. For programs and partnerships in the region, contact GlobalDesk@iscea.com or its country affiliates.