Supply chain management takes on new dimensions when Tom Manning starts talking about it. While the majority of western European companies are still in the early stages of getting their suppliers online, Mr Manning sees a wide-open, more global horizon in the future.

He is passionate about the prospect of Asian companies becoming a focus of global supply chain design. "All the right ingredients are there," he says. Citing a wealth of Asian innovation in almost every sector, Mr Manning says: "Asia is becoming increasingly dominant in entire product lines, as well as highly selected categories, as the largest and most imaginative producer of key products."

He notes that Asia has moved from being a minor to a major player in the global supply chain. "The earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 highlighted how incredibly reliant the West has become on chip supplies and components from Asia, whether from South Korea, Taiwan or Japan." There is a parallel in software dependence, Mr Manning notes, with reference to India's software, IT provision and support systems. "India is crucial to any e-based economy," he says.

He adds: "Asia is becoming a centre-point for competitive sourcing and for meeting demand." From his base in Hong Kong, the US consultant, e-commerce speaker and hands-on industrialist is particularly fervent about China. Mr Manning says much of the economic success of the US has been based on consumption and that "America needs a big store to buy from". China is poised to be the biggest global store in his view, noting that it has long overtaken Japan in the US trade deficit stakes. He observes that there has been a recent buying shift from low-cost Chinese goods, such as toys and basic electronics, to more upmarket products.

Mr Manning expects to see more Chinese "brands", particularly in white goods, and predicts that the internet - through supply chains or marketplaces - will open up more outlets for Chinese companies. Also, as business is much less contentious than politics in China, online procurement is far less likely to attract the attention of the authorities than a political chat-room.

Mr Manning notes Asia's "direct relevance" to the global slowdown in technology, telecoms and internet stocks. He is not referring to failed dotcoms but rather to the potential for US and European companies to cut costs by sourcing from Asia using the internet. "The time is right to shift money into higher growth and lower costs with Asia in the corporate portfolio," he says. "The internet in Asia will become the ordering mechanism of choice as Asia becomes an integral part of the global supply chain."

With his extensive knowledge of Asia, beginning with a Harvard degree in East Asian studies and encompassing many years of venture capital, technology and consultancy experience in the region, Mr Manning's enthusiasm has a sound basis. It is also infectious when he speaks of Asia's potential to meet demand, and of installing new technologies to establish global contacts via the internet. Certainly supply chain management will become far more interesting when China comes fully on board.

annie.counsell@ft.com