TOKYO - A system failure caused by a cyberattack at beverage giant Asahi Group shows no sign of resolution, disrupting deliveries and leaving some supermarket shelves empty.
At a supermarket in Kanagawa Prefecture, deliveries from Asahi did arrive, but the situation highlighted a serious shortfall. "What about happoshu, are there shortages?" asked Koji Kubota of the Super Celsio Wadamachi store. Some beers and happoshu arrived, but one crucial brand was missing. "Super Dry isn’t here. Even though we ordered it, to have zero stock delivered almost never happens," Kubota said.
The supply shortage occurred because wholesalers themselves had run out of stock, limiting what could be shipped. "We thought it would arrive today, then suddenly found out it wasn’t coming. Honestly, I was shocked. I just want this resolved soon," Kubota added.
Asahi has begun taking orders manually through sales staff, but four days after the incident, there is still no timeline for restoring its systems. The disruption is especially troubling ahead of the busy weekend, with restaurant operators voicing concern. One restaurant serving Asahi beer said, "We just hope draft beer supplies don’t stop."
Some businesses have already decided to act. National ramen chain Marugen Ramen announced it will temporarily switch to products from Suntory, Sapporo, and Kirin once its supplies of Asahi beer and soft drinks run out. An industry source noted, "I’ve heard rival manufacturers have started to strengthen their sales efforts."
Unexpected ripple effects have also surfaced. Kubota explained that even Sudō Jam products had stopped shipping. "Because they share the same logistics hub with Asahi, we were told shipments are suspended." The incident has exposed weaknesses in the increasingly common practice of joint distribution, which was intended to cut logistics costs and address labor shortages.
With no clear prospect of recovery, uncertainty continues over how long the system outage triggered by the cyberattack will last.
Source: TBS
