This paper presents a study of the current manufacturing practices in Southeast Asia particularly Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. This region is regarded as the next region to watch in terms of economic performance and potential. A mail survey of manufacturing companies in these countries was performed in order to get the data. A six-page questionnaire was sent and covered the following areas: company profile, production control and management, quality management and automation and computerization. Majority of the respondents were medium- and large scale companies and carried a wide array of products. Most of the firms were labor intensive rather than capital intensive. This is due to the fact that high interest rates in the region prevails, which limits spending on capital investments. Thus, there is a low level of automation and computerization in the companies. This is particularly true on the shop floor. With regards to their production control and management, there are a lot of improvements needed. Judgmental techniques are predominantly used in forecasting. The average lead time for most firms is one week to one month. Also, most of them have an inventory turnover ratio of less than 10. In terms of quality management, the firms perceive quality to be important in order to stay in business. However, most of them still use sampling inspection, although some have been using more advance techniques to control quality. In conclusion, the region may have a lot of potential in terms of economic growth, however, there are still a lot of potholes that have to be straightened out. These include financial constraints (high interest rates), inadequate infrastructure and the need for more technically trained workforce
