Asia Pacific Testing, Inspection, and Certification Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact and Forecast(2022 - 2027)

The Asia Pacific Testing, Inspection, and Certification Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2026. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the manufacturing supply chains of the studied market, therefore the market witnessed decline in demand for some period. Many Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) end-users depended on Chinese imports for final products and intermediate inputs struggled to source them while China went into lockdown. The spread of COVID-19 to other countries impacted the manufacturing output and supply-chain disruptions.

Key Highlights

• New technologies are allowing increased automation in numerous products that also increased the risks that need to be managed. Large volume of critical data is flowing between a number of newly-connected products and services in the Internet of Things which is creating cybersecurity and resiliency risks for manufacturers and end-users. This changes are expected to expand the range of TIC services offered by the industry owing to these changes.
• Many government funding plans are targeted to address the climate change, global warming, food traceability and environmental protection. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated industry players’ awareness towards their operations impacting in environmental commitments. As a result, it is increasing the importance of TIC services in many industries driving the growth of the market.
• Manufacturing and related industries supply chains have become more vulnerable to disruptions, due to recessions, natural disasters, or increasing trade wars. The industry is providing services along these complex supply chains, as a result the industry can be negatively impacted when these supply chains are disrupted.
• However, with the growing adoption of technological advancements across industries, the complexity in the supply chain is also increasing. Hence, the products need to go through multiple cycles of testing and inspection activities, due to which the manufacturers are facing delayed lead times. Also, many manufacturers are reluctant to adopt TIC services as part of their legacy manufacturing processes due to increased costs of integration and an increase in lead times due to additional processes. Hence, such factors are expected to act as major hindrances to market growth.

Key Market Trends

Growing Emphasis on Adopting Export-Friendly Practices by Mitigating Product Recalls and Scope for Counterfeiting and Piracy

• Products entering into the foreign marketplace for distribution have to meet the requirements of that specific country or region. Manufacturers and brands which are aware of these requirements allocate resources to evaluate their products to confirm compliance with the governing standards or regulations. This indicates that the product complies as it is, or it may need to do additional design changes to comply with the requirements.
• Owing to this, testing and inspection in the food industry in the country is expected to propel significant growth rates. This made the food regulator FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling by putting in place a nationwide online platform.
• The Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) market players provide independent third-party conformity assessment services and their industry expertise to carry out impartial audits, evaluations, and inspections on systems, products, or personnel against many national, private, and international standards and regulations. TIC market players provide confidence to regulating authorities, producers, distributors, and consumers that a process, product, system, or person meets the specified requirements.
• The TIC service providers precisely tailor the certification programs and the appropriate testing procedures according to the products, which enable them to get a uniform quality standard. For instance, Bureau Veritas defined testing methods and standards applied in the network of its 330 laboratories to reduce the risk of product recalls.

Automotive and Transportation is Observing a Significant Increase

• IATF 16949:2016 and ISO26262:2018 represent the International Standard for Automotive Quality Management Systems and safety stands, respectively. These apply to any organization manufacturing components, assemblies, and parts for the automotive industry. The standard, based on ISO 9001, emphasizes continual improvement, defect prevention, and recyclability across the supply chain.
• Key industry players across China have highlighted time-consuming yet costly testing and certification services in the car chip domain. It was also suggested that to obtain AEC-Q100 car level certification, for instance, the allied process is controlled by European and US agencies, which takes about 12 to 18 months to complete. A domestic standard thus means a complete shift of adherence for global TIC companies operating in China in the near future.
• The region has been seeing extensive investments geared toward the growth of transport infrastructure. As the paying capacities of the working class grow, increased demand for better public transport options is influencing the initiation of development and renovation-oriented projects in the public sector. For instance, TUV India was selected as the independent Inspection and Certification authority to carry out an Independent Safety Assessment on the Rolling Stock Metro Coaches for the Pune Metro Rail Project. As cities slowly expand, there will be a larger market for TIC vendors to explore.
• DEKRA’s expansion of EMC and RF testing expertise represents a key technology boom expected for connected, automated, and electric driving. Electronic systems now account for almost 50% of their added value as cars move toward connected systems, automation, and electrification.

Competitive Landscape

The Asia PacificTesting, Inspection, and Certification Market consists of several major players. Although the market is fragmented, the market is dominated by few prominent players, namely, SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, TUV SUD, and TUV Rheinland. These companies are establishing strategic collaborative initiatives aimed to increase market share and increase profitability. Moreover, with technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies increase their market presence by securing new contracts and tapping new markets.

• May 2021 - Intertek Group acquired SAI Global Assurance, a provider of assurance services including management systems certification, second-party audits, and market access solutions. SAI Global Assurance offers upwards of 1.5 million technical standards to over 10,000 customers in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. The acquisition is valued at USD 855 million, expected to be completed in Q3 of 2021.
• April 2021 - SGS acquired The Lab (Asia) Ltd (TLA), an independent materials testing, inspection, and consulting company headquartered in Hong Kong, serving the construction, highways, civil engineering, airports, and associated industries. It became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SGS Group following the acquisition of a 51% stake in 2016. The acquisition of the minority stake enabled SGS to fully integrate The Lab (Asia) Ltd into its organization to further expand the materials testing business after a successful growth journey with them as partners.

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