Transforming frontline industries
What's inside this report
Frontline industries form the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economy - yet they are under increasing strain.
Across Southeast Asia, 137 million people, representing 46% of the region’s workforce, are employed in frontline sectors including F&B, retail, tourism & hospitality, healthcare, transport & logistics, and manufacturing. While these industries rebounded strongly after the pandemic, organisations now face mounting execution and operational challenges.
Transforming Frontline Industries: Make F&B, Retail and Hospitality Greater is a decision-support report jointly released by Momentum Works and Lark, designed to help leaders understand where frontline organisations are breaking down - and how they can be rebuilt for scale, resilience, and sustainable growth.
Built on ecosystem research, operator interviews, and real-world case studies, the report examines how structural complexity, workforce churn, and rising competitive pressure are reshaping frontline operations across the region.
What’s covered in this report:
- The scale and economic importance of Southeast Asia’s frontline workforce
- Two critical internal challenges:
- High frontline staff turnover, with rates reaching up to 48% annually, costing businesses US$22.6 billion in replacement and retraining
- Organisational complexity between HQ, store managers, and frontline teams
- External pressures including intensifying competition, evolving customer expectations, margin compression, and fragile supply chains
- A six-part operational playbook to future-proof frontline industries
- Case studies from ZUS Coffee and Pop Mart, managing thousands of frontline employees at scale
This report is designed for decision-makers including:
- Executives and leadership teams in F&B, retail, and hospitality
- Operations, people, and transformation leaders
- Founders and operators managing large frontline workforces
- Investors and partners focused on consumer and service industries
How leaders use this report:
- To reduce frontline turnover and improve workforce stability
- To align headquarters, managers, and frontline staff more effectively
- To improve operational efficiency without sacrificing service quality
- To design scalable systems for people-heavy businesses
