Impact of COVID-19 On Global Supply Chains & Opportunities

As per a March survey conducted by the Institute For Supply Chain Management, nearly 75 percent of companies reported global supply chain management disruptions in one form or the other due to coronavirus-related transportation restrictions, and the figure is expected to rise further over the next few weeks. Other interesting figures that emerged from the survey included the lack of any semblance of a contingency plan for almost half the companies in case of a supply chain disruption leading back to China, and well over 50% of the companies also reported experiencing sudden, unexpected delays in receiving orders, a problem compounded by supply chain information blackout from China. The figures above serve to bring out the vulnerable state of global supply chain management, the lifeblood of our towering economies in sharp relief. However, the writing had been on the wall for quite some time. Consolidation of suppliers by geos, where efficiency has historically been the key strategy driver and limited focus on de-risking procurement and supply chains over the last several years, has contributed to the current state of affairs with shortages of key items globally. Barely 3 months into COVID-19 – the very foundations of the ultra-globalized economies that we see around us and live within today, have turned into question marks.

some of the challenges which i think are :

1) manufacturing challenge : with subcomponents required to assemble a single final product sourced from several places across the globemanufacturing has become a more complex process. The raw materials required for manufacturing are mostly imported from different countries.

2) procurement challenge : In a globally integrated world, a drive towards efficiency has caused an increasing consolidation of production in lower cost geos – primarily based in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, or other low-cost economies. With the pandemic starting in China and hitting countries across the globe, and the resultant fallout and shortages, the need for distributing risk has become more evident than ever

3)distribution challenge : Distribution of products is going through some unique challenges with challenges in staffing of warehouses, a need for direct distribution, and more intelligent and responsive allocation across channels.

With these challenges in place we still need to rethink and think to find a solution for these . what do you think ??