Global Supply Chain

Now in 2022, based on our review of the above incidents and your own observation, has the research prediction in the Forbes article (slide 35) been correct? In your opinion, what are the areas of increasing risks in the global supply chain in the next 5 years and why? You can name new areas not included in this article.

I believe that the Forbes article shared it best in the body of the text, “Fight supply centric thinking: start with a focus on demand to manage supply.” Just like why historically successful businesses collapse (Kodak, Blockbuster, etc.), they cannot adapt to a changing environment. I believe those contributors to the global supply chain that do not adapt to future-back thinking pose a substantial risk to the supply chain. Further, I think, in the nearest term and longest terms, that Cybersecurity poses a large threat. These illegal actions are primarily manual now. However, in time, they will become more automated, and corporations will be following the lead of hackers, reacting, and then having to adapt to new security measures to ensure protection. I am very concerned about the time it takes to adjust because, historically, human nature (and short-termism) is reactive and not proactive. Lastly, I believe global climate change is a significant risk area, but I’ll discuss that more in the next answer.

Is covid-19 pandemic a natural disaster? Is the Suez Canal Blockage a natural disaster? Should natural disasters still be predicted as a low risk factor in the future? What about global climate change? What should we do to avoid or prepare for natural disasters?

Both Covid-19 and the Suez Canal Blockages are natural disasters. Global climate change will affect the future global supply chain. This factor should be considered “high risk” because until it is treated as such, no actions will be taken, much like the minimal action taken from the 1950s, (when Spencer Weart first popularized the concept with us) until today. Leaning back on my point from the previous question, human and business nature is slow to adapt. Actions around forward-thinking thoughts take a backburner to tasks/strategies/goals that are easily definable and where the preventative measures are easy to see and agreed upon. When we avoid taking action on positively impacting global climate change, we are pushing our hardships out to the future when they will be more extensive problems. For this reason, as a preemptive measure, I believe global climate change needs to be classified and addressed immediately to mitigate against eventual risks to the global supply chain.