Supply chain instability threatens security of supplies: options for industry and policymakers

Abstract

The Covid pandemic has severely upset global supply chains. This disruption has now spread to many branches of industry, and consumers are starting to feel the impact. No short-term improvement is in sight, which has serious implications for manufac­turing processes all over the world. To begin with, the pandemic primarily affected personal protective equipment; however, the collapse in international trade has also created delivery bottlenecks in other sectors. The instability of supply chains has become painfully obvious during the pandemic. This endangers the security of supplies just as much as cyber attacks or geopolitical imponderables along supply chains do. To respond appropriately to these challenges, the pandemic-related disruptions must be seen as both a challenge and a chance. Lasting changes have to be initiated in the design of supply chains by both businesses and policymakers, so as to counteract the increasing vulnerability of the chains and to meet the growing demand for critical goods. (author's abstract)