Companies went global for the past few decades with a gusto to save labor costs. The pandemic jolted many Executives eyes open to the risks in the global supply chain. Suddenly, companies were reevaluating their global footprint with an eye to cost, risk (supply chain, geopolitical, etc.), customer performance, etc.
Israel was attacked by Hamas, and the world has another war in another region of the world. Since the global supply chain is interconnected, in addition to the devastation in the region, supply chain impacts will emerge.
The Israel-Hammas conflict is a stark reminder that global supply chains can be disrupted by unforeseen political events. No matter the safeguards in place, events like this can be major disruptors. That is why organizations must cultivate options to mitigate risk and protect their bottom line
Although the supply chain challenges have abated since the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions continue to persist and risks have increased. VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) has increased substantially in the world, negatively impacting the safety, security, and reliability of the supply chain.
There has been a run of strikes or threats of strikes lately with the latest UAW strike impacting the Big 3 automobile manufacturers. If it lasts longer than a few days, there will undoubtedly be a huge impact on the end-to-end supply chain as well as the economy.
Executives are tired after surviving the pandemic, navigating supply chain disruptions, handling soaring inflation, and dealing with one challenge after another. However, it is not time to rest as supply chain risks abound.
Supply chain risks are exploding. Just look at the news, and you'll see a potential UPS strike, a Canadian port strike, potential hurricanes (Hawaii, Florida), China stirring up potential conflict with China, the Crimean bridge attack, and much more.
The world of supply chain and logistics has been plagued with volatility, disruptions, geopolitical issues, concerns about energy availability and transition, increased regulations, and rare earths.
A UPS strike was averted on the last day of the quarter, but it still hangs in the balance as the two sides are not on the same page! The head of the union said an imminent strike was likely when a counterproposal fell flat. Now that a new counterproposal was submitted, the imminent strike was called off with a new date set within a week.
There are mountains of geopolitical threats going on with significant impact on the supply chain. Most, if not all of these also relate to natural resources.
