The Supply Chain Concerns Faced During COVID-19 Pandemic


04/30/2020

G&A institution brings experts view on how to address the crisis hours of coronavirus outbreak wherein many corporate concerns including sourcing and supply chain is a big issue.


Dailycsr.com – 30 April 2020 – The “new world order” brought in a new trade era across the globe nearly three decades age as the Cold Wars came to an end while trade barriers continued to break. In 1955, GATT, the “General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade”, gave way for “World Trade Organization”, in WTO. As a result, new rules were put in place with trade turning more liberal while corporate took interest by dispersing many their operations.
 
Many big manufacturing units have expanded their sourcing to far off lands whereby building a “substantial network of suppliers”. Soon, smaller to mid-size firms began to cop them as a result manufacturing became a global affair. With companies setting up operations in multiple countries, the sourcing came from everywhere as cargo vessels loaded decks began to be to transported across the seas.
 
As a result, “today’s diverse, complex, spread out networks of tier one, two and three suppliers, many in China and East Asia and Pacifica nations, have dramatically changed the face of ‘home country companies’.” And this becomes a risk. Here are two commentaries on the present “global supply chains” and on the ways one we could turn them more sustainable. Likewise, David Cahn, the Global Marketing Director of Elemica, wrote in SupplyChainBrain:
“…it is essential for companies and their supply chains to realize that customers prefer to engage with organizations that are focused on environmental sustainability. Significant opportunities exist for leveraging people, processes and technologies to achieve operational efficiencies.”
 
He suggested five steps “Pursuit of Sustainability” for to increasing an organisation’s value, these five areas include “sourcing; manufacturing; recycling; packaging; transportation”. While Pam Styles, “Fellow of G&A Institute” and “long-time member of NIRI and the NIRI Senior Roundtable” questioned:
“what’s in your supply chain mix”?
 
COVID-19 outbreak has introduced numerous corporate concerns for managers and investors alike. Therefore, Pam wrote suggesting that “ESG/sustainability practitioners may be able to offer unique vantage to assist the debrief in collaboration with company supply chain experts and management teams”. While on a concluding note she added:
“When it comes to Sustainability – climate change is important but supply chain is urgent”. 
 
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com