From COVID-19 to ships stuck in canals, the world has learned the consequences of supply chain disruption. Commentators have also identified other threats to getting (and sending) the materials needed for commercial activity. One commentator – Peter Zeihan – has a lot to say about it in his latest book, entitled ‘The End of the World is Just the Beginning’ – is definitely worth reading.
Also worth reading is the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) ‘Supply Chain Resilience Report 2023’, which reveals that 43.2% of businesses experienced between one and five supply chain disruptions last year.
Some of the causes of supply chain disruptions listed in the Report are:
- Cyber-attacks and data breaches are perceived as the top threat to supply chains over the next five years.
- A lack of talent and staff shortages caused the most disruptions to supply chains in 2022 with nearly half (46.8%) citing it as an issue.
- Professionals are starting to take a longer-term view of the risk landscape, with incidents related to the natural environment (such as climate change) becoming a source of concern.
Also:
- Levels of disruption remain twice as high as they were pre-pandemic.
- The elevated figures do, in part, demonstrate the higher levels of disruption monitoring in supply chains.
- Professionals are transforming the learnings made in supply chain management during COVID-19 into actions to help thwart contemporary threats.
The Report is nearly 70 pages long, so it goes into considerable detail on the subjects covered. It (and the book mentioned) is an interesting read for anyone involved in sourcing materials from overseas, which is everyone in our entire industry.