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International Supply Chains: Confluence

Tap the headings below to read the selected news, opinions, and analysis.

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International Supply Chains: Provocation & References

Here are Headlines and Statements from Interviews in a Possible Future, the latest last. Starred statements have already been given, in reality.

• *Vaccine nationalism will only prolong the Pandemic, the restrictions needed to contain it, and the human and economic suffering they cause — WHO Director-General | #1, #2
• Protectionism is Rising. That’s a Problem for the World | #1 (accessed July 2021), #2
• Data and the Financial Supply Chains are the First Casualties of the New Cold War | #1, #2
• World’s Manufacturing Wonderlands Suffer as FDI Plummets | #1, #2
• COVID Whac-a-Mole is Making Supply Chain Diversification More Challenging Than It Was Already| #1, #2
• The US is Using the Cold War Playbook Because That’s Easy. After all, That’s What They Know. The West is NOT Ready for a Multi-polar World — China Ambassador to UN | #1, #2, #3, #4, #5
• EU has Bolstered its Budget for Shortening Critical Supply Chains, Second Time in as Many Years | #1
• Bloomberg Commodity Index Sees a Steep Rise to an All-time High | #1 (accessed July 2021), #2
• As Capacity Expansion Falters in the East, Clamor for Local Supply Chains Becomes Louder | #1
• Long Pandemic Doesn’t Bode Well for Globalization | #1, #2
• Most Mid-Value Product Manufacturers Are Unable to Cope With High Freight Costs — Survey | #1
• Corporate & Consumer Hoarding is Exacerbating Supply Shortages at Every Stage of the Supply Chains — Supply Chain Expert | #1
• World Braces For Shortages Again as Long Supply Chains Get Bruised
• Global Economic Recovery Falters as Uncertainty Rises | #1, #2, #3 (accessed July 2021)
• Heightened Due Diligence is Forcing Companies to Drop Suppliers | #1
• Germany Leads the EU’s Break with the US on Handling Sino-Russian Bloc. “We are Committed to a Multilateral World.” — EU Commissioner | #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6
• Supply Throttling Has Forced Companies to Integrate Vertically. It’s Not Sustainable — Leading Supply Chain Expert | #1, #2
• Trade Blocs Reorganize Along Subcontinental Borders to Build Scale & Security in Demand and Supply
• Container Prices Remain High Despite Weak Demand as Maritime Access Tax Surges
• Procurement Cartels are Securing Supplies at Cost as More Countries ‘Friend-shore’ Critical Supply Chains | #1
• Supply Chains Eye Hyper Segmentation to Balance Consumer Needs and Geopolitics | #1
• Consumers Turn to Local, DIY Solutions as Brands Fail to Allay Shortages
• Low-cost Automation Sparks Re-shoring Boom as Cartels Assure Resource Supply
• African Union Raises Continental Ownership Requirement in Resource Firms to a Record 80%
• Subsidies and Tariffs Are at An All-time High
• For international supply chains to thrive, they need to become geopolitically Non Aligned — Secretary-General, NAM | #1
• Egypt Emerges as a Manufacturing Safe-haven for Warring Trade Blocs
• Many MNCs are Moving to New Legal Structures to Limit Regional Liability
• We Are Localizing Our Supply Chains. It Keeps The Shelves Stocked, Meets Divergent Regulations, Helps the Climate, and Gains Consumers’ Trust — CEO of a Major Manufacturing MNC.
• Repair-Reuse-Recycle Economy Rises Amid Supply Shortages | #1, #2
• FMCG Major is Offering a Guaranteed Lifetime Supply of Key Amenities in a Bid to Attract Consumers and Secure Demand
• Brands Bet on ‘Lease-a-lifestyle’ Business Models as the Products-to-Services Shift Becomes Permanent
• Berlin Unveils the World’s Largest Peer-to-Peer Goods Exchange & Delivery Platform

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International Supply Chains: What Now?

• Discuss this possible, medium-to-long-term future. How might it affect your business?
• Consider the reasons why the future may unfold very differently from this provocation.
• For example, for all the hoopla and pessimism around globalization and its ‘impending doom’, the world is NOT as globalized as we think it is to begin with.
  
  

• Also, consider that significant realignments in supply chains often have long lead times. E.g., Britain has been mulling a national battery hub at least since 2017, yet plans have been submitted only now in 2021. Then there’s the timeline for actually developing the hub.
• Automation may help localization and re-shoring, but inequitable access to natural resources mars the world’s nations. You must account for that.
• Inequitable resources are also why many supply chain folks and foreign policy people are now talking about ‘allied-shoring’ and ‘friend-shoring’ when discussing on-shoring. That is also why strategic partnerships are getting renewed emphasis.
• De-emphasize predicting causes; emphasize countering effects — e.g., instead of predicting what exactly may make diversification difficult, it is more productive to simulate what might happen if you don’t diversify your supply.
• Add more factors to the mix — e.g., we haven’t even mentioned global debt, economic policies, consumer sentiments, cybersecurity et cetera.
• Imagine different futures (MUST DO) and build a portfolio of response strategies.
• Read our post The Future ain’t what it used to be for more perspective.

Have a great week ahead!

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