What manufacturers are doing to mitigate the impact of trade disruption

The economic chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains and raised doubts about globalization. Businesses should use this crisis to revisit their supply chains, understand vulnerabilities and take steps to improve resilience. It’s time to adopt a new vision pertinent to the realities of the new era — one that leverages the capabilities in the trade networks, improves resilience and reduces the risks from future disruptions that are certain to occur. Businesses must also consider regionalizing supply chains and diversifying supplier relationships.

Key takeaways:

• With the global trade showing signs of rebound in 2021, experts are predicting continued growth in the volume of goods getting shipped. Data analytics is becoming a mainstream activity within global trade organizations.
• Manufacturers and retailers in the US are expected to deal with rapidly increasing commodity prices. Businesses will need to look for ways to operate lean to avoid a squeeze on margin.
• Visibility and resiliency will help companies handle disruptions in the future. Taking steps, such as rerouting shipments in transit, stocking inventory to handle delayed shipments, strategically positioning inventory in networks and considering alternative suppliers will help them stay prepared.

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.