A volatile 2021 taught businesses a tough lesson about the fragility of supply chains. Just when many thought we were out of the woods, the promising trends toward recovery reversed. Supply chains quickly snapped amid the resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks, China’s utility crisis, logistics woes, labor issues, and mass supply shortages.
While previous industrial revolutions relied on developments in steam machines, electricity and telecommunications, the fourth industrial revolution is powered by big data, advanced manufacturing techniques, cloud computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence. As the fourth industrial has risen, so too has the notion of Quality 4.0, a term recently coined to refer to the shifts in performance excellence we’re seeing in today’s age of digital transformation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has jolted digital transformation into overdrive, with technology adoption enabling businesses across industries to accommodate remote work and operations. But now more than 18 months into the crisis, businesses that source globally remain ensnared by rampant order delays, factory lockdowns, persistent transit challenges, rising costs and debilitating mass shortages.
With the COVID-19 Delta variant threatening pandemic recovery around the world, brands that source products globally are facing supply chain challenges in a business landscape mired by transit limitations, factory shutdowns, surging shipping costs, delays, labor shortages and rampant supply shortages.
