There are a lot of factors that led up to the labor trend that has come to be known as the Great Resignation, including some that were in play before the pandemic began.
Before the onset of the pandemic, the shipping industry operated with an abundance of capacity at par with the demand patterns. More than 80% of the market needs were met by three major shipping alliances — 2M (Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co.), THE Alliance (Ocean Network Express, Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming), and OCEAN (CMA CGM/APL, Cosco Shipping and Evergreen Line).
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.
The semiconductor industry has an atypical problem: everybody wants their product. Semiconductor chips are the basic component of the digital products used in our everyday lives, from mobile phones to televisions to washing machines, but it doesn’t end with consumer products. As many as 169 industries have been impacted by the current mismatch in demand and supply.
This year, business leaders are making it a priority to build resilience into their supply chains. In doing so, their relationships with suppliers are coming into view, and what’s being exposed are some significant fault lines.
But within the volatile landscape we continue to face, having supplier relationships that are strong and healthy is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a business imperative. So, what can enterprise leaders do to put things right?
In the world of procurement, there is always another crisis right around the corner. Time and time again, the industry has been rattled by various disruptions and forced to reconsider how we will weather the storm better than we have had in the past.
The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a direct result of one of the biggest supply chain management disruptions in recent history -- the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages aren’t just bad news for hospitals and retailers, but can often mean the difference between life and death for healthcare workers and their patients.
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.
Global trends, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have taught procurement professionals the value of identifying supplier red flags and mitigating the risks they may pose before it’s too late. To do this, some organizations are making local buying their top priority, while others are committing to consolidating their supplier lists or further diversifying as their needs demand.
Recently DATAMARK, Inc., held a webinar on Business Continuity Planning. The three panelists discussed what was missing or did not receive sufficient attention in business continuity plans and the repercussions it can have for businesses worldwide.
The panelists were largely in agreement that many plans fall short when assessing the human impact of a potential disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Most plans tend to place a disproportionate emphasis on physical things like buildings, transportation arteries, communication networks and data centers.
Procurement’s role within an organization has changed dramatically over the past few decades.
The COVID-19 pandemic made an already challenging marketplace even more complicated, forcing businesses to seek out value in every corner of their operations—including in their extended networks. As a result, Global Business Service (GBS) organizations are increasingly investing in new capabilities, demonstrating to parent organizations their ability to improve business outcomes as a true strategic partner.
Just as there was no roadmap for navigating a crisis like COVID-19, there is no formula for the best way to come out of a pandemic, either. However, if anyone has proven that they are up to charting the way forward, it’s procurement professionals. As resourcing experts, procurement is known for finding strategic solutions that satisfy diverse stakeholder needs — and fast.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global workforce in a variety of ways, with employee health and safety catapulted to the forefront of business concerns. Even with vaccination rollouts and months of experience navigating a worldwide pandemic, the future of the global workforce remains uncertain.
When Alibaba.com surveyed 5,000 SMB decision-makers in September 2020, keeping employees healthy and safe while reopening in-person operations was reported as the number one concern among employer firms in 2021.
Remember when the U.S. was virtually held hostage by OPEC? If they raised the price per barrel, U.S. consumers were stuck with higher prices at the gas pump. And then along came fracking. Boom! The U.S. took the alpha role in energy production. Carbon emissions notwithstanding, this new power freed the U.S. economy from dependance on other oil-producing nations.
