COVID-19 is creating a great deal of uncertainty. Many are trying to determine what the world will look like post-Coronavirus. It is safe to say there will be a "new normal".
One area that is being looked at is the supply chain. This is something that was exposed during the virus.
To start, the fact that a great deal of manufacturing was geographically located showed companies how exposed they really were. When a couple manufacturing areas of China were shut down, companies found they were cut off from some basic necessities for their business
Since the shut down started to take place in China, I discussed the idea that executives in board rooms all over the world were getting together to figure out how to diversify their supply chains. Over the next few years, I expect to see more investment in a number of countries. Instead of having everything come from one area, it will likely we will see products coming from 3 or 4 continents.
Of course, this is only part of the problem.
The second issue that supply chains have is that people are involved in the process. COVID-19 showed the risk associated with humans being involved in the process. When the shut down took place, many things came to a standstill.
Supply chains all over the world are essentially paper pushing activities. The automation is almost non-existent. This also serves to slow things down and depend upon humans to keep things moving.
COVID-19 showed how the litany of warehouses, planes, trucks, and ships must be kept moving and not stopped. Unfortunately, in this situation, we were ill prepared.
Ultimately, we need an automated way to move all the different matter around the planet. As we move further into a digital world, the atoms are still an issue. Having physical products created in one area and being delivered in another is still part of our existence.
To keep all the pieces spinning is going to require a massive amount of automation.
Fortunately, the technology exists for us to make changes. While this might not be great for jobs, it will make our economies more resilient. Having a supply chain that is resistant to pandemics or other human related tragedies will help to keep things running. We also should see a reduction in costs by going this route.
Sometimes a tragedy is the wake up call required to move things forward.
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