COVID-19 Supply Chain

Business Leaders Face Difficult Supply Chain Decisions Ahead



In early May 2020, Mereo principals shared seven predictions of COVID-19’s lasting impacts on go-to-market organizations. One of these predictions detailed the massive disruption to the global supply chain and the hefty changes to come. While COVID-19 has been a catalyst for supply chain disruption and discussions — there are additional geo-political forces at play that deepen supply chain impacts and future actions. Business leaders must make vital supply chain decisions in this “new normal.”

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Huawei and the U.S.-China Tech War,” reinforces our supply chain principal predictions, namely regarding the vital need for:

  • Enhanced supply security
  • Better supply chain agility
  • Strategy shift from sole-sourcing to multi-sourcing

The article details the heightened regulations the U.S. Commerce Department has placed on Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant which is seen as a threat due to its inability to be autonomous from the Chinese government. It also discusses the recently announced plans for building a factory in Arizona for Taiwan-based TSMC, the largest semiconductor maker in the world, which would remove the current supply gap of chip manufacturers in the U.S. Likely, moves like these may become recurring trends into the future and will continue to influence global businesses, B2B and otherwise.

For support in aligning your business strategy to the market realities surfacing now and into the future, contact us. For further insights into supply chain impacts — among leadership adaptation, online retail, marketing activities and more — look to the Mereo Principal Predictions.

 

Prepare for Change