User:Lemieux.d/sandbox

(To be inserted in the Impacts section of the Covid-19 pandemic wiki page under the economics subsection)

Supply Chain

Covid-19 has had a substantial impact on Global supply chain. Many of the problems facing global supply chain can be traced back to corporations being unprepared for a crisis of this caliber. Risk mitigation is an important piece of any supply chain or logistics business. However, in this scenario companies had become overly reliant on specific areas and routes to function as forecasted ad eternum. The manufacturing center of the world China had been one of the countries hit the hardest and earliest in this pandemic and with them being out of the picture a real wrench had been thrown into the well-oiled global supply chain machine. Some companies were forced to scramble to make short term recoveries as result. Other companies may have been a bit more prepared and able to adapt faster, though even they would end up in a sorry state as a result of Covid-19.

Modern supply chains are extremely interconnected on a global scale and often require multiple parties to work in tandem to operate at an efficient level. With the way that Covid-19 hit almost everyone was left on uneven footing creating a large rippling effect through the Supply chain as different firms coped with different methods at differing speeds. However, the recovery of supply chain was cited as one of the keys to global recovery in the long run. In order for the global supply chain to recover it was necessary for companies to take action in areas including operations, HR, and IT. These actions were largely focused on spreading information and communicating.

The Impact of Covid-19 on the global supply chain will no doubt shape how supply chains operate in the future. Companies will inevitably learn from this hardship and come out the end better for it. Some things that the pandemic will have taught firms include: the importance of information, the necessity of alternative routes and suppliers, and the issues that can arise from overly centralizing an aspect of your business in one geographic region.

Amazon has been one of the prominent examples of a company taking steps in the right direction to both minimize corporate and community losses while also creating windows for their own future growth. One of their main focuses during this time is shifting around their priorities to ensure that the goods important during a pandemic are able to get their as fast as possible. Things such as medical supplies, disinfectants, and baby formulas are being highly prioritized for the good of the community. This priority doesn't just entail that they are shipping out more rapidly but rather runs deep through their company impacting things like stocking and warehousing as well. Additionally they temporarily stopped accepting non essential shipments from wholesalers in attempts to keep their focus solely on the issues at hand. A response like this is unprecedented and its great to see a company stepping up like this for the good of the people. In doing this Amazon has set a strong example for other supply chain and logistics related businesses to follow.