Israel was attacked by Hamas, and the world has another war in another region of the world. Since the global supply chain is interconnected, in addition to the devastation in the region, supply chain impacts will emerge.
Global supply chains are on the move. Executives have been hit with the harsh reality that the risk (supply chain, geopolitical, cyber, IP, etc.) is far higher than they realized when they outsourced with an eye to cost.
Although the supply chain challenges have abated since the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions continue to persist and risks have increased. VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) has increased substantially in the world, negatively impacting the safety, security, and reliability of the supply chain.
There has been a run of strikes or threats of strikes lately with the latest UAW strike impacting the Big 3 automobile manufacturers. If it lasts longer than a few days, there will undoubtedly be a huge impact on the end-to-end supply chain as well as the economy.
The Panama Canal has a 40% market share for containers moving goods from Northeast Asia to the U.S. East Coast, and drought conditions are creating a new round of supply chain disruptions. There have been between 130 - 160 ships waiting, leading to supply chain delays.
Supply chain risks are exploding. Just look at the news, and you'll see a potential UPS strike, a Canadian port strike, potential hurricanes (Hawaii, Florida), China stirring up potential conflict with China, the Crimean bridge attack, and much more.
A UPS strike was averted on the last day of the quarter, but it still hangs in the balance as the two sides are not on the same page! The head of the union said an imminent strike was likely when a counterproposal fell flat. Now that a new counterproposal was submitted, the imminent strike was called off with a new date set within a week.
There are mountains of geopolitical threats going on with significant impact on the supply chain. Most, if not all of these also relate to natural resources.
What is clear is that VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) is continuing in the forefront and will continue to be our "new normal". As I recently debated with the Wall Street Journal, we are in an era of non-stop disruptions. Look no further than the escalating war of Russia [...]
As has been all over the news, the Chinese sent a spy balloon which floated across the U.S. for about a week. According to US senior military officials, it is confirmed that the balloon is tied to a major surveillance program run by China's military. It has politicians and citizens up-in-arms about the potential impacts, and it bolsters concerns about China.
