“Improving Resilience in Your Supply Chain” event was organised by Economist Impact and sponsored by InterSystems. The webinar was moderated by Jan Piotrowski, the business editor of The Economist.
The discussion convened supply-chain executives and experts to discuss how recent shocks in the global trading system have affected the supply chain. While many companies had to adapt fast to the changing trading landscape at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, many did not expect to be continuing to adapt 18 months later.
In the face of ongoing supply-chain disruptions, how are supply-chain leaders changing the way they operate to remain competitive? As many of our participants highlighted, the recent shocks have sped adoption of technologies, including those related to data and analytics, in global supply chains, giving companies better visibility throughout the supply chain so they can better predict and adapt to disruptions. Digitalisation of the supply chain has long been discussed within industry, yet recent disruption has propelled adoption further than executives previously imagined possible. Resilience, too, has become a watchword, as many organisations have rethought their previous focus on efficiency and on ruthlessly cutting redundancy from operations. Our panelists concluded by striking a note of optimism on the value of collaboration, as many organisations have been working hand in glove with trusted supply partners to ensure the smooth functioning of operations throughout the current disruption.