Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 14 minutes ago
Never before in the post-globalization world have stakeholders been this worried about supply chain complexity, with the 2020 pandemic making it clear that money cannot buy anything or more specifically, it cannot buy anything instantly.
As such, in a complex global supply chain framework, wealthy nations such as the United States found themselves having more than enough money at their disposal but... well, not nearly enough masks and medical equipment.
As great as it may be from perspectives such as cost-related ones to manufacture a product in one country using let's say components bought from three different countries on three different continents, this year's pandemic has made it clear that literally debilitating bottleneck issues can arise right when the stakes are high.
More specifically, China was the bottleneck in this year's supply chain complexity meltdown case study, with pretty much all nations being dependent on it for either finished products such as masks or certain materials needed for the medical equipment manufacturing process. As we now know, China found itself unable (and sometimes unwilling, for national security reasons, since it needed equipment itself during the earlier stages) to satisfy the greatly increased demand and there we have it... a scenario which makes it clear that supply chain complexity can bring about nightmare situations.
Never before in the post-globalization world have stakeholders been this worried about supply chain complexity, with the 2020 pandemic making it clear that money cannot buy anything or more specifically, it cannot buy anything instantly.
As such, in a complex global supply chain framework, wealthy nations such as the United States found themselves having more than enough money at their disposal but... well, not nearly enough masks and medical equipment.
As great as it may be from perspectives such as cost-related ones to manufacture a product in one country using let's say components bought from three different countries on three different continents, this year's pandemic has made it clear that literally debilitating bottleneck issues can arise right when the stakes are high.
More specifically, China was the bottleneck in this year's supply chain complexity meltdown case study, with pretty much all nations being dependent on it for either finished products such as masks or certain materials needed for the medical equipment manufacturing process. As we now know, China found itself unable (and sometimes unwilling, for national security reasons, since it needed equipment itself during the earlier stages) to satisfy the greatly increased demand and there we have it... a scenario which makes it clear that supply chain complexity can bring about nightmare situations.
