POINT BREAK: SUPPLY CHAIN

While chip shortages are likely to continue for some time, supply chain problems are expected to be resolved in due course of time

- By Rohit Chintapali

THE global supply chain has been under immense pressure since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020.

While industries all over the world breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of 2022 after two straight years of supply chain nightmares, the UkraineRussia war once again induced doubts over what was to come. The war brought with it disruptions in supply chains that increased freight charges, caused container shortages and lowered the availability of warehousing space. In addition, the prices of several commodities including fertilisers, food products, and oil and gas have only soared. Even on its last leg, 2022 continues to see supply chain disruptions as Covid lockdowns persist in the quintessential point of origin for most supply chains – China. This has meant that deliveries of automobiles, devices, consumer technology items and retail inventory have continued to be impacted even as we enter the last month of the year.

Speaking at BW Businessworld’s Supply Chain Resilience Summit & Awards 2022, Keku Gazder, MD & CEO, Aviapro Logistic Services said, “In February 2020, we saw the beginning of a really bad game of global musical chairs. The result of that was a domino effect of shortages that produced a spike in prices as well as empty shelves.”

It could easily be said that when China sneezes, the rest of the world falls ill. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to the global supply chain, as the world consumes over US$ 3.55 trillion worth of exports in goods and services from the largest exporting economy. Today, we are witnesses to the massive game of catchup as we recover from the phase of biggest backlogs the world has ever seen,” said Gazder.