To understand long-term transformations in supply chain and procurement technology, supply chain professionals must be able to understand present trends so they can help shape future realities. Experts believe the following predictions are viable hypotheses that we should consider for 2030.
Toilet paper is a hot commodity during a pandemic. Once COVID-19 was announced, people flocked to the stores, panic-buying toilet paper, bleach, and any assortment of hygienic products they could get their hands on. Empty aisles are still not an uncommon sight in major retailers today.
With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we need to protect our nurses with the proper Personal Protective Equipment. Now more than ever, an effective healthcare supply chain is desperately needed. As the response to the pandemic is beginning to stabilize, the strategic sourcing models shift from managing savings to consistent supply of PPE. Nurses can expect their hospital’s strategic sourcing teams to work tirelessly, assuring adequate supply post-COVID-19.
April 22, 2020 marks 50 years of celebrating Earth Day! We have been celebrating in a variety of ways over the decades: gardening, recycling, educating others about sustainable practices, saving energy, and that just scratches the surface. According to Earth Day Network, more than 1 billion people have participated in Earth Day activities since its inception, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.
During times of global turbulence, new supply chains emerge rapidly to respond to urgent demands. In the US, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a massive new demand and subsequent shortage for personal protective equipment (PPE), a shortage which puts healthcare workers at risk. A recent editorial in the respected medical journal JAMA titled “Sourcing Personal Protective Equipment During the COVID-19 Pandemic” notes that “PPE, formerly ubiquitous and disposable in the hospital environment, is now a scarce and precious commodity in many locations when it is needed most to care for highly infectious patients. An increase in PPE supply in response to this new demand will require a large increase in PPE manufacturing, a process that will take time many health care systems do not have, given the rapid increase in ill COVID-19 patients.” The article notes that the need for PPE in many hospitals dealing with COVID patience is now so acute that hospitals are being advised to conserve PPE using the following approaches: Reclaim (masks from any non-hospital laboratory or clean room), Reuse (same mask over and over), Repurpose (the article mentions “snorkel and scuba, 3D printed, welder’s, civilian military grade gas masks, ski buffs”), Create Supply (by sewing or leveraging coffee filters and HVAC masks), and Extend Supply (supplementing N95 masks with plastic face shields, Ziploc bags and other barriers).
COVID-19 is impacting supply chains globally, and as a procurement leader, you may feel pressured to make critical shifts in your approach to prioritizing projects and examining risks in supplier relationships.
There are more business opportunities out there for the taking in today’s connected world than at any point in the history of humanity. Pick any (legal!) industry, and I’ll prove it to you. However, this plethora of sales opportunities belies a more significant trend of increased competition amongst suppliers. No matter where you do business, there is competition at every turn. This begs the question: how does any single supplier stand out from the pack?
Happy International Women’s Day!
People who make forecasts about AI assume that because AI is a virtual machine (albeit an adaptive one), that it will be good at things we’ve come to know machines are good at and bad at everything else.
By Christian Ries