What caused the semiconductor shortage? Why couldn't supermarkets stock toilet roll? And what lasting impact has the Suez Canal blockage had on trade?
The Agenda's Stephen Cole explains the fragility of our "just in time" supply systems and why it's time to take stock.
ALSO ON THE AGENDA
- Mickey Howard, Professor in Sustainable Supply Chain Management at Exeter University, explains the fragility of our supply chain systems as well as why limited supplies of lithium could prove to be the next big conundrum for consumers.
- Tom van Woensel, Director of the European Supply Chain Forum and Professor of Freight Transport and Logistics at the Eindhoven University of Technology, explains the impossible task of planning for the 'unknown-unknowns' and why it's not always in a company's interest to build supply chains which can sufficiently cope with unlikely, but severe, natural disasters.
- Qu Qiang, Assistant Director of the International Monetary Institute at Renmin University, tells Stephen China wants to share its capacity and production power with other countries to make the overall global shipping process easier and cheaper for all.
- Tom Bradshaw, Vice-President of the UK's National Farmers' Union joins Stephen Cole to explain why the ongoing issues should act as a wake-up call for the world to reconsider globalization and start sourcing food and products locally instead.