Factors in post-COVID-19 global supply chain management

Most companies by and large have tuned their supply chains to either focus on achieving the lowest total cost or providing most flexibility in responding to customer demands. Regardless of the company’s supply chain strategy design, leading companies continue to invest in their people, business process and digital technology to extend their competitive advantage in the marketplace. Leading companies want to be able to predict supply chain performance and achieve above-market returns when supply matches demand. When the global pandemic COVID-19 hit the world, however, most companies’ supply chain systems were thrown into disarray, and companies could not respond predictably. The current supply chain system was no longer operating in a stable environment when both the demand and the supply sides of the equation were simultaneously affected. As pharmaceutical and bio firms raced to develop vaccines to protect citizens, the hope is that the vaccines will be here shortly and the world will be able to return to normal. It is during this period of uncertainty that supply chain management and professionals should consider questions such as what the post-COVID-19 global supply chain management framework should look like and what are the factors that should be considered going forward from a supply chain management practitioner’s perspective. This paper attempts to answer these questions based on interviews from a few selected companies and supply chain literature research and business articles review.