COVID Supply Chain Risk Planning

Sep 8, 2021

Kairos Research, NC State, ASU Win IARPA Contract to Analyze Hidden Risks in Complex Supply Chains

If you look far enough back in history, you will find the literal definition of a linchpin to be an item which kept the wheels from falling off wooden carts. During the recent…

Aug 31, 2021

Q: Why so many product shortages? A: The Perfect Storm

I have had a number of calls this past week with various media outlets, including the Associated Press, WRAL, Forbes, and even the New York Times! All of these reporters…

Apr 8, 2021

Vaccines are the Utility Needed for the Global Economy

In an article in Politico, the (somewhat) obvious point is made that the Biden administration is finally recognizing that there is not enough manufacturing capacity in the US to produce…

Oct 18, 2020

Diversifying the Supply Base to Prepare for Disruption in COVID: Now is the Time!

Diversifying your supply base prior to a major crisis like COVID is more important than ever as we go into the winter season. The likelihood of another surge is now…

Aug 9, 2020

Double Bullwhip Effect Impacted Trade in the First Half of 2020

Evolutionary design requires individuals to constantly look for emerging patterns in how material moves through their supply chains. Force or action must be taken to change the path of supply…

Jul 28, 2020

Foraging for Healthcare Supplies in a Western Economy

Yesterday I spoke with a procurement executive at a major hospital in the Northeast. This is someone that I know and respect, and who is considered a highly proactive and…

May 27, 2020

The Strategic National Stockpile that Failed Us

The COVID-19 crisis arrived in the United States in February and was largely dismissed as a non-threatening issue. In particular, the CDC was convinced that it had contained the virus…

May 11, 2020

We Need Supply Chain Immunity, not Resiliency: A Position Paper

In today’s post I am sharing insights from a position paper that my colleague Dan Finkenstadt, PhD, myself, and other academic and government officers are working on. The paper is…

May 7, 2020

Needed: A National Governance Framework for Healthcare Supply Chains

The Tragedy of the Commons – A situation in which a shared resource system, where individual users, acting independently according to their own self-interest, behave contrary to the common good…

May 1, 2020

Catastrophic Impacts of COVID19 in Bangladesh Apparel Supply Chain

An article written by my former PhD student, Rejaul Hasan, and I just came out this week in Contracting Excellence, the journal published by IACCM, which documents the catastrophe that…