Supply Chain Procurement

An over-reliance on China as a producer and manufacturer of raw materials was quickly exposed, especially with China being the first country to lock down in response to the virus. The seismic effect of the initial crisis in China has led to companies rethinking their relationships with single-source suppliers and "start to question whether global supply chains and just-intime manufacturing really works," says Peter Young, Pharm Exec EAB member and CEO of investment bank Young & Partners. Bi°Care saw its manufacturers unable to source trucks to ship out products; it was also affected by the huge volume increase experienced by package delivery firms such as UPS and FedEx, one result of people not going out to shop any more.