What Have We Learned from Pandemic Supply Chain Disruptions?

Contributed by AFFLINK

The COVID-19 pandemic is officially over in the United States. Now, it’s time for B2B industry professionals, such as those in the professional cleaning, packaging, industrial, hospitality, and related industries, to determine what they have learned from the crisis as well as the supply chain disruptions following the pandemic.

To help get us thinking about this, Michael Wilson, senior vice president of marketing for AFFLINK, a sales and marketing organization of over 300 U.S. distributors, suggests asking yourself the following questions.

While there may be more than one good answer, his advice as to the best answers are below.

1. What is the most important thing you learned from the pandemic?

A. The importance of resiliency.

B. The importance of innovation.

C. The need to increase efficiency.

2. After the pandemic, there were supply chain disruptions. In the future, you will handle these by:

A. Being patient.

B. Being more adaptive and agile.

C. Making large purchases before supply chain disruptions.

3. Which of the following do you think helped most B2B firms during and after the pandemic?

A. Providing customers with alternatives to products no longer available.

B. High customer engagement.

C. Past investments in planning and preparation for supply chain disruptions.

4. If we have another significant supply chain disruption, which of the following do you believe is crucial:

A. The ability to “bounce back” to previous business operations.

B. The ability to “bounce forward” to new business operations.

C. Return to normal business operations before making any changes.

These Are Wilson’s Suggestions:

1. The most important thing learned from the pandemic is the need for resiliency. “A” is the best answer.

2. The best answer is “B.” We must be more adaptive and agile to survive future supply chain disruptions.

3. Studies indicate that high customer engagement proved the most influential. Choice “B” is the best answer.

4. In and after every crisis, there are opportunities. The best thing we can do is “B” — bounce forward, looking for these opportunities.