“News of the Covid-19 virus striking in Italy brings more problems for Supply Chain Directors. Northern Italy is an industrial heartland, a key manufacturing hub for Europe known for its strong textile, steel and chemical sectors. With the news that Austria briefly stopped trains from Italy, smooth freight transport across Europe can now potentially become a risk factor – this is something that should be on every Supply Chain Director’s radar", says Richard Wilding OBE, Professor of Supply Chain Strategy at Cranfield University, commenting on the latest challenges Covid-19 presents the supply chain.
“Many businesses who have effective supply chain resilience approaches embedded will be prepared for challenges like this. But other companies, who don’t have this approach, will be responding ineffectively and will see the impact on their bottom line.
“What’s vital is that businesses fully understand their supply chain, where products are manufactured and what countries they travel through. A full mapping of the supply chain will give a better picture of the risk companies now face.”