Global Supply Chain Disruption in Covid's Wake

Read time: 3 minutes

Recent intelligence from the US Energy Department claims COVID-19 indeed broke out from a lab leak in Wuhan, a city hosting multiple virology, vaccine, and biological products laboratories built in response to the 2002 SARS epidemic. 

Whether it spread from animal to human or originated from a bio lab test gone wrong, the ramifications of Covid linger with us. Besides the 1 million virus-claimed lives in the US alone since the outbreak, Covid has also set new trajectories for how we live, from our social lives to the things we buy.

The availability of resources shapes all our decisions and choices: whether or not we can enter offices or restaurants, order parts, or stock food on grocery shelves. Naturally, the pandemic continues to affect the global supply chain so drastically that it is taking years to rebuild economies with the same agility and product readiness as yesteryear. The supply chain is sluggish, frustrating consumers who want vehicle parts from Japan, textiles from China, and food products from Mexico. 

 

Struggling against the supply chain to deliver a good service?

Keep control over organized assets with help desk support software.

Learn how.

But the post-Covid lifestyle has changed, creating surges in new demand. Amazon is the most apparent successful merchant to stay aloft throughout the past three years of mayhem, thriving off the unbeatable need for delivery orders. 

Yet many other sectors are weighed down by a slow supply chain, struggling to deliver goods to eager consumers. 

3 Industries We Can’t Wait To “Get Back to Normal”

#1 Auto Industry

The astronomical price hikes in the automobile and housing markets fazed all of us. It makes sense that vehicle parts were hard to come by in the stunted trade of Covid transference fears.
 
Even now, outrageous price tags on old and new vehicles continue to stun us. Affordable motorcycles, trucks, and vans had virtually disappeared from the market, and those that remained quadrupled beyond reasonable value. We twiddle our thumbs in wait for prices to readjust “like old times”, but we may have to prepare ourselves for a new inflated normal. 

#2 Real Estate

Real estate and rental properties boomed, partially due to lifestyle changes and pent-up demand induced by remote work. 

A rush of investors wishing to advance in the real estate boom has now introduced a new supply of apartment complexes. The swell may again influence rental prices to fall in a tenant’s favor as landlord competition declines. This rapid 2-year fluctuation is yet another indicator of the market’s need to adapt to changes in Covid’s wake - possibly with the aid of a cohesive operations help desk.

 

Are your managed properties affected by market fluctuations?

We help property managers handle maintenance repairs, complaints, tenancy agreements, and more.

Read more on our blog

Learn more with a Product Expert

 

#3 Travel

A single social media scroll will tell you the #1 angst people felt during pandemic times: feeling cooped up behind closed borders. 

Instagram’s showcase of around-the-world marvels reminds us of how Covid snatched travel away. The rise in RV camper purchases (and their consequent scarcity) is evidence we all had the travel bug and were itching to explore. Many of us made America our playground as national parks saw an unprecedented visitor volume uptick. 

International borders began opening up last year, though cautiously, with continual enforcement of mask wear and, in some cases, proof of vaccination status. The upswing in tourism proves we’ll do whatever it takes to satisfy our wanderlust and return to traveling the world’s wonders.

Boeing spply chain
Boeing's supply chain expertise utilizes supplier management and competitive sourcing

If post-pandemic life teaches us anything, we’ve learned to adapt to sudden changes. With remote work, we stopped taking for granted sociality and standing desks. With health hazards, we’ve become attentive to healthy social distancing and sick leave. We’ve also learned to respond to changes at a moment’s notice, effectively building our resilience. 

We’ve altered the foreseeable future for physical and mental survival, as humans have done to overcome every significant disruption of war, disease, or winter-blues slump. 

And if you feel the drag of sluggishness affecting you, don’t overcomplicate things. The best we can do is learn to pivot with an adaptation plan and stay ready for change, the only constant.

Adjusting to hybrid-remote work or a return to the office? 

Stay on top of requests with a help desk ready to respond to employee and customer requests. Try Issuetrak at your help desk.

 

Topics from this blog: Distribution and Logistics

Back