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Packaging, supply & logistics
At a stretch
It’s not hard to see why a respiratory pandemic might put stress on the world’s supply of vaccines, PPE and ventilators – but why are toys getting more expensive, and why can’t anyone buy computer chips? It’s almost two years since the spread of Covid-19 began and the world’s supply chains are still stretched. Isabel Ellis asks Rob Handfield, the executive director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at North Carolina State University, Mark Treshock, IBM’s global solution leader for blockchain in healthcare and life sciences, and Shawn Muma, technology research leader for the Digital Supply Chain Institute, how the medical sector and the societies that depend on it can build resilience into the supply chain.
F
or much of the 20th century, human mastery of land, sky and sea was enough to make the world seem small. By the end of the Cold War, the liberal, globalised system championed by the US was set to deliver peace, prosperity and an ever- expanding array of products by ocean, road, rail and air for the rest of time. Two decades into the 21st century, with its trade wars, rising waters, resurgent nationalism and, of course, the ongoing pandemic, that system is showing some strain.
Covid-19 has ruthlessly exposed flaws in the medical device supply chain. Rob Handfield, the executive director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at North Carolina State University, was similarly blunt in summarising the problem at the Congressional Hearing
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
on the PPE Supply Shortage over the summer. “American exceptionalism became American hubris,” he said. “No one knew where products were coming from, whether they were being sent and who was receiving them. The response was too little too late.” As exemplified by Senator Gary Peters’ opening remarks at the hearing, this problem has largely been attributed to the overreliance of the US and other nations “on foreign sources and manufacturers for medical supplies”. That’s a contributing factor, but any country that believes it can supply a functional healthcare system without relying on imports could also be accused of hubris – and for all the political rhetoric and pressure, Covid-19 has not resulted in significant reshoring.
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