BIG CHALLENGES FOR SUPPLY CHAINS IN 2022

n the run-up to Christmas, there was considerable anxiety about shortages of festive food and gifts. Trade friction was already at the core of the Brexit debate, and supply chain issues have been made much worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, a computer chip shortage had a knockon effect across many industries. Concerns have also been raised about everything from lithium supply for electric vehicle batteries to restaurant food supplies to even coffee shortages. Never has the issue of supply chain management been so prominent. The question now is what challenges supply chains face in the year ahead. So what can we expect? Products reach consumers through a chain of companies involved, which typically includes manufacturers, logistics firms – who provide storage, distribution and transport – and retailers. Not surprisingly, the whole system is highly complex. There’s a whole philosophy of contemporary supply chain management (SCM) concerned with making supply chains much more integrated than they used to be. Done well, it can significantly improve the overall performance of companies, as well as benefiting the economy and society. Yet this long-term effort to make the whole system more efficient has been set back by a whole host of challenges in global supply chains. Industry & academia are collaborating to develop innovative & sustainable practices, as can be seen in the work of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight, for example. The year ahead will be key in adoption of these practices, each of which requires change in the operational practices of firms. —theconversation.com