This article goes into detail about how the 3/11 tsunami disaster last year had significant (negative) impacts on many multinational businesses, particularly because it put a dent in their supply chains. Many companies, particularly in their operations and logistics departments, are so focused on cost-cutting optimization (e.g., "just-in-time" inventory) that they neglect risk management and making contingency plans for when things go wrong. And when you single-source (i.e., rely on one supplier for a critical material), the whole company's supply-chain and profitability can be seriously threatened if a critical supplier is affected by a natural disaster. Such was the case with many key suppliers in Japan last year. One company estimated a loss of $325 million in sales just because one of their key suppliers lost their factory in the tsunami.
I felt like this article was very relevant to important business concepts like supply-chain management. As a tentative supply-chain major myself, I appreciated the international perspective. In our globalized world, the supply-chain is truly a massive, complex, and critical function of nearly every major company.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/03/13/japan-one-year-later-the-long-view-on-tech-supply-chains/
Trevor Habermeyer
How fragile the supply chain can be is interesting to learn about, because I often forget how interconnected world events and business are. If there is a natural disaster like 3/11, or a war, or social unrest, there are going to be problems in business that directly result from these issues.
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