SMITHFIELD – When the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world four years ago, local businesses had to grapple with many complex changes and challenges, including roadblocks within supply chains.
Businesses at the time were forced to develop auxiliary plans to cope with a reality that they may not see ordered products being received for weeks or, sometimes, months on end. But with the pandemic now in the rearview mirror, one question remains: What happens if another worldwide crisis hits that could impact supply chains again?
It’s a question that the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University hopes to clarify Wednesday in its 38th annual World Trade Day. The sold-out event, titled “Supply Chain Resiliency” and is expected to attract up to 200 people, will address the need for resiliency and the ability to quickly adapt to change.
Along with having multiple discussions, breakout sessions and making resources available, this year’s World Trade Day will also feature 31 speakers representing various industries, such as manufacturing, transportation, artificial intelligence and trade, as well as from local and federal government entities. Among those scheduled to speak are Gov. Daniel J. McKee; Taco Comfort Solutions CEO Cheryl Merchant; R.I. Airport Corp. CEO and President Iftikhar Ahmad; J.F. Moran Co. CEO Elizabeth “Betty” Robson, who also chairs the World Trade Day Committee; R.I. Commerce Secretary Elizabeth Tanner; Laurie White, CEO and president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce; and Sarah Morgenthau, a special representative of the U.S. Department of State who also ran for Congress in 2022.
Chafee Center Director Eva-Marie Mancuso told Providence Business News that some companies are still suffering from supply chain problems even with the pandemic ending. She referenced one situation where Richmond-based manufacturer VIBCO Inc. is still waiting weeks for parts the company used to receive via overnight delivery.
Mancuso says that the pandemic – and, most recently, the catastrophic ship collision causing the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore – has taught companies how to be prepared for when, not if, another worldwide crisis that will disrupt the supply chains will occur. What local companies learned is being prepared with a secondary source instead of just relying on one stream of supplies, Mancuso says.
“We can’t just rely on ‘we have this great manufacturer that’s doing it in China.’ We’re not saying to cut out China. We’re saying what happens if we can’t get goods from there to here, like what happened in the pandemic … we need to build out a second alternative,” Mancuso said. “You can’t have one distributor or one manufacturer. If that one operation you can’t get to, your whole operation closes down.”
Both Mancuso and Robson say that drought near the Panama Canal, resulting in low water levels, and tension within the area of the Red Sea are also disrupting supply chains both locally and globally. Such interruptions, they say, are causing additional travel time for the products to get to their desired destinations and increased costs for companies to get those products shipped to them.
Mancuso says Wednesday’s World Trade Day will have a significant focus on involving Canada as a future trade partner for businesses to alleviate the high costs and time that supply chain interruptions are currently causing. She also says Merchant as a speaker will “sound the alarm” from a local perspective that local businesses and manufacturers can’t rest on their laurels after getting past the pandemic.
“She’ll give a positive spin on it because Taco has grown in spite of [supply chain problems],” Mancuso said. “[But Merchant will also] say ‘we just can’t sit around and say we made it through the last one and it’s not so bad.’ We know there’s going to be another interruption coming, so let’s prepare for it now when we have time.”
Robson, while didn’t note specific examples, also said that the lessons learned during the pandemic have put local supply chains in a better spot to weather major crises and, in turn, local businesses are in a better position now with those strengthened ties with local suppliers than they were during or prior the pandemic. She says many businesses locally found that they couldn’t rely on just one supplier if they had been doing that in the past and they’ve headed the call to diverse their supply chain to look for different suppliers around the world and manage those relationships.
“The disruptions during the pandemic showed everyone that it’s very important to know where your goods are being sourced, what the relationships with the different countries are, how is best to buy products you need in the United States and to know where your potential markets are in the world,” Robson said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
